To the Editor:
I wish to comment on the current debate over the "exclusivity" of Dartmouth's sororities (and, by extension, the Greek system as a whole). Those who decry the Greek system because of its "exclusivity" do so at the peril of a fundamental right that should not be abandoned lightly -- the right to free assembly. A community that seeks to regulate how and with whom people associate is one that does not respect this right. No one, surely, is arguing that individuals should be forced to associate on a personal level with people they do not like. But many of the commentators in these pages have implicitly argued the converse: under certain circumstances (i.e. when people's feelings may be hurt), individuals should not be allowed to associate with people they do like. This would indeed be tragic, and would amount to a mere shadow of freedom for Dartmouth students. To understand this point, simply imagine the reaction were people to protest the "exclusivity" of Casque & Gauntlet or the Symphony Orchestra or Dartmouth itself.
As a private institution, Dartmouth is not obliged to honor our constitutional rights. But it is obliged to abide by its own rules -- and those rules explicitly grant the right of free association. When the College moves against the Greek system, it moves against its own rules and, more importantly, against this bedrock principle itself. One should expect that a private liberal arts institution, in fulfillment of its mission, would grant its students at least as many rights as they are afforded by the Constitution. Dartmouth, and those who carp about the Greek system's "exclusivity" have opted for less. This is a disgrace.
