To the Editor:
I find Abbye Meyer's assertions (The Dartmouth, May 14th, "A Question Of Nondiscrimination") that single sex organizations are somehow a clear violation of Dartmouth's non-discriminatory standards puzzling. I think the author has either missed or is choosing to ignore the fundamentals behind private, voluntary organizations.
What truly puzzles me about Ms. Meyer's argument is that it automatically assumes that everyone should have access to everything everywhere regardless of any criteria. Clearly by the line of reasoning, all members of the Dartmouth community should be allowed to play football at Homecoming -- doesn't matter if you know how to play, by the mere fact that you are a "member of the community," you have that right.
It's not a right, it's a privilege to be a member of any organization. One must earn that privilege just as one earns the privilege to attend Dartmouth. One can only retain that privilege by supporting and continuing the ends of the organization one joins. What the ends of each organization are and how they are maintained is really up to its members. Good organizations will thrive, poor ones will fail.
Not knowing Ms. Meyer personally, I have to wonder if she supports the existence of Wellesley College. If she does, then I would be forced to call her a hypocrite for her writings. Wellesley, Mt. Holyoke, and Smith are all premised on the idea that a private institution can restrict who attends and what criteria one is judged on for attendance. For those colleges, gender is a prime discriminating factor and rightfully so. I fully support those organizations. If Ms. Meyer does as well, she must logically support any private organization's right to set its criteria for membership. One does not get to apply the standards, rules or laws of a society like ours in a selective fashion. That's not democracy, it's called fascism, where as a Mr. Orwell put it best, "some are more equal than others."
