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The Dartmouth
March 28, 2024 | Latest Issue
The Dartmouth

Coed houses to remain in CFSC

Although aspects of the Greek system still trouble members of Dartmouth's coeducational fraternities, it no longer appears likely that any of the three houses will secede from the system any time soon.

After Dean of Residential Life Martin Redman made it clear last term that his office would not support coed secessions, the organizations have refocused their efforts on changing the Coed Fraternity Sorority system from the inside.

Secession talk did in fact spur leaders of the CFS Council to make a concerted effort to begin addressing the concerns expressed by the coed houses in order to prevent a split that might have damaged the image of Dartmouth's Greek organizations during a time of transition for the system.

Last February, both the Tabard and Alpha Theta coeducational fraternities were conducting internal discussions about the possibility of disassociating themselves from the Coed Fraternity Sorority system, presumably to become undergraduate societies.

However, a statement Redman made to The Dartmouth at the time to the effect that the College would be unwilling to give recognition to the organizations as undergraduate societies apparently nipped the talks in the bud.

Since late February, none of the houses have taken any official action toward secession nor have they spoken formally about secession with officials in the Office of Residential Life, Redman said.

Nina Basu '02, a member of the Coed Council, said the coed organizations have been encouraged by ORL to wait until committee reports addressing the future of CFS and undergraduate societies at Dartmouth are completed.

The houses have accepted this recommendation for the time being, Basu said. She noted, however, that the problems which inspired the secession discussions in the first place have not gone away.

Those concerns include a sense that being a part of the Greek system brings with it a stigma for the coed houses, and that other CFS organizations do not really embody the ideals of Greek life which they proclaim.

In addition, the implementation of winter rush next year may mean financial difficulties for the small coed organizations as income shrinks but physical plant costs and programming requirements remain constant.

"I think that basically where the houses stand is they still don't feel like the current system necessarily represents where they want to be," Basu said.

Meetings between coed leaders and members of the CFSC last term were productive and a first step towards reconciliation and understanding, CFSC President Shihwan Chung '02 said.

"I think that we were able to engage and assuage a lot of [the coed organizations'] issues," he said.

However, the state of flux that currently characterizes the CFS system and Dartmouth social life in general means that significant action -- on this and other issues -- is being put on hold.

The Greek system is at a point where it is "very hard" to take definite steps toward change, Chung said. "It's really very difficult for us to take the initiative right now."