I confess to being slightly amused -- and more than a little bit confused -- by the strong emotions that "Frat Free Friday" aroused among some students this past week.
The event's organizer told The Dartmouth that she was sure it would "incite some retaliation from the fraternities," as though we were talking about an assassination or a territorial grab rather than a series of gatherings.
Sure enough, though, she turned out to be right. In the same article ("'Frat Free Friday' sparks discussion among Greeks," Feb. 20) a fraternity president fired back, stating that the event "was poorly publicized, lacked any discernible ethos, was based on threats, bribes and peer pressure, and seemed to be simply an avenue for promoting a party." Zing!
That comment didn't sit well either. One letter writer ("Setting the Record Straight on 'Frat Free Friday,'" Feb. 22) shot back: "While fraternities do in fact tend to dominate the social scene, the whole Dartmouth Greek and College community must work together to help promote alternate social spaces and make designated female spaces an acceptable alternative. There are three local sororities on campus whose basements are open to play pong every night. [...] But, until these spaces are seen as an acceptable stop on the 'social circuit' at all times, no Greek alternative to fraternities exists."
Many commentators suggested that "Frat Free Friday" would provoke a helpful discussion about gender issues at Dartmouth, but few mentioned just what form those discussions might take. One writer who did explicitly tackle the subject ("Sexual Assault: The Culture of Protection," Feb. 28) didn't pull any punches: "Let's not avoid talking about fraternities and their connection with sexual assault and rape at Dartmouth. Fraternities are not value-neutral; they are communities that can create and maintain a culture that involves the objectification of women and sex."
With all due respect, I believe that both the supporters and opponents of "Frat Free Friday" are missing the larger point: no one is served by a Balkanization of the campus along gender lines. For students concerned about the single-sex nature of much of Dartmouth's social scene, the solution isn't to boycott fraternities or to promote "designated female spaces" nor to reflexively attack any attempt to encourage people to explore beyond the usual stops on Webster Avenue. Rather, I think the most desirable goal is to promote spaces that are welcoming to students of both genders.
Men and women, having a good time together while respecting each other -- what a radical idea. After all, it's a coed world we live in, so it might be good to brush-up on the basics of peaceful co-existence while we're still in college.
Nor is the idea of coed social life anathema at a College where the Greek system dominates the social scene. After all, the qualities and values which give a good Greek organization its strength -- friendship, loyalty, siblinghood and respect -- aren't the property of any one gender. That both men and women can come together to support and embrace these values is demonstrated each and every week at Dartmouth's coed Greek houses: Alpha Theta, Phi Tau and The Tabard.
That's why I find the fact that both proponents and opponents of "Frat Free Friday" have entirely overlooked the existence of coed Greek houses so amazing and why I find statements to the effect of "no Greek alternative to fraternities exists" so frustrating.
After all, Alpha Theta is open Friday night, along with the dozens of other events that coed houses host each term, are exactly the kind of alternative social options desired. Students who complain about the paucity of "alternative social spaces" without even noting the existence of Dartmouth's vibrant coed organizations are doing themselves and others a disservice.
While I don't claim that coed fraternities -- or any Greek houses, for that matter -- are for everyone, I do believe that many students who may not have felt at home within single-sex houses will find that the feel welcome and accepted inside a coed Greek house.
So, rather than being so quick to draw gender lines across campus, I'd encourage Dartmouth students to remember that men and women can live and learn together, even within the Greek system. Instead of fighting for party-goers, we ought to be working together to make sure that all students can feel comfortable in all of Dartmouth's Greek houses.
