While Testa's resignation from the Greek Life Steering Committee, may have come as a surprise to some members of the Dartmouth Community, it did not shock many of those on the committee itself.
"I wasn't too surprised," Megan Gleason '02 said, an unaffiliated member of the committee. "I know he wasn't happy with the way things were going."
"His views were incompatible with those of most of the committee members," said Dean Krishna '01, former Student Assembly president and a brother at Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity. "I was disappointed but not surprised."
Testa cited a number of factors which contributed to his decision, including what he views as the lack of the College's serious commitment to substantial change.
"I don't believe the College is serious about reforming alcohol behavior," he said in an interview with The Dartmouth on Tuesday.
Many of the student members of the committee disagree.
"He wants to see a lot of changes, but I think he might have felt powerless. He was involved in a committee he thought could change what he saw as wrong with the school, and for him, it wasn't getting anywhere," said Maggie Shnayerson '03, who is a member of the committee and also a member of The Dartmouth staff.
Although Testa is skeptical about the College's dedication to reducing alcohol abuse at Dartmouth, committee members generally have contrary views.
"I have to disagree [with Testa]," recently elected president of the Coed Fraternity Sorority Council Shihwan Chung '02, also a member of the Steering Committee, said.
"The College has been very committed towards changing. The committee wasn't just created as lip service, to help drop the Animal House image; it was created to make positive changes to the Greek System and the campus in general," he continued.
Krishna wonders if Testa was frustrated because "you can't legislate a ban on the culture. Maybe he had the impression that the committee would be able to do such things."
Testa also referred to the culture of denial he sees at Dartmouth in regards to alcohol abuse as one of the reasons he left the committee, saying that it is useless to attempt to hold a productive, reasoned discussion with students who insist on their right to drink.
"Some students are under the delusion that the weekend starts on Wednesday night," he said.
"Binge drinking is very serious. The problem can't be solved by carting away the pong tables," Testa told the Dartmouth on Tuesday.
Chung agrees. "Outlawing drinking games won't change the level of drinking. More fundamental changes have to be made," he said.
There has been significant debate over Testa's views on pong; Testa believes that the game needs to be banned at Dartmouth, a view which understandably is at odds with those of a number of students.
"I think when people feel there is something wrong with the system, they tend to isolate that into one symbol. For Testa, that symbol is pong," Shnayerson said. "But ... if you get rid of pong, you're not getting rid of binge drinking, you are simply getting rid of one of the ways it expresses itself on this campus."
Krishna also feels "unsure about whether [Testa] understands the social culture here. We're not stupid."
Although some of Testa's views conflicted with those of other committee members, "his opinions were valued, and his voice added a lot to our dialogue," Chung said, adding, "I feel he has hurt his cause, it will be more difficult for him to reach his goals if his voice is no longer heard on the committee."
