To the Editor:
In yesterday's paper, women's and gender studies chair Ivy Schweitzer made comments about the "dark side" of Greek life at Dartmouth ("After protest, Dartmouth community members look forward," May 1). She blamed groupthink for reducing me, a member of a Greek house, to my "lowest common denominator." I find this analysis so presumptuous and insulting that I am compelled to respond.
First, professor Schweitzer implies that a "groupthink" problem is specific to Greek houses. I challenge anyone to find a social group that does not cause its members to think about similar topics or think in similar ways on some level. This phenomenon is not a unique product of Greek life.
"Groupthink" is not a neutral concept; it connotes vapid and erroneous thoughts. It suggests that my brothers and I thought properly at one point, but now our thought processes are corrupted, perhaps even broken.
I consider myself an independent thinker, and I would say the same about my brothers. We constantly challenge each other's ideas, and our discourse lets all of us think more clearly. Even the Dimensions protest has proved to be a divisive issue that spawns discussion in my house.
Finally, I resent being told that I have been reduced to some "lowest common denominator." What that denominator is remains unclear, but the slur is obvious. I resent being told whether my progress as an individual is moving in the "correct" direction, and I question anyone's ability to attribute that progress to any one factor.
