I am glad that fellow Opinion columnist Tom Mandel '11 was able to "find a home" in a Dartmouth fraternity ("Frat Welcome Mat," Oct. 23), particularly because it is the house in which I live. But I also believe that Mandel's attempt at shaping his take on the Greek phenomenon, though more eloquent and thoughtful than most accounts found on these pages, appears to be another Dartmouth-inspired over-intellectualization of the simple stuff in life.
There is a constant struggle against the obvious, so I'll just lay it out plainly: Frats are fun, pledging is fun, and watching others pledge is fun. To reframe the matter: Many people want life to be (among many other things) fun, and several aspects of Greek life are fun for many people. Therefore, joining a house can make one's Dartmouth life more fun.
If you don't think frats are fun, read no further; it is your prerogative to miss out on some fratlightenment, and I won't be offended. I, too, enjoy the merits of dorm parties and pubs, bars and bowling, mini-golf and alternative social spaces -- but I also enjoy several aspects of my fraternity life.
Speaking more directly to Mandel's point, I'll go out on a limb and assert that pledging is fun. I can already hear the cynical voices: "Fun?! Oh yeah, let's have some fun while we work the door at overcrowded Homecoming parties. Fun." My response: Lighten up. Everything is optional. It's just their turn for the fun.
Brian Solomon '11 might not agree with this because of the perceived drinking associated with pledging ("Hazed and Confused," Oct. 20). But one only needs to hear the Dartmouth Aires perform a classic hymnal -- "Son of a Gun For Beer" -- for an explanation that is more accurate than comforting to some. Solomon talks about the "College's high horse" in selectively dealing with issues, but maybe it is he who should throw away the saddle and walk around at field-level: College students always have, do and will drink alcohol. Perhaps pledging at times oversteps its bounds and purposes, but this campus does a strikingly good job of balancing what many others cannot or choose not to do.
I enjoyed most of my pledge process -- when it was "my turn" two years ago -- because I loved the friends I was with and saw the humor in doing things that no one could get away with in the real world. To me, it was a different manifestation of the same adventurous spirit that leads us to welcome freshmen to campus with a group of blue-haired crazy people dressed in flair and rocking out to terrible pop songs and ludicrous getting-to-know-you games. Or the mysterious force that drives us to drink excessively before running around a 35-foot bonfire 112 times in the middle of midterms.
And let's not forget the pleasure of watching others pledge. Young women in fanny-packs? Funny. A 19-year-old break-dancing in the middle of the Green three days a week? Hilarious. The friendships that form when a group of 20 guys in ugly red hats share meals each day? Priceless.
Of course there is, and there should be, fun outside of the Greek system, and any introspective student can easily enumerate the downsides of the balkanizing effects of houses. But my purpose here is merely to state the obvious. Some people join houses for the wrong reasons, but a majority do it because they think that it's fun and that membership in a social community will increase their level of enjoyment while at Dartmouth.
Too often these pages are filled with an us-versus-them mentality that sticks an unnecessary wedge into any constructive dialogue about the reasons for -- or merits of -- Greek life. (For example, I will likely be [re]labeled as some variety of "a frat guy" by merely writing this column.) That sort of polarized debate obscures the truth and leaves little room for more important things, like the pursuit of happiness.
To the 581 "new members" on campus this term: Have fun. Because in the real world, you can't wear "tackies" out on Wednesdays, nor can you guarantee yourself an "A" with an extra hour of studying. And in the real world, you won't be able to "Salty-Dog Rag," especially if your hair is green.
