To the Editor:
Abbye Meyer's letter, "A Question Of Nondiscrimination" in the May 14th issue of The Dartmouth demands to know why the Greek system at Dartmouth is a "single-sex system in spite of our nondiscrimination policy."
First, it is not exclusively a single-sex system. Coed Greek organizations exist at Dartmouth and have for decades. But the majority of students choose to join a single-sex organization even though there is a coed choice.
Recently many people have renewed the call for a coed Greek system on campus; but before that is a viable option more students must demonstrate that this is what they want by joining the coed part of the Greek community. It has been said that students "vote with their feet" and if that is true then several generations of students at Dartmouth have voted for a Greek system with both coed and single-sex options.
Second, the question of why Dartmouth allows single-sex Greek organizations can probably be answered many ways, but one factor is federal law. Title IX, the same law that led to equal funding for women's athletics, lists exemptions for things like religious schools, the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, and fraternities and sororities.
When the SLI was announced the news media claimed that Dartmouth was going to force all single-sex houses to go coed. This wasn't true so the legal issues around such a mandate were never really discussed. Would such a change even be possible under Title IX?
If Dartmouth eliminates the system entirely that question is moot. However, it seems clear that the administration and the Trustees are going to stand by their announcement that they intend to reform the system instead of abolish it. If that declaration is true then students must vote with their feet. If you want more coed Greek houses then join one and show the administration that this is what students want. If you want single-sex houses to continue to exist at Dartmouth then join one and demand the highest standards from your houses and your brothers and sisters. If you want something else ... speak up. Even now a committee is forming to prepare a report on undergraduate societies, affinity houses, and senior societies. This report will create a framework for the creation and regulation of non-Greek student social organizations at Dartmouth. If you feel strongly about this then now is the time to let the administration know what choices you want.
