While the role of Dartmouth's Greek system has been the subject of perennial debate at the College, leaders in the College's Greek system told The Dartmouth this week that, in recent months, they have sought to step up efforts to address the public image of Greek organizations, attempting to expand outreach efforts and combat stereotypes.
In a September interview with The Dartmouth, College President Jim Yong Kim said that the College's Greek organizations have a "public relations problem."
While the Dartmouth Greek system is an important aspect of the College's social system, prospective students more often view Greek life neutrally or negatively than positively, Kim said in an interview with The Dartmouth at that time.
"I don't think that the current image of Dartmouth College out there reflects in any way what Dartmouth College is, and I think it's on the negative side," Kim said. "It's very high on my list to change that, and I think giving people a completely different way of thinking about the Greek system is a way to do that."
That negative perception of the College's Greek system has been perhaps a particular point of dialogue this fall: controversy surrounding this term's sorority rush, which left many across campus concerned with the process' efficacy, as well as columns published by Matthew Ritger '10 in The Dartmouth Mirror that chronicled incidents of abuse and sexual assault which Ritger said are abetted by the Greek system have drawn the public image of the College's Greek system into the spotlight.
Ritger's articles have drawn both praise and criticism across campus for their portrayal of the College's Greek system, some of which has been featured on a blog Ritger has established, entitled "Change:Dartmouth."
Assistant director for the Center for Women and Gender Megan Fallon, who advises Kappa Delta Epsilon sorority, said in an interview that Ritger's criticisms bring up "substantive problems" that should be addressed in conversations with affiliated students.
"I think the biggest problem that I hear about is that there are not enough safe social spaces on this campus," Fallon said. "There needs to be some systematic change that happens that makes these spaces better."
Fallon, in an e-mail sent earlier this term to other Greek organization advisers obtained by The Dartmouth, also raised concerns about Greek organizations' e-mail party invitations, some of which included language that she said could be considered derogatory to minority groups.
Fallon told The Dartmouth this week that the Greek community must discuss the aspects of its culture that contribute to a negative image.
Promoting communication among Greek organizations has always been a major task of the Inter-Fraternity Council, IFC President Zachary Gottlieb '10 said. Gottlieb is a staff columnist for The Dartmouth.
People often think that concerns about the Greek system fall on deaf ears because problems have persisted for so long, Gottlieb said.
Gottlieb said he is working to address the Greek system's "systemic" problems.
The IFC is also working to expand its outreach efforts to change perceptions of the Greek system, Gottlieb said. The council sponsored a Greek orientation event to increase communication with freshmen in attempt to make them more comfortable with campus social spaces, Gottlieb said. The IFC has also sought to increase communication with faculty and administrators, partly by expanding joint events between affiliated students and faculty members, he said.
"We're definitely looking to do more outreach to groups on campus," Gottlieb said. "[Image] is a big part of any organization, so it's not something that we let lie fallow."
The Panhellenic Council has also recently worked to improve its communication and outreach, Panhell President Amaka Nneji '10 said. Nneji created a new position, vice president of public relations, to reach out to other Greek organizations and to serve as a "go-to person" to whom people can express concerns, she said.
Panhell has also worked to combat stereotypes about specific houses in response to concerns raised during this year's sorority rush, Nneji said. Panhell has attempted to process student input about rush, while also pushing students to examine their biases about sororities and "foster sisterhood" among Greek organizations, she said.
"We're really making a concerted effort to have more cosponsorship events between sororities that may not interact," Nneji said.
Part of the negative public image of the Dartmouth Greek system stems from a perception that it is monolithic, said Fouad Saleet, associate director of coed, fraternities and sororities administration. The Greek system should instead be viewed as a compilation of hundreds of individuals, each with his or her own idea of what Greek life entails, he said.
The actions of some involved students, who see Greek life as an opportunity for escape and engage in "extremely negative criminal acts," can harm the image of all Greek organizations and have a lingering effect on the organizations' overall reputations, Saleet said.
Working with organizations to address the behavior of these students is the best way to improve the system's image, Saleet said.
Affiliated students should not be forced to present a particular public image, but instead should refine their own plans for improving their organizations, several advisers for Greek organizations and administrators said in interviews with The Dartmouth.
"From our office, there's not some grand, master scheme," Saleet said. "We're not pulling puppet strings. We're trying to help the people who are out there, wanting to make these things happen, and we're trying to give them the support they need,"
When alumni from Beta Theta Pi began preparing for re-recognition an effort that would lead to the eventual recognition of Beta Alpha Omega fraternity they faced an uphill battle to overcome the "image of a 1996 Beta" that had sparked protest and outrage, Beta President Tony Pastoors '10 said.
Beta's relationship with other campus Greek organizations has improved drastically since it began the re-recognition process, even though fraternity members have not worked specifically toward image improvement, Pastoors said.
"We can say whatever we want ... but it's the guys in the house itself that do the best to help the image," Pastoors said. "The guys that have joined Beta, and the things they do outside of Beta, speaks very highly of who they are and what they're about, and what the house is about."
Affiliated students often do not feel a need to tout their accomplishments to influence others' perceptions of their organization, Alpha Delta fraternity adviser John Engelman '68 said, noting that AD publishes a report for College administrators and alumni that discusses members' academic accomplishments and community service work.
Engelman acknowledged that the public often perceives Greek organizations' community service efforts as "a cynical attempt to paint a good picture" of fraternities, but said he does not believe that such efforts are meant to boost these organizations' image.
"I think more telling is that the individuals in the house choose their own community service projects, and they don't do it to burnish their image," he said. "They do it to make them feel good because they feel it's important to give back to the community."
The College does not require Greek organizations to participate in fundraising or community service, Saleet said.
Greek organizations recognize that community service has a positive effect on their public image, but the main benefit is service itself, Alpha Theta coed fraternity adviser Geoff Bronner '91 said.
"Ideally, an organization is doing something because they think it's worth doing, first and foremost," Bronner said. "Good community service can't compensate for problems in other places."
