On Monday night, the Greek Leadership Council passed two changes to their code of standards and greater bylaws, banning Greek houses from displaying the Dartmouth Indian head. While the council’s code of standards had previously forbidden houses from engaging in acts of cultural appropriation, the new rule explicitly mentions displaying the Dartmouth Indian head as a violation.
Parties who see the Dartmouth Indian on display at a Greek house, or those who otherwise feel Greek houses are engaging in cultural appropriation, can make a complaint to the Greek Board on Accountability, GBA chair Taylor Watson ’16 said. Houses found in violation of the new rule by the GBA will be required to pay a fine, the monies of which will be given to an organization or event agreed upon by the GBA and offended party or individual.
The new rules apply to organizational, public displays of the Dartmouth Indian head, Watson said, not to individuals who choose to display the symbol. For example, an individual in a Greek house who chooses to wear a shirt displaying the Dartmouth Indian has a free speech right to wear that shirt, but if that shirt also encourages students to rush that house, it would be considered a violation, he said. Similarly, those who live in Greek houses can choose to decorate their own rooms as they wish, but the house cannot make public displays showing the Dartmouth Indian, such as a pong table.
The change was passed in part as a response to the display last term of a pong table stolen from Theta Delta Chi fraternity displaying the Dartmouth Indian head, Watson said. Other groups had also expressed complaints about Greek houses displaying the symbol, he said. While many of these changes were written last fall, the amendments were not passed until now because additional reforms to the structure of the GBA needed to be made first, Watson said.
The GBA was originally proposed by GLC members of the Classes of 2014 and 2015 to give the GLC increased ability to enforce its policies over its constituent houses, Watson said. It can adjudicate issues involving Greek houses in a trial-like fashion and impose penalties, such as financial payments or mandatory community service.
However, some GLC members of the Class of 2016 had issues with the organizational structure of the GBA, which necessitated a reworking of the body’s structure, Watson said. Under the current system, complaints about Greek houses can be made to a full-time accountability chair, who will then formally discuss these events at the next GLC meeting. At that time, members of the GLC executive board can elect to serve on the GBA to adjudicate that particular case, he said.
Because these changes to the GBA’s structure were not made until last fall, the changes to the GLC’s code of standards and bylaws about the Dartmouth Indian were postponed until the winter, Watson said.
Gender Inclusive Greek Council president Veri di Suvero ’16 supported the changes to the GLC’s rules, and said they were a great first step in promoting greater inclusivity and awareness within Greek houses.
“This is [a rule] I would hope the entire community would want to be accountable for, especially because it helps foster inclusivity among houses and among people who are in these houses,” she said.
Last fall, the GIGC passed a resolution almost identical to the one passed by the GLC, di Suvero said. These amendments were passed along to the GLC around the fourth week of the fall term.
The GIGC also plans to discuss updating its rules to grant anonymity to those who choose to make accusations, di Suvero said, citing fears of harassment or retribution for students who choose to speak out. She said she would like to see the GLC make similar changes to their own rules.
The changes are a positive step in helping ensure students feel safe in Greek basements, Native Americans at Dartmouth historian Bridget-Kate Sixkiller McNulty ’16 said. Noting she was speaking only for herself and not for NAD as a whole, she said that she was glad to see concrete steps being taken to contain racist imagery on campus.
“Students should feel welcome and safe wherever they are on campus,” she said.
Sadie Red Eagle ’19 said that she thought the GLC handled making the changes well and had a strong connection with the NAD community as they worked to make their decision. The rules strike a good balance between leniency and harshness, she said. One improvement could be setting a consistent amount for financial penalties, she said.
Other campus events have also sparked increased dialogue about what role and place, if any, the Dartmouth Indian should have on campus. Last fall, on the federal holiday of Columbus Day, an anonymous group of students distributed flyers encouraging students to buy “vintage” apparel featuring the Dartmouth Indian. At the time, 56 Native American high school seniors from across the country were at Dartmouth visiting the campus as part of the Native American Community program. This incident and others like it demonstrate the necessity of campus-wide rules against the Dartmouth Indian, Red Eagle said.
