While issues of coeducation and gender relations dominated campus discussion when the Five Principles were announced last February, many students and some administrators and faculty members feel the steering committee's recommendations released last week have largely ignored these problems.
"The current set of proposals perpetuates the discrimination against women," Associate Professor of English Thomas Luxon said.
Director of the Women's Resource Center, Givanna Munafo said she has "spoken to many students -- women and men -- who feel there is not a lot in the report specific to gender."
Hillary Miller '02, a member of the steering committee, told The Dartmouth that many students were disappointed with "how indirectly" the report addressed issues of coeducation.
"I think that this is one area of deficit that the recommendations did not attack head on," she added.
Students and administrators also expressed concern that the problem of sexual abuse at Dartmouth was not directly addressed in the recommendations. Although the report calls for tighter alcohol regulations and for a sexual abuse peer advisor to live in every Greek organization, many feel the issue required greater emphasis.
The Coordinator of Sexual Abuse Awareness Program, Susan Marine, said that although the recommendations "cover a lot of ground," they increase opportunities for students to interact along gender lines. This problem warrants attention, she added.
Although the committee recognized the value of the current sorority system as a "haven" for many women on campus, the recommendations rejected Panhellenic Council's hopes of creating another sorority to guarantee bids to all women who rush.
Speaking to The Dartmouth at an earlier occasion newly elected Panhell president of Alexandra Kremer '01 said such a move would make the sorority system even more exclusive.
Committee co-chairs' response
Recognizing the existence of widespread criticism from students and administrators, co-chairs of the steering committee, Peter Fahey '68 and Susan Dentzer '77 defended the recommendations and its focus on gender-related issues.
"The primary way the present recommendations addressed these issues tends to be unrecognized," Fahey said.
The co-chairs of the committee said the new cluster system will become the central feature on campus, leading to a profound change in the coeducational environment.
Dentzer said the recommendations deal directly with the "substantially coeducational" issue. She said the new standards imposed on the Coed Fraternity Sorority system would change the overall behavior of Dartmouth's social environment.
"This will lead to less gender antagonism," she added.
Recognizing that many students preferred their single-sex Greek organization, the co-chairs of the committee said the recommendations do not plan to eliminate the current system. However, making single-sex organizations form "meaningful" affiliations with organizations of the opposite gender would significantly improve gender relations on campus, Dentzer added.
Opinions were somewhat divided among the co-chairs on the lack of mention of the sexual abuse problem in the recommendations.
According to Dentzer, the committee recognized that alcohol-abuse is a major contributor to cases of sexual assault at Dartmouth and that limiting the unsafe use of alcohol will limit such incidents.
"By taking away a lubricant in the form of excessive use of alcohol, we want to remind people and remind organizations to be responsible for their behavior," Dentzer said.
Fahey said he was unsure how the committee could address such a problem.
"I don't see how you can socially engineer away a problem of that sort," Fahey said.
He added that the Dartmouth community has a unique opportunity to respond to the recommendations and address concerns of sexual abuse if they find it lacking in the report.
The committee co-chairs said the recommendations do not allow the creation of another sorority because they hope to find other social alternatives to the CFS system.
Agreeing that the current system provides a "haven" for many women, Dentzer said the College must look to understand "what is it that we need a haven from."
Both the community members disappointed with the lack of emphasis on gender issues and the co-chairs of the committee, who felt these issues were sufficiently addressed, hope the Dartmouth community will come together in improving these recommendations before the final social and residential life plan for the College is announced Spring term.
