Most students at Dartmouth are aware of the fact that "Animal House" co-writer Chris Miller was a member of the Class of 1963 at this college, as well as a member of the Alpha Delta fraternity. They also know that many of the situations depicted in the film were loosely based on Miller's experiences as part of a fraternity here at Dartmouth. With over half the campus involved in the Greek system, association with the film is probably a source of pride for the average Dartmouth party-goer.
The College, however, seems to be more ashamed of this reputation than anything else. The consistent attacks on the Greek system are indicative of a disdain for everything that "Animal House" represents. If there is one thing that detractors of the system should know by now, it is that the "rageyness" that characterizes our isolated campus is not something that can be mitigated by legislation, probation or arbitrary sanctions.
We are currently in a situation where a third of the Greek houses on campus are on probation, mostly due to keg violations. As a member of the Greek system, I can confidently assert that the College's banning of unregistered kegs is an outrageously misguided policy. Of course, the fact that a majority of the Greek leaders on campus would agree with me is irrelevant, because, as is often the case with student -administration interactions, our point of view is grossly undervalued, no matter how logical it is. Not wanting to come off as your typical pro-frat lunatic, I will point out a few reasons why the keg policy is ridiculous.
Let me start by saying that cans of beer are almost exclusively the source of alcohol at "unregistered social events" here on campus. Empty cans are simply mixed in with other garbage rather than recycled. One would think that as an environmentally-conscious campus, Dartmouth would have to have a good reason not to address such flagrant environmental recklessness. However, this seems not to be the case.
The College thinks that if we use cans instead of kegs we will drink less. They are mistaken. In all honesty, it would be almost physically impossible to drink more than we already do. We just have to pay more to buy cans rather than kegs, because the College thinks that kegs contribute too much to a "party atmosphere" and that there will be pressure on houses to finish them in a night. I don't know how to respond to that erroneous statement other than to say it is simply not true. In a perfect world, all houses would have keg refrigerators, anyway, which could keep kegs cold enough to be consumed at a moderate pace. Furthermore, the claim that kegs create a party atmosphere might simply be due to the fact that fraternities are only allowed kegs when they are having a party.
Perhaps the most baffling aspect of the College's keg policy is the issue of accountability that Greek administrators repeatedly try to instill in the Greek system. The most important issue regarding alcohol consumption on this campus is alcohol distribution. This seems like an easy problem to solve. There just needs to be a centralized alcohol distribution point from which we can see whom we are serving. We could set up a bar, with a keg behind it, right? Wrong. Not only are we not allowed to have kegs, we are also not allowed to have bars. Usually, cases just get left out for people to take cans from as they see fit, which is probably the most dangerous means of distribution anyone could fathom, short of everyone being required to drop a "quick six" upon entering the basement.
The main problem here is systematic misinformation. The College wants to turn a blind eye to what goes on inside the walls of fraternities, but at the same time, there is political pressure on the administration to downplay the "Animal House" drinking image that Dartmouth has earned. Conversely, while fraternities want to create a jovial social atmosphere, they need to engage in an often absurd song-and-dance routine with the College to satisfy their concerns about accountability, and so that they can continue to try and downplay Dartmouth's image as the "ragey Ivy." The misguided keg policy is symptomatic of a lack of honest communication between the College and its students. The truth is, banning kegs doesn't make the campus safer -- it just makes us drink beer out of cans instead. I am not suggesting that Dartmouth embrace its image as an "Animal House," but as far as taking steps that actually benefit the Greek system and the campus on the whole, in many ways the administration is barking up the wrong tree.
