Among the fury of rage and disbelief that followed Police Chief Nicholas Giaccone's announcement ("Stricter alcohol plans outrage Greek orgs.," Feb. 5), some students surely saw a silver lining. I've already heard whispers that the new policy provides the perfect opportunity for our frat-dominated social scene to change. But, those who think that sting operations would catalyze any kind of progressive reform are dead wrong. If ever implemented, Giaccone's new, "delayed" investigative tactics would explode the already-contentious rift between Greek and non-affiliated students, end productive dialogue about our social scene and create a witch-hunt for possible informants.
Anti-Greek critics may choose to cooperate with the police, hoping to end the fraternities' social dominance. This new police policy, however, will not shift the foundation of social life at Dartmouth. If fraternity houses are no longer open to all of campus, then the College will be hard-pressed to continue prohibiting freshmen from rushing. Instead of becoming less prominent, Greek life will constitute an even greater percentage of students. Sting operations will not make Webster Avenue obsolete, but rather they will intensify those qualities that critics already hate: exclusivity, pretentiousness and lack of transparency. Moreover, when a student fears that his or her pong opponent might be an informant, a witch-hunt mentality will surely develop.
Right now, it's unclear who the informants would be Hanover High teenagers, Dartmouth students or local residents. Students would be the most obvious choice; a non-student without a Dartmouth ID would be glaringly obvious when he's put in an unfamiliar basement by himself and starts requesting drinks.
Those students who might choose to help the police and recklessly prosecute Greek houses will not have their identities remain clandestine, no matter what the police department promises them. Our campus is far too small for any kind of secrecy, especially concerning social life. Their names will be known, whether they are blitzed out to campus, posted on Bored@Baker or burned into the Green. If students are used, the Hanover police will be encouraging them to betray their peers, resulting in heavy financial, social and criminal consequences for other students. Don't expect Greek houses' response to be any more civil. This prediction sounds aggressive and threatening; it is by no means meant to be. It's merely recognition that the idea of undercover police informants in our social spaces will create a horribly toxic and suspicious environment.
Such a distrustful social scene would prevent any meaningful discussion about alternative social spaces. Any criticism of Greek life, however innocuous it may be, would be seen as supporting the police's overbearing tactics. Blitz would bleed with wild accusations and sensational rumors. Also, it's highly unlikely that any student inside the Greek system would criticize the system in fear of being unfairly accused of cooperating with the police. Only the most ardent critics outside of Greek life would continue to condemn it, polarizing campus even further. If fraternities are to be improved, it will only come as a result of both outside pressure and willingness from within. Both of those would suffer.
Dartmouth's social scene astonishes me. If I were unaffiliated, I could still walk into any Greek houses' basement at almost any time without knowing any of the brothers, drink a seemingly infinite number of beers for free in a house that I don't pay to maintain or clean, and then leave. The sheer economic nonsensicalness of this surprises me, but even more so I'm impressed by this practice's longevity in the face of relentless criticism. Critics publish articles lambasting fraternities for being havens of heteronormativity, substance abuse, exclusion and sexual assault. Yet, despite this hostility, no fraternity has ever seriously considered closing its doors and excluding those students who attend parties on Friday, and condemn the institutions on Monday.
This openness is a uniquely Dartmouth characteristic that we cannot lose. The system may not be perfect, but anti-Greek students who cooperate with the police to change fraternity culture will ironically only exacerbate current problems. Regardless of what we do, though, it's imperative that College President Jim Yong Kim make good on his promise and work with us to maintain our wonderfully open social scene. If he isn't up to the challenge, we might just tell him to find another Ivy League school, but such a disrespectful, patronizing, inane comment like that is no way to approach the situation.
