In the aftermath of the recent hazing scandal, administrators have been working to change some of the common practices among Greek organizations and other student groups that fall under the College's definition of hazing. However, it's time that students themselves step up to take ownership of this issue. We need to look at the traditions that we as a College hold so dear and reassess which ones add value to our community and which detract. Changes that protect the health and safety of all students without severing our ties to this school's great history will only come when we can collectively decide what builds us into the people we hope to be and what distracts us from that goal.
As much as it may try, the administration will likely be unable to substantially change or eradicate the harmful traditions of many groups on campus. Any sort of immediate attempt by the College to dramatically alter the Greek system would likely just drive dangerous student activities underground, where less help from experts and college officials is available. The stricter rules regarding hazing and harsher punishments for violators enacted by the College will likely make little progress toward changing dangerous behavior, because students view such policies as unfair or overbearing. As much as the College would like to maintain close control over dangerous activities going on around campus, that goal may never be achieved.
Instead, Dartmouth students need to take this issue seriously and apply it to their own experiences. Andrew Lohse's column in January ("Telling the Truth," Jan. 25) and his leaked book proposal disgust and annoy many members of our community with their lies and stereotypes about Dartmouth students. Lohse has painted a portrait of the Dartmouth fraternity brother as someone who is heartless and inhumane. He clearly hopes to make headlines and sell books through sensational passages and untrue stereotypes. Lohse claimed to have published his initial article in the hopes of reforming the Greek system by criticizing the administration's inadequate response to rampant hazing at the College. But if he were hoping to make real change, he should have directed his wake-up call at students.
Ultimately, students are the ones who can make a change in the way that student groups conduct themselves. If enough members of a fraternity or a sports team ask themselves, "What value do we get from these activities?" and find the answer to be inadequate, they need to change that tradition. It may not be easy, but it has to be done if we hope to build positive social experiences. We need to be realistic about what traditions require reform. It's not worth our time debating whether or not the Homecoming bonfire or First-Year Trips are hazing while dangerous, illegal activities continue in fraternity basements and dorm rooms. We need to look at how we treat our freshmen and our rookie sports players as well as our pledges. Look at the organizations you are a part of and ask what the true values of your traditions are. There are plenty of fraternities that make their new members engage in needless, time-consuming tasks that create no meaningful connections between the house and its pledges. Some sports teams engage in days during which the only clear objective is to single out new members and treat them as inferiors. These traditions need not and should not carry on.
Andrew Lohse may have succeeded in appealing to a sensationalistic national audience in his column, but by doing so in the way he did, he turned off much of the student body. Whenever Lohse's name is mentioned around campus, it seems that the knee-jerk reaction is one of disapproval or disengagement. But that isn't the way we should respond. This debate isn't about Andrew Lohse. We need to focus on the real issue. There are problems with the Greek system and with hazing at Dartmouth. But some of the best men and women I know are happy members of fraternities and sororities. Before the College acts, we as students ought to identify what should and should not be a part of the Dartmouth experience and respond accordingly.
