To the Editor:
After reading an article in the April 20th issue of The Dartmouth by Anshu Wahi entitled "Take Back the Night " Not Quite," I was compelled to address the unsubstantiated accusations that all too often pass without refute by leaders of the Greek community. The Take Back the Night rally last week was a chance for everyone on campus to show their support for women, stand up against sexual assault and send the message to the Dartmouth community that we do not support or condone such behavior. The crowd that gathered in front of the Hopkins Center was incredibly diverse, including groups of men and women, both affiliated and unaffiliated, who had either personally experienced sexual abuse or who were there to learn more about the issues. It was a gathering of individuals from all areas of the campus who came together under the unifying ideal that increased awareness of sexual assault was needed at Dartmouth.
Feeling strongly in favor of the rally, our fraternity houses, as well as many other Greek organizations, came out in large numbers to support the speakers. We wore our letters with pride, to show that our houses are safe for women and that our membership would never promote such intolerable acts discussed at the march. Our presence was entirely supportive, with no ulterior motives.
Despite this support, Anshu Wahi thought it necessary to write a blatantly false article claiming our presence was selfish in nature, and that it was an effort to score points with the administration in the event any of us were faced with probation or derecognition. Not only is this notion naive, but a blatant act of slander to once again blame all of the ills of the campus on the Greeks.
The good we do (community service, volunteering our houses as venues for events, and other campus unifying activities, to name but a few) is often devalued and goes completely overlooked. Instead, our reputation is shaped by those who write short and bitter articles in The Dartmouth. These people are taking the easy way out through their time here at college, because instead of actively trying to improve life at Dartmouth, as the Greeks have been striving to do, they choose to do nothing but complain and make unfounded accusations to any audience willing listen to them.
Personally, we are getting sick and tired of having to defend our organizations and others of the like every time someone who doesn't know us or our fraternities decides to write a diatribe complaining about all that could possibly be wrong with Dartmouth. We're tired of having to cite the good deeds our houses have done throughout the term to convince others that much good comes from the system. And, we're especially sick of never being afforded the benefit of the doubt in such instances as motives for attending a sexual abuse march.
The Greek system finds itself all too often in a no-win situation with events such as these. Absence from various programs would be regarded as widespread apathy among fraternities and sororities, a sign that everyone is self-centered and not interested in attending an event that could possibly deal with anything other than alcohol or sex. On the other hand, high support is viewed as suspect behavior, in that the only reason for attendance is to fulfill programming requirements or to gain points with the administration which would later be used as leverage to avoid punishment. There were countless groups and organizations represented at the rally, and the only motives questioned were those of the Greek system. The situation we are put into is neither fair nor deserved, and it needs to end if we are to ever have a chance at improving our image.
The biggest problems with the Greek system today are individuals like Anshu Wahi who would rather assume the worst about our members and then print false rhetoric rather than learn anything about our organizations. We challenge Anshu Wahi and any other individual who saw a shred of validity in her article to talk with us or one of the other members of the Greek Community before resorting to public defamation of our images and intentions.
Michael Salice, Chi Heorot president
Michael Holick, Psi Upsilon president
James Colligan, Alpha Delta president
