President of the College James Wright and Dean of the College James Larimore hosted the second fireside chat in Collis Commonground last night where they were joined by Trustees Nancy Jeton '76, David Shribman '76 and Kate Stith-Cabranes '73 and approximately 50 students and administrators who focused on diversity and Greek-related issues.
Larimore challenged students to speak from their own perspectives and to take ownership for their opinions, and students responded by speaking from personal experience, producing a more emotional and intimate discussion than the first fireside chat.
The discussion was initially geared towards the World Culture Initiative and diversity-related concerns in the spirit of the recent Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday.
The president of one sorority said she was disappointed the report did not address racism, anti-Semitism or the lack of cultural diversity, which she saw as major issues on campus.
She also contrasted the vagueness of the World Culture Initiative mentioned in the recommendations report with the specific provisions for the Greek system.
Two black seniors spoke of the need for an institutional commitment for cross-cultural programming like campus-wide educational programs on diversity.
Some students said diversity should not stop with the admissions office and that they were disappointed to see little mention of gender problems in the report.
The fireside chat then became more Greek-focused. Students expressed the desire that the Board not dismantle the existing system or force choices on students before they provide viable alternatives.
Yet even with alternatives, a male member of the Class of 2003 said the decision to join the Greek system should remain in students' hands and not something dictated by the Board. If the new options are better, he said, students will choose to partake in those activities.
"The [Greek] system is so dominate that it gets in the way of free choice," former Student Assembly President Josh Green '00 said. He also said he hoped the Trustees would have the "courage" to end the Greek life at the College.
At the end of the session, however, Wright said "courage is not an issue for the Trustees."
According to Wright, the Trustees will not look to prove how politically correct they are. Instead, they will be as wise as possible, and this process of student input is about gaining wisdom to make the College a better place.
One student said the Trustees would act courageously, if instead, they let students make the Greek system the best it could be, prompting Larimore ask the audience to list a few improvements they could envision.
Responses included the creation of more houses, especially sororities, the guaranteeing of bids to all rushees and a dry pledge period.
Dartmouth's questionable image was also raised by a senior, who said he was tired of defending the College because of its popular party image reinforced by the thriving Greek life. He said the implications are damaging because they filter out students who become discouraged from even applying.
Wright said student input on the future direction of the College is an opportunity given to no other generation of Dartmouth students, and that last night's discussion was a step in the right direction.
"This discussion was terribly important and one of the better ones that I have participated in my 30 years here," Wright said, praising the energy, enthusiasm and concern expressed by speakers.
"Our job is to hear students' reactions. We encourage people to raise their voices and be heard because we all have a responsibility to make this a better place," Jeton told The Dartmouth.
Jeton said she learned how academic experiences have added to personal growth and multicultural knowledge and that everyone's Dartmouth experience is different even though we are members of the same community.
"It is important to be introspective about community organization and values," Wright said. "The challenge here is to take the next step and think outside of the box and no just defend and attack but to build upon what we have here."
While recommendations concerning residential life were not raised last night, Wright devoted time at the end of the fireside chat to address clusters.
He reiterated that his conception of clusters was not modeled on East Wheelock, but entreated the audience to conceptualize a new cluster system that will become the stage for coeducation and diversity.
