The bare truth of the matter is that this problem we're having on campus is one of image. In the words of the immortal Andre Agassi, "Image is everything." Image has dictated to every single person involved with the Student Life Initiative their actions, reactions, thoughts, and ideals. Dartmouth has an image problem and so do a lot of its students.
Take the fraternities, for example. Among other things, fraternities feel the pull of the "old school" when they make their decisions. In every house there are people who will stubbornly resist change simply because they don't want their image to change from that by which they have been infamous (or notorious) since as far back as we can remember. Apparently, to some this means that inane stunts such as panty raids are still par for the course and should be maintained and championed. Image dictates that that's what frats do, and that's what we're going to keep doing. To break with tradition is to break with the past, and all the alumni who are "old school."
On the other hand, every house has members who are preoccupied with the idea of changing their house and making it better. These members acknowledge the image problems and maybe even the tangible problems with their houses, but they still want to keep what they know is special and their own.
Now look at the sororities. The sororities are in an awkward position. At the overtly misogynistic school we call Dartmouth, the sorority system has been one of the biggest support networks for women, yet it is stereotyped by the nationwide claim that sororities are for the beautiful people. They teach homemaking, being a good wife, and general submissiveness. So, some women of Dartmouth not affiliated with sororities claim that they degrade women and take away their individuality as women. That's certainly a fair assessment to make coming from someone who has no clue what the hell they're talking about. The sororities allow women to explore whatever type of women it is they want to become, they do not force home ec. classes down their throat, and they certainly do not dictate that the woman defer to the man in all things coeducational.
Yet image is everything, so I guess the sororities really do suck. I guess that's why there were so many rushees this fall that around 100 were turned away. I guess that's why the college decided that these women should not have the right to be involved in something special. Thank God the College made that "structured choice" for them.
And what in God's name is a structured choice anyway? Is that like the buffet at Sizzler where you can have either a baked potato or french fries with your steak? Is Susan Dentzer attempting to assert that I may have either brussel sprouts or spinach with my Spam of an education? Have we gone from the creative loner who was to be allowed to make his own choices to the structured loser who will fit in the box? Which is it? Intellectual and personal freedom and the risks that accompany such freedom? Or intellectual and personal prostitution for the sake of an Ivy League degree?
Which brings me to the College's image problem. Unlike Brown, where students do whatever the hell they please, and unlike Cornell, where students simply cannot handle the stress of academic life, Dartmouth has found the happy medium. Students have always been happy, the College has always been prosperous, and the nation has always had a favorable opinion of us. But we're too conservative! Look out everyone! The conservatives are on the prowl! We are too white! We're too rich! We're too exclusive! But wait! We're in the middle of New Hampshire! Smack in the middle of the nation's most conservative, and one of the nation's whitest states. My God, what will the media say? Will our U.S. News ranking drop?
I am white, it's true. I know what you're thinking, how can I have so much soul, but I really am white. But I'm not rich, I'm not exclusive, and I'm not conservative. I'm about as liberal as the gravy on the chicken in Food Court, and they dole that out as if there were no tomorrow. Yet I'm Greek. Is it time for me to go?
If, as the propaganda machine repeats endlessly, this is based entirely on making the student experience of Dartmouth better, I would like to plainly state that my experience has been spectacular, and would have been even better if not for this whole fiasco, and that damn Scooby Doo. If you have something to say akin to this, blitz CSLI and let them know what you think.
