Eighty-three percent of the students who responded to a survey conducted by The Dartmouth yesterday said they favor the continuation of the single-sex Greek system at the College.
Of the 4,106 students polled by The Dartmouth via BlitzMail, 2,003 -- or 49 percent -- responded to the survey, and 1,660 of them said they support the single-sex system. Fifteen percent of the respondents said the single-sex system should not be continued, and two percent were undecided.
Fifty-five percent of the students who said the single-sex system should be continued are not affiliated with a fraternity or sorority.
Betsy Beck '00, who is unaffiliated, said single-sex Greek houses should remain on campus.
She said there are "plenty of places in which men and women can have healthy social interactions," but single-sex houses are a "necessary part of the college experience."
"That's the most popular social avenue, and I just think that forcing them to combine social space in such a popular avenue would just completely revamp the whole social atmosphere at Dartmouth," she said.
Members of the Class of 2002 expressed the most support for the single-sex Greek system.
Six-hundred and sixteen -- or 31 percent -- of the respondents to the survey were '02s. Twenty-four percent were seniors, 20 percent were juniors and 25 percent were sophomores.
Of the freshmen who responded, 532 supported the continuation of the single-sex system -- 32 percent of the total number of students from all classes who supported its continuation.
Jen Morgan '02 said she doubts she would rush a sorority in the fall, but she appreciates the "tradition" generated by the Greek system.
"I feel like they're taking something away that they don't have the right to take away -- no matter who they're taking it away from."
Louis Freidheim '02 said he is bothered that "the opportunity [to rush] might not be there, just because I had a passing interest in it. I probably would have rushed, but I don't know if I would have pledged."
He said he would have rushed "just to see what the experience was like."
Of those who opposed the continuation of the single-sex Greek system, many were unaffiliated upperclassmen.
"I think it's a good idea, but I'm a '99, and I'm not going to be here during the transition," said Jing Wang, who is not affiliated with a Greek house.
"In the long run, it's going to make Dartmouth a better place," Wang added. "It's going to be a rough transition period, but you'll have to wait 20 years for that."
Wang said there are some positive aspects of the Greek system, and "some of the good things will have to go out with the bad."
Christen Einsiedler '00, who is also unaffiliated, referred to the "ghetto" party held by Alphi Xi Delta sorority and Chi Gamma Epsilon last term when explaining why she is against the continuation of the single-sex system.
"In light of everything that happened this Fall, I had come to a conclusion that Dartmouth could do without fraternities and sororities. I was trying to figure out what the institution did to Dartmouth as a whole -- what it added," she said. "Part of the time, I couldn't think of anything.
"It was just this year that I came to this idea," she added.
Sixty-seven percent of the students who responded to the survey said the five-point plan established by the Board of Trustees would not improve overall social and residential life at the College.
Twenty-two percent thought the plan would improve social and residential life, and 11 percent were undecided.
The five-point plan calls for greater choice and continuity in residential living and space, additional and improved social spaces controlled by students and an interactive coeducational social system.
It also aims for the reduction of the number of students living off campus and the elimination of the abuse and unsafe use of alcohol.
"I think that a lot of the ideals that they put down in those five points are positive ideals to work toward, but in their form are so vague," Nate White '99 said.
"It's just a bunch of letters on a page right now," White added.
Tanveer Abbas '01 said the Trustees' five-point plan has "the right intentions in mind, but the change is kind of drastic."
Kevin Gallagher '99, a member of Chi Heorot fraternity, said the five-point plan has been "prescribed by a group of 40- to 60-year-old men and women who think they can plan the social situation at Dartmouth for a group of 18- to 21-year-olds."
"Basically, we're at one of the most elite colleges, but we do not have the intelligence to plan our own social scene -- I think it's insulting," Gallagher said.
