On Wednesday, July 15, President Jim Yong Kim met with the current leaders of Greek organizations on campus at a Greek Leadership Council meeting. This in itself represents a commendable deviation from previous administrations' initial approaches to the Greek system.
The most salient of these, perhaps, was the Student Life Initiative enacted during former President James Wright's administration perceived by many fraternity and sorority advocates as an attempt to weaken or do away with the traditional single-sex Greek system. The SLI eventually gained support, but Wright's relationship with the Greek system had already suffered. In his first weeks, however, Kim has lead us to believe that he is willing to work within the system, and particularly that he acknowledges that alcohol is largely an unchangeable aspect of Greek life.
Kim has paid close attention to the positive functions of Greek organizations, from academic performance and community service to cultural events. We applaud his choice to enhance these aspects of campus Greek life, even as he addresses issues surrounding Greek houses and alcohol but this overhaul could take years to implement, and there are some adjustments that could be quickly instated to drastically improve the Greek System.
First, clean up and enact the Alcohol Management Program, the replacement for Social Events Management Policies, the College's alcohol policy. Implementing budget cuts has understandably stalled progress on this policy, and has allowed the College time to obtain worthwhile student feedback in the interim. SEMP is outdated and does not acknowledge the realities of the Greek system. AMP rightly eliminates the designation between types of events, incorporates student suggestions on keg usage and will institute new safety procedures at formals, but still needs revisions. Greek houses must be able to register events on the fly, and the proviso requiring registration and subsequent supervision of all events with over 30 people must also change. Many events particularly weekly house meetings do not warrant safety supervision and will only serve to divert resources from Safety and Security's more important duties.
Second, improve the Good Sam policy. Currently, there is a direct correlation between getting help and getting arrested. As long as this is the case, students will continue to hesitate unnecessarily over picking up the phone when a friend is intoxicated to the point of needing medical attention, which may very well lead to disastrous consequences. But extending hours at Dick's House could solve the problem; a private ambulance could be hired, or purchased. The solutions we can agree on should be implemented without delay.
Third, follow Wright's lead on the Amethyst Initiative. Wright gave the Amethyst Initiative the support of a respected educator, the only Ivy League president with enough foresight to do so. Kim's status as a global health leader would give the Amethyst Initiative a new level of credibility, simultaneously helping the country and solving many problems on campus.
Kim has said he will not implement many of his over-arching policies until he has a better understanding of Dartmouth culture. This shows respect for the College's idiosyncrasies, but it does not obviate the need to change time-sensitive policies. These fixes are needed in the short term and can mark the beginning of a positive relationship between Kim and Greek organizations.
