To the Editor:
While I believe in freedom of the press, I also believe that the press has a responsibility to provide the community it serves with fair, impartial and thorough coverage. I applaud The Dartmouth for its efforts to report the re-recognition of Phi Delta Alpha; clearly the event was of much importance to the students and alumni (The Dartmouth, "Phi Delt regains fraternity status," May 19). However, I believe that The Dartmouth acted in an ignorant and autocratic manner while committing an injustice to both its readers and the Dartmouth population in disregarding the greater context of the announcement.
The Order of Omega, Dartmouth's Greek honor society, gathered delegates from nearly all of the Coed, Fraternity and Sorority organizations on campus to appropriately draw attention to the many good works of the Greek community -- philanthropy, inclusiveness, scholarship, accountability and leadership. By covering only the recognition of a previously banned organization, The Dartmouth played into the hands of every individual who chooses to think of Greek life as pandering to alcoholic, out-of-control partying and immature students engaged in mindless pursuits. In closing your eyes and overlooking the achievements of the Greeks, who represent 52 percent of eligible students at Dartmouth, you perpetuate the negative myths and stereotypes surrounding CFS organizations. In selectively reporting off-putting incidents and discounting successes pertaining to Greeks, The Dartmouth propagates the ancient reputation of CFS organizations existing only for social purposes.
To set the record straight and to provide The Dartmouth's readers with the truth, let me set forth just a few of the achievements of Greek organizations that were honored by the Order of Omega: Seven organizations were given outstanding community service awards for organizing activities such as the 5K Breast Cancer Walk, SAT tutoring and Special Olympics. One sorority donated over $9,800 and 2,800 hours of their time to local charities. Six organizations received honors for their efforts at inclusiveness and brotherhood. Multiple individuals were celebrated for establishing programs and associations directed towards leadership, academics and conscientiousness.
These are not sensational but they would be newsworthy if our campus newspaper presented news in a fair, balanced and unbiased manner. I challenge The Dartmouth to provide as much coverage to the accomplishments of Greek organizations as it does to dredging up poor behaviors from the past and their consequences. If The Dartmouth wants to be known as a news institution representative of campus and student life it has to cover all events. I ask that in the future America's oldest college newspaper report the triumphs and talents of the Greek community both in the interest of acting as a responsible information agency, but also to embrace one of Dartmouth's oldest and most prominent legacies.
