The Interfraternity Council initially threatened to boycott the open house based on a belief that they should have had more influence on the planning process, according to Taylor Holt '09, vice president of recruitment for the IFC. The IFC did not coordinate an organization-wide boycott, however.
"We think that this event really should have been presented to the IFC, [the Panhellenic Council] and the other Greek organizations first as a, 'This is what we would like to do, how do you want us, how can this be your event that we help with,' rather than the other way around," Holt said.
Holt also believed the event was held too soon after Assembly elections. He added that if the event becomes a tradition, he hopes the Assembly will incorporate the Greek governing bodies into the process earlier on, he said.
According to Ruslan Tovbulatov '09, chair of the Assembly's student life committee and a coordinator of the event, Student Body President Molly Bode '09 informed IFC President Anthony Arch '09 of the event's details as soon as they were determined. Tovbulatov added that the possible boycott was an example of IFC's unwillingness to participate in events coordinated by other organizations on campus.
"They consider themselves such an entity on campus," he said. "For them, it's not a priority to be a part of other organizations' events and they really want to be self-promoting."
Tovbulatov said that he believed the planned boycott was also prompted by a feeling among some IFC-member fraternities that they should have been contacted individually by the Assembly. Many fraternities also believed the open house was more appropriate for sororities, he added.
Tovbulatov said the fraternities' opposition to the open house may be based on peer pressure from one fraternity, which he later confirmed was Phi Delta Alpha fraternity. Tovbulatov, a member of Chi Gamma Epsilon fraternity, which was present at the event, sent e-mails to several houses explaining that they would not gain anything by boycotting the event, he said.
Andrew Son '09, the president of Phi Delt, did not return a request for comment by press time.
Not all of the fraternities that declined to participate had the same motivation for skipping the event, Holt said.
"Some houses decided not to show up because they either thought that they didn't feel like they needed to present themselves here for their recruitment process -- they didn't feel like they were reaching the audience they would like," he said. "Also others, I believe, are doing it as a statement to show the power of the Greek system and how when bodies like SA try and do an event, they make sure all the right people are consulted at an early enough stage where it can be shaped the way it needs to be shaped."
Dartmouth's chapter of Beta Theta Pi fraternity, which was derecognized by the college in 1996, was also present at the open house in preparation for its planned return next fall.
"I think anything that we can do to get our name back out there, and we've been gone for ten years, anything we can do to make our presence known is going to help us rush next fall. We want a real diverse group of undergraduates," Jeff Sassorossi '75, a member of Dartmouth Beta and deputy director of the Dartmouth College fund, said. "It was the first time we had a significant number of [freshmen] show up, hopefully this will give us some more exposure because obviously we don't have any undergrads we can put on the table and say here this is what we're all about."
Tovbulatov and Assembly Secretary Jen Argote '10 coordinated the event, which was funded by the Greek Leadership Council. Argote said she experienced less resistance to the event when she approached Panhell.
"Panhell was incredibly cooperative, and all the minority houses were particularly interested in getting themselves out there," Argote said.
Argote is a member of The Dartmouth Senior Staff.
The event allowed all organizations to be presented on an equal playing field, Tovbulatov said, citing Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, Inc. and Alpha Phi sorority as examples of organizations that do not have houses where they can hold rush events.
"[Some fraternities] said they felt it wasn't a proper setting for people to get introduced to their houses," Tovbulatov said. "The argument with that is there's plenty of opportunities for houses to throw Greek events in the IFC, but there's a lot of groups that don't have houses on campus."
Each house that participated in the event presented its organization at tables lining Common Ground. Statements from each of the organizations present were compiled in an informational sheet available for all attendees, Argote said. Argote also obtained a slide show from the Order of Omega that featured each of the Greek houses, and the majority of the organizations present included their own pictures in the slide show.
The event provided a means for students to familiarize themselves with the undergraduate organizations campus, according to Simon Trabelsi '08, vice president of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.
"I'm sure there's a lot of people here that don't know about all the Greek opportunities there are on campus, so that's why it's good to increase awareness and have all the [organizations] here," Trabelsi said.
Event attendee Isaiah Berg '11 said the event allowed him to talk to upperclassmen who are involved in social organizations on campus.
"Of course every system has its flaws, but the over-arching theme is those who find a house that suits them, they wouldn't trade it for anything in the world," Berg said. "I just get a general sense that people are satisfied with their choices and it's a positive experience for them."
