Alpha Delta fraternity hosted a student debate Wednesday evening that addressed the role Greek organizations play in sexual assault.
The forum, titled "B*tches in the Basement," included a panel of six Dartmouth students who spoke in front of a standing-room-only crowd. A majority of the discussion centered on the relationship of sexual assaults and fraternities.
The debate was moderated by Susan Gordon '06, and the panel consisted of Michael Guzman '06, Lauren Bennett '08, Alec Hufnagel '06, Liz Allen '06, Paul Heintz '06, Deborah Wassel '07, Michelle Davis '07 and Raphael Clarke '06.
Heintz is a member of The Dartmouth staff.
The debate began with members of the panel giving brief statements about their views on sexual assault and what relationship they felt it had with the Greek social scene.
In his opening statement, Guzman, president of the Tabard coed fraternity, said fraternities create tightly knit social environments, which can stifle discussion of difficult topics.
"It's much more difficult to approach someone when you're in a family," he said. "It's much more difficult to say, 'Hey, that's not okay.'"
Hufnagel, a member of Theta Delta Chi fraternity, said sexual assaults are not caused by fraternities.
"Sexual assault is more a product of society and not of frat basements," he said. "Because parties happen at frats, rumors spread that these things are happening because of frats."
Allen, a member of Sigma Delta sorority and the panelist in charge of naming the debate, warned the audience about the inherent dangers that come in a "male-centric, misogynistic" social scene.
"I think frats cause sexual assault and perpetuate it. There's a frat-boy culture that people feel allegiance to," she said.
Heintz, a member of AD, disagreed with the idea that fraternities are directly responsible for sexual assault.
"I don't believe frats cause sexual abuse, but I do believe they fail to prevent it," he said.
Heintz cited statistics that claim one in four female college students are raped before they graduate, and that one in 10 of those rapes happen in fraternities.
Clarke, a member of Phi Delta Alpha fraternity, blamed the prevalence of sexual assault at Dartmouth on a universal culture of excess. He stated that hard drinking and poor decision-making can easily combine for disastrous results.
After all of the members had concluded their opening statements, the forum was opened for questions from the audience. One audience member asked the panel what they thought of the program title.
Guzman responded that he took issue with the way the title portrayed women.
"It's still a problem for me because it's putting women on a scale that's inferior to men," he said.
Adam Michaelson '06 thought the program a successful event in the sense that it helped start a dialogue on a difficult issue.
"Although the conversation covered more points than I was expecting, the best part of the program was that people left and talked about it," he said.
