To the Editor:
Dartmouth College's mission statement speaks of an institution committed to creating a social and academic environment that fosters diversity. As students, however, we can attest that current social structures at Dartmouth are far from furthering this mission.
In particular, the existence of gender-exclusive Greek houses precludes the formation of a truly diverse and coeducational campus. The tradition of the Greek system on our campus does not justify its continued existence.
Because twenty-three of the Greek system's twenty-six organizations are single sex, the system stands in clear violation of Dartmouth's nondiscrimination policy, which states the following:
"Dartmouth College is committed to the principle of equal opportunity for all its students, faculty, employees, and applicants for admission and employment. For that reason, Dartmouth does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, or status as a disabled veteran in its programs, organizations, and conditions of employment and admission" (cf. the Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action, www.dartmouth.edu/~eoaa/nondiscrim.html).
As an institution of higher education that is dedicated to creating a vital learning environment, Dartmouth operates under a Principle of Community and defines itself by a mission statement that declares an outright commitment to upholding the highest social and academic ideals. As part of such an institution, we must not tolerate organizations that clearly deviate from these standards.
The Greek system's defining characteristics are antithetical to the goals expressed in our nondiscrimination policy.
By not addressing the striking dissonance between our goals for Dartmouth's intellectual environment and the reality of the Greek system, we fall short of fulfilling our potential as a community.
Therefore, I demand to know why the Greek system is allowed to continue as an exclusive, single-sex system in spite of our nondiscrimination policy, and why the administrators and Trustees allow such a system to exist at an institution that values diversity.
Many more students who feel the same way wrote and signed a similar letter, which is being delivered to administrators and Trustees today. We have requested a public response to our question, in hopes of focusing the scattered Greek system debate on this critical question of nondiscrimination.
