As both a woman of Dartmouth and an active, dedicated sister of Alpha Xi Delta sorority, I feel there are many points from Friday's article ("Beta seizes house from AZD," Jan. 11) that need to be expanded upon.
First, in no way has AZD accepted the offer of a seven-person (or fewer) house on South Park Street as our new physical plant. The College proposes moving a sorority of over a hundred women inhabiting a 21-bed mansion on Webster Avenue to a seven-bed house on the outer edge of campus as the campus expands in the opposite direction.
Ignoring the obvious size issue, the proposed location would eliminate a central, beneficial female space on campus. Proposing this location as an acceptable solution is ridiculous and demeaning. I take it as an insult to the achievements of women at Dartmouth to shove such a strong organization of women into a location of such obscurity.
The College's dealings in relation to the reinstatement of Beta Theta Pi Fraternity are equally objectionable. I cannot officially speak for AZD, but I know that we do not fault Beta for wishing to return to their house; they have every right to do so.
After ten years of calling the Beta house our home, however, I personally would have expected more advance notice of our having to leave, as it is clear that this plan has been in the works for some time.
It is no secret that Beta's alumni are incredibly well connected, influential -- and wealthy.The College has blatantly broken its own rules, with the only apparent motivation being to cater to the wishes of those considering donating huge sums to the College's endowment. The administration should be ashamed of this flagrant violation of its own policy in the interest of its bank account.
As referenced in Friday's article, the rules clearly state that no new local fraternities or sororities are permitted -- a rule that was exercised when the founders of Alpha Phi were not allowed to consider even temporarily becoming a local sorority while deciding what national organization to identify with. The College's explanation of allowing Beta to come back as a local as long as they are working towards rejoining their national organization is both infuriating and absurd. Beta National has become a dry organization and will not admit new chapters that condone alcohol consumption. I think we all know a Dartmouth chapter of Beta would not be dry, and therefore will not rejoin their national organization anytime in the foreseeable future.
The national website has no mention of Dartmouth College among their new chapter sites, nor have we any reason to believe that Beta Theta Pi National wishes to see the reinstatement of a Dartmouth chapter. The claim that the Beta alumni supporting rerecognition would consider joining a different national organization if Beta National doesn't recognize them is equally hard to believe. Why would Beta alumni fight for a decade to come back, only to be replaced by some other fraternity?
The College claims to be working towards improving gender equality at Dartmouth. We need more female social spaces in central locations on this campus.
Once Zeta Psi and Beta return, there will be 15 fraternities with houses on campus, and, at most, seven sororities with houses (with only three capable of serving alcohol).
It's time for the administration to do something tangible for the women of Dartmouth. There are no Webster Avenue mansions available for sale, and Hanover zoning laws prevent more than 8 unrelated people living in one house even if there were something suitable for sale.
The only option for a reasonable new female social space would have to come from the College.
Despite the College's unacceptable treatment of the situation thus far, I believe the women of Dartmouth and Alpha Xi Delta are willing to work with the College to find an equitable solution and make progress towards expanding centralized social spaces and the status of women on this campus.
After 35 years, I hope the College will finally take this opportunity to finally show its commitment to the women of this institution.
