Janelle Ruley is so dead-set on eliminating Greek students at Dartmouth she has become blinded by her own obsession. She and the other four self-proclaimed Cavaliers Of The Future of Dartmouth claim to understand how to shape the social lives of thousands of students. They have been clamoring for support as loudly as possible. They have had private meetings with the Trustee Committee. They have printed full page editorials in the Dartmouth and sent mass-Blitzes out to students. And now they have the pomp to claim that the reason there aren't more students supporting their radical views is because the Greek System is "prohibiting dissention?" Come on, open your eyes; you are preaching to an empty room.
There is a good reason why students involved in the Greek System are so emphatic in their support for it. It is impossible not to be forceful when arguing for the very existence of something that means so much to so many. Believe it or not, what is most important to members of Greek organizations is neither the parties you attended nor the beer you drank last weekend.
If you bothered to ask your friends what they most love about their houses, they will tell you about intellectual conversations they had the night before over a cup of coffee before going back to the library, and about how being affiliated makes them care more about their academic performance. They will tell you about the tight-knit support group of which they become a part, about how their best friends are the students they never expected to have anything in common with. They will tell you about people for whom they would sacrifice their own lives if given the choice. Ignoring the immensely positive attributes that Greek members derive from one another emphasizes how little you understand what motivates the overwhelming majority of students to vehemently support the houses they love.
Furthermore, implying that a "power structure" exists at Dartmouth with the express purpose of stifling dissenting opinion is ludicrous. If in fact any power structure exists, it only works in the favor of those who attack affiliated students. Greek members are unable to respond appropriately to accusations made against them without instantly being labeled as "bigoted," "anti-intellectual" or simply insulted as a "frat-boy."
Thus the typical response of late from the CFSC and most Greek organizations has been the "knee-jerk" reaction to appease the politically correct powers-that-be. When claims were made of "racism and bigotry" because of a party that was clearly as inclusive and benign as a party can be, the accusers were appeased and the party was cancelled. All any student needs to do is cry "Cultural Insensitivity!" and the Greek students must abide or be labeled as bigots. One simply has to utter the words "ghetto party," and already Greek students are on the defensive.
There is no doubt now that every student on campus would declare that the ghetto party was an obvious mistake and a serious error in judgement. That having been said, it's time we moved on. Stop focusing on one unfortunate incident that has already been addressed. To highlight the one event in which Greek students were involved is to foolishly ignore that hate crimes continue to be committed at Dartmouth without much notice, and that the majority of them are unattributable to Greek students or the Greek System.
Lastly, the claim is made that Greek membership must end. Period. End of discussion. How can we be expected to participate in a conversation that has already been loaded against us? Here's a challenge: come up with ways to integrate new options into the existing social environment without destroying a system that does so much good for so many. There is no reason why the social horizons of Dartmouth need to be narrowed when they would be so much greater if they were expanded. Many of us have sent our ideas to the Trustees. While agreement on an issue like this is nearly impossible to reach with such a diverse student body, there is a clear consensus of students who wish to preserve the Dartmouth they know and love.