Most students who spoke with The Dartmouth last night said that they support the College's decision to derecognize Zeta Psi fraternity.
The students contacted, both Greeks and non-Greeks, told The Dartmouth that, for the most part, they feel the administration took appropriate action.
"I think it's a pretty good move on [the College's] part," Matt Davis '03 said. "I think that the violation definitely warranted derecognition. And I think that it's good that they didn't waste any time and just did it."
Chi Heorot brother Peter Mahler '01 agreed, saying that he believes the administration is attempting to eliminate the Greek system but he believes the punishment was appropriate. "I wasn't really surprised, and I really didn't care," he said.
One anonymous female '02 sorority member said "I think it was a good thing. I think that they [Zeta Psi] should be accountable for their actions."
Jen Levitt '04 said that she feels that "it was a pretty bold move by the administration," but said she is looking to see what happens with future changes in the Greek system. She added that she hopes the punishment "will act as a stepping stone for the future."
She added that she hopes the administration is taking a stand toward changing this behavior, not simply using Zeta Psi as an example.
Others had mixed feelings about how the administration's decision will affect the future of the Greek system.
"The initial reaction was really strong, but I think that it's kind of died down. I don't really see a lot of the angry reaction that started it. It might have a small impact but not much," Davis said.
Brian Richardson '01 said he believes the decision will "make the Greek system pull into itself." He speculated that while non-Greeks will tend to have mixed feelings on the topic, Greek members will see the issue much differently. In the eyes of the Greeks, by destroying one Greek house you are trying to attack them all, he said.
Others feel that the decision will have a minimal impact on the future. The anonymous '02 sorority sister said, "I don't think it's going to have a huge impact on the behavior of other fraternities and sororities."
She also expressed that other Greek houses "will carry on with whatever they do, but just do it more carefully."
Mahler said he hopes that the actions of Zeta Psi will not be seen as a typical example of Greek system behavior. "I definitely think that with something like that it happened to be a group of guys that were complete morons. Guys with a complete lack of sensitivity."
"It should be completely separate from fraternities. They just happened to be part of the Greek system," Mahler continued.
He said that he believes that the Greek system is aware that the administration is beginning to hold Greek houses to higher standards and added that the situation forces people to acknowledge that the administration watching to see how the Greek system reacts and meets the standards set by the College.
