Since hordes of prospective '06s descended upon Hanover this past weekend, it is worth examining how the College was advertised to them in our admissions literature. With many accepted applicants choosing among several institutions, the need for accurate and enticing information about the uniqueness of Dartmouth is paramount. The publications were generally fascinating and accurate, but with respect to student life they painted a portrait that was, at best, misleading.
To determine how well our College was being sold to potential '06s, I obtained every piece of literature the Admissions Office makes available to incoming students, parents and guidance counselors. The prospectus, a five-part booklet seen by over 80,000 potential applicants, was the most comprehensive of the publications.
There was much that Dartmouth did well in its literature. The publications concerning various racial groups seemed like a good way to increase diversity. The discussion of DOC Trips highlighted a popular introduction to Dartmouth. With respect to the history of the College, the myriad academic opportunities open to students and the admissions process, the prospectus was accurate and informative. In discussion of Dartmouth's social life, it was not.
I am not so nave as to suggest that Greek life will ever be given coverage in the prospectus commensurate with its popularity. But to omit coverage of a group of organizations that encompass approximately half of the eligible study body is highly questionable. The omission becomes even more egregious when one considers the groups that were named as contributors to Dartmouth student life. The Sports Weekly, the defunct publication that has been absorbed by The Dartmouth, got a mention. So did the Hellenic Society, which was the closest the prospectus came to mentioning Greek life; the society is a group for persons of Greek heritage and plays a marginal role in Dartmouth campus life. In the prospectus, groups with marginal membership receive coverage while groups whose membership is orders of magnitude greater do not receive coverage. Such disparity invites prospective students to draw false inferences about what they can expect at Dartmouth.
One of the more interesting sections of the prospectus was that on housing for upper-class students. It states, "Residential facilities include 32 traditional residence halls ten academic and affinity and special interest programs, an apartment complex, a substance-free residence hall, a smoke-free residence hall, a quiet floor and two undergraduate societies." That portrait would be fairly accurate and helpful were it not for one astonishing exception: it omits Greek houses, which house approximately 350 students. It is true that many of these houses are privately owned, but a substantial portion are owned and operated by the College. The five College-owned sororities and two College-owned fraternities, combined, house a greater number of people than almost all of the aforementioned options. Why exclude them from the prospectus?
The student life section of the prospectus is mainly comprised of vignettes about successful students. Of the six students chronicled, none mentioned Greek affiliation. Approximately half of eligible students choose to join Greek organizations at Dartmouth. All of the people chronicled were eligible to have joined a Greek organization. This ratio, zero to six, of Greek to non-Greek profiles, could be due to chance, but, combined with the other sections, it contributes to a misleading picture of Dartmouth student life.
Homes Erased From the Map
While the above omissions are troubling, the most egregious denial of reality occurs on the map of the College in the prospectus. On that map, all campus buildings are pictured, except Greek houses. Could it be that the College decided to omit privately owned student housing from the map? No, it also omitted College-owned sororities and fraternities. Perhaps then the cartographer decided, for spatial reasons, to omit all student housing for a less cluttered map? That is also incorrect, as the map includes all residence halls, even the insignificant North Hall. Did someone decide to omit all social organizations? Again, this cannot be the case, for secret societies, like Dragon and Fire & Skoal, as well as affinity houses, like the Native American House, received recognition. The only organizations erased from the map were residential Greek houses. If this sounds too ridiculous to be true, I urge you to obtain a copy of the prospectus from McNutt and check for yourself.
Whatever the motivation, the cartographer was sloppy in omitting Greek houses from the map. Though every other fraternity and sorority was depicted as no different from an ordinary home in the town of Hanover, Sigma Delta sorority and Alpha Theta Coed Fraternity were named. Either the mapmaker made scores of mistakes in forgetting to include Greek houses, or, more likely, the cartographer was instructed to delete all Greek references from a pre-existing map, and simply overlooked two houses when making the changes.
In fairness, though the map appeared in admissions literature, the admissions office did not create the map. Searching for the author of the map has been quite an odyssey. I was initially referred to the people at the Office of Public Affairs. I inquired about the creation of the map. They did not respond to me. I inquired again. After two days, they emailed me on Friday evening, after all College offices were closed (but strangely, not their office) and informed me that the Facilities Planning office might know who created it. Unfortunately, no one from the office was available over the weekend to answer my questions. My quest continues.
The Future
Improvement is underway. Though the map in the prospectus this year was not comprehensive, future editions will recognize Greek houses. Since the coverage will change in the future, why should people care about omissions this year? The problem is that the prospectus this year gave a warped picture of Dartmouth's student life. The Greek system does not define the Dartmouth experience, but it does substantially contribute to it. While people may differ when making normative judgments about that reality, all accept the underlying premise that Greek houses play a substantial role in social life at Dartmouth. The College need not promote the Greek system if it chooses not to, but to acknowledge its existence in the prospectus section on social life, and to include the houses on a map of Dartmouth, would be a great start. I met with Dean Furstenberg and he assured me that both conditions would be met in the prospectus next year. I look forward to these improvements. Already, the maps given out in McNutt include Greek houses, and the Dartmouth website has links to Greek organizations. This is encouraging.
It is understandable that Dartmouth wants to put on its best face for admissions literature. In this regard, McNutt does many things right. I strongly support Dartmouth's outreach to racial groups that it has not traditionally attracted. The publications designed specifically to encourage diverse people to apply, other than white, heterosexual men from New England prep schools, is likely helpful in achieving the College's goals. The discussion of academic opportunities is excellent. With respect to social life, though, there are vast opportunities for improvement.
The national media has already done a comprehensive job of skewering Dartmouth's Greek system. Why not tell at least part of the other side of the story? Shouldn't students and parents have as much information as possible when they make decisions about where to apply and, more importantly, where to matriculate? If the Student Life Initiative is positive, then why not mention it in the prospectus? Discussing all of the social options available at Dartmouth would not lessen applications from persons not interested in one aspect of the plethora of options.
The less than cursory discussion of Greek life in the prospectus diverges unacceptably from the reality of Dartmouth. The College should have the courage to present a more accurate and balanced picture of student life, while rejecting false or misleading advertising.
