The emotions of Greek system leaders run the gamut from frustration to "cautious optimism" after Tuesday night's open forum on the progress of the Board of Trustees' Social and Residential Life Initiative.
Coed Fraternity and Sorority Council President Jaimie Paul '00 said she was disappointed in the forum, although it did have some positive aspects.
"On one hand, the discussion brought up interesting issues I don't think the steering committee had even thought of," Paul said, citing kosher dining as an example of one issue that seemed to surprise the Trustees in the student question and answer session.
"However, as the evening progressed, I was hearing less and less real information and everything still seemed very vague," Paul said. "There was a lot of insult-slinging going on that almost made me feel uncomfortable."
Paul said she felt both students' booing of Fahey and the condescension she perceived on the part of the Trustees were impediments to true discussion.
President of Psi Upsilon fraternity Teddy Rice '00 said he didn't attend the forum because of scheduling conflicts but that he was hearing from friends that did attend that they were indifferent about the Trustees' announcements. "I heard they didn't say anything too earth-shattering," Rice said.
Inter-Fraternity Council Hondo Sen '00 said he felt the program last night was balanced and the Trustees went to lengths to avoid alienating the Greek system.
However, Sen said he felt the Trustees did place too much blame for alcohol problems on the campus with the Greek system.
Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity President Andy Louis '00 said that he too, felt the Trustees are concerned about alcohol use among Greek system members. "I think that they think in some ways that because alcohol is most of the time available at Greek houses free of charge, the Trustees think that if they get rid of that, the level of drinking is going to change," Louis said.
Louis cited the popularity of first year student "dorm parties" as evidence students will drink outside of the Greek system houses.
Sen said he came out of the meeting feeling "very neutral" about the future of College residential and social life.
Sen said he felt the Trustees did not release a great deal of new information about their Summer term deliberations and that when students pressed them on the College's future, they kept emphasizing that no decisions had been made yet.
Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity President Thad Glowacki '00 said he felt Trustees were "very vague" in divulging information about the future, even though he said he felt students were eager for details.
Rice said he was getting a "cautiously optimistic" feeling from people who went. He said he would have liked to attend but didn't feel that Tuesday night's meeting was that indicative of recommendations the steering committee will make later in the term.
Paul said she felt after the meeting that the steering committee has not made any definite decisions about social life at the College. She also said she felt more optimistic about the future of the Greek system.
"It seems to me that they're taking almost a more moderate stance than we initially anticipated."
"I don't think the Greek system will exist as it does now, which may be a good thing, it depends on the direction it takes," Paul said. "I don't think it will be gone, they've gotten too much negative feedback."
Paul said she feels that the steering committee is leaning toward a parallel system that will provide other social options for students alongside the Greek system.
Paul said the common house idea proposed in some Task Force reports and by the Trustees last night could be good for the campus, depending on what shape the idea formally takes.
"My fear, especially with the way Trustee Dentzer was describing it last night, was that she was describing Princeton," Paul said, referring to Princeton University's eating clubs.
"I think we need to find a solution that's unique to us, and promotes the sense of community we keep talking about," Paul said.
Sen said he does not feel the common houses would address all the issues that fragment the Dartmouth community. Common houses would not be the "radical change that can address all the issues the Trustees are seeking to address."
Louis and Glowacki both said despite continuing uncertainty about what the steering committee will finally recommend, they are in frequent contact with representatives of their national fraternities.
The steering committee is formally known as the Committee on the Student Life Initiative.
