However, one important change has come to campus, and we have all undoubtedly noticed the fresh new faces roaming Webster Ave. as the Greek Leadership Council's freshman ban was lifted on Monday. As first-years begin to explore their newfound freedom in navigating Greek houses on campus, it's time to put one final campus question to rest. Just what exactly did they all do before they could get into fraternities?
The answer varies, but for the most part, they were breathing new life into the term "dorm-hopping."
"There's no out' to go to," Merritt Losert '17 said. "Going out means drinking in you or your friend's dorm, or wandering around campus looking for dorms that are having parties."When asked to describe a typical weekend night, most '17s responded with similar stories.
"Usually people start in dorms, go to Collis to see what's happening, and then end up back in the dorms or at Late Night," Olivia Rosen '17 said.
Terren Klein '17 called the freshman social life "a game of room-hopping, jumping from pregame to pregame without an actual game."
Full disclosure, one of us is actually a '17. In Michelle's experience, news of any remotely promising pregame would travel by word of mouth, but parties were often speedily broken up by Safety and Security, meaning more walking around campus than actually catching anything resembling a larger social function.
The majority of freshmen, however, refused to let the policy kill their good time, and if they couldn't enter frats, they were going to bring the frats to their own rooms. Many noted the overwhelming presence of Russell Sage as the hub of freshman entertainment. With rumors of beirut tournaments and the now infamous story of a male stripper visiting the fourth floor, a select group in the residence have affectionately adopted the name "Rho Sigma."
"Walking through the halls of Russell Sage at 11 p.m., there are herds of people in the hallways just waiting for someone to invite them in," Klein said.
Despite enforcement efforts from both Greek Letter Organizations and Societies and the Greek system itself, it's no secret that some freshmen did spend time in fraternity basements, as well as in parties off-campus and in upperclassmen housing. This was, however, the exception rather than the rule, and it seems that most settled for a combination of Collis events and "pre-gaming for pre-games" as the six-week ban wore on.
When the GLC policy was discussed this spring, it attracted wide debate over its efficacy, feasibility and consequences. Being the first class to actually experience the policy, members of the Class of 2017 agreed that the greatest downsides included what seemed like more dangerous drinking habits, meeting fewer new people and missing out on a quintessential Dartmouth experience.
"It hasn't made me feel excluded, exactly," Neil Kamath '17 said. "I just feel like the ability to explore frats is something that other classes had the opportunity to do, and we haven't been able to do that yet. We've also been restricted to networking with just our class, so we only hang out with people that we already know."
Kamath echoed a major concern, adding that although the ban did help them bond with his classmates, it certainly limited access to upperclassmen, restricting people to their teams or campus groups.
"Unless you're in a specific group, there hasn't been a natural way to socialize with upperclassmen," Klein said.
Many raised doubts on whether the ban was an attempt to protect freshmen during the first six weeks, or to protect fraternities from freshmen who did not yet know how to handle the setting.
No matter the intention, many '17s said they agree that the policy worked much more in favor of protecting fraternities at the cost of promoting high-risk drinking in freshman dorms.
Rosen said she guessed first-years probably still drank as much as they would have if Greek houses were open, and often much more, just in a different setting. Many interviewed reported drinking in short periods of time to avoid their UGAs breaking up parties. Throughout the term, freshmen still got entangled with Safety and Security, Hanover Police and the Good Samaritan policy.
"It helps protect the frats against risky behavior by the freshmen," Losert said. "But it doesn't protect the freshmen from their own risky behavior."
Several members of the Class of 2017 said their social experience without the Greek system was quite boring, and that alternative events sponsored by the College such as Collis After Dark left something to be desired.
"It's definitely getting old," Rosen said. "There are only so many nights you can do this and still have it be fun and exciting."Despite all the speculation and anticipation, most freshmen still had very limited impressions of the Greek system, except that it would finally be welcoming to them when the ban lifted. Monday was met with different emotions, with some freshmen feeling nervous about the new scene, and others simply excited to finally see firsthand what Greek life is really about.
"It's not even really a matter of exclusion, just a matter of mystery," Kamath said. "I feel like it's a good system because compared to a lot of other schools, it's really open, so it actually fosters social inclusivity at Dartmouth. At a lot of other schools, you have to either be a girl, bring a girl or bring alcohol to get in."
The final embers of the Homecoming fire have become another part of Dartmouth history, and the only question left to ask is how next year's Rho Sigma pledge class will handle their first six weeks of life at the College.
