I spent the weekend of Dimensions of Dartmouth collecting signatures for a petition articulating the concerns that many prospective students and their parents have regarding Greek life on campus ("Petition circulates to prospective students," April 24). As I collected signatures, I had the opportunity to speak with parents of prospective students, who overwhelmingly expressed serious concerns about Greek life. They asked me questions about the Rolling Stone article: Is it true? Do you have to join a fraternity or sorority? Is the social pressure really that bad?
When I approached one parent to ask for his petition signature at a reception Friday evening, we ended up talking for about 20 minutes. He told me Dartmouth was his son's first choice, but the Rolling Stone article had raised serious doubts. Yet he said he didn't want his son to turn down an Ivy League education. After talking for a while, he signed the petition and we parted ways. Saturday afternoon, I saw him again at a panel about social life on campus, featuring Dean of the College Charlotte Johnson. He came up to me and told me he had decided not to let his son come to Dartmouth.
Three other parents approached me after the panel to ask my opinion. One mother said that the panel did not assuage her fears. "The number one concern for parents in addition to education is safety," she said.
In her recent email addressed to members of the Dartmouth community, Associate Dean of Campus Life April Thompson said, "I look forward to continuing the conversation and hearing from you about how we can work together to make Dartmouth even better." There are students who want structural changes to the Greek system. The reality is that sexual assault, hazing and alcohol abuse problems can only be adequately addressed through an honest engagement with the structural organization of our community. Greek organizations are glorified at Dartmouth because of their social power and economic influence. Exclusive, male-owned clubs control the majority of social spaces on campus. When acts of abuse occur, including hazing and sexual assault, they are seen as isolated events and handled internally if talked about at all.
Holding individuals and organizations accountable is crucial but not singularly important in changing the worst parts of Dartmouth culture. When students are incentivized to join organizations that perpetuate violence, there is a much bigger problem. As we brainstorm solutions, let us put all our options on the table, including abolishing the Greek system and changing it to a residential housing community. Let us think about making all houses coed. Let us think about keeping the Greek system intact but making membership open to all. Let us think about abolishing pledge terms altogether.
The administration needs to make a firm commitment to reduce hazing, sexual assault and alcohol abuse at Dartmouth, and doing so will require reducing the Greek system's dominance of social life on campus. Together, we need to create a larger, integrated community that is not prey to the social fragmentation inherent to the Greek system. In addition to facilitating alcohol abuse and various forms of violence, the dominance of the Greek system stifles the creation of social spaces that are more in line with the academic values of this institution and that may be desirable to others, including a diverse contingent of prospective students. I am not necessarily advocating for the abolishment of the Greek system, but I am saying that its preponderance has to stop.
In an interview with The Boston Globe, soon-to-be former College President Jim Yong Kim said he had not realized the difficulty of the problems involving student life. It is time to either let prospective parents and students know how difficult the problem is or to substantially change the problem so that they feel comfortable sending their children here.
It would be interesting to see how the recent media attention on hazing at Dartmouth will affect enrollment. If the problems facing Greek life are deterring the best students from coming to our school, real discussion focused on structural change is crucial. A speaker at Take Back the Night asked the audience two important questions: Can we envision a Dartmouth that does not glorify violence? Is it really that hard to let go of a broken past?
