I want to begin not as the president of the Intersorority Council, but as a woman who lives in a College-owned Greek house.
I do not consent to being recorded in my own home. My home is where I work, call my family and feel safe. Privacy means I choose what I share and with whom. No one asked if I was willing to give that up. The College has decided that my safest space should now be monitored, disregarding my right to privacy and consent. This is not my story alone. It is the reality for women living in sorority houses across this campus.
As president of the ISC, I can say the ISC and its chapters do not approve of Dartmouth installing security cameras inside sorority houses. We only learned of these cameras at the Greek Presidents’ Roundtable on Oct. 6, after installation had already begun weeks earlier without notice. Because no formal notice was provided beforehand, the College’s actions made us feel overlooked and disrespected and raised concerns about fairness and transparency.
Kappa Kappa Gamma, Alpha Xi Delta and 2 North Park St currently have operating cameras, according to past reporting from The Dartmouth and Res Ops. While sorority chapter members were told these cameras were not regularly monitored and were solely for safety, Kappa Kappa Gamma was notified on Aug. 24 that their cameras were covered and ordered to clear the line of vision after Safety and Security reported the covered cameras to GLASS. This demonstrated that footage from those cameras is regularly monitored without probable cause.
Unfortunately, this is not a level playing field. All seven ISC houses are College-owned, but only two of the 14 Interfraternity Council houses are. The two Gender-Inclusive Council organizations in College-owned buildings were designed from the start to include women; the other three in privately-owned buildings were founded as fraternities. Women have been on this campus for only 50 years and lack the support systems, alumni networks and time fraternities have had as privately-owned spaces. Now, women in Greek life are being watched in their homes in a way most men are not, highlighting a clear imbalance and unfair treatment.
We all advocate for women’s safety in Greek spaces, and we all understand the concerns about student safety, especially given recent coverage about the unfortunate events reported on other campuses. However, cameras don’t prevent harm; they can only record it. True safety comes from education, open dialogue and support systems that foster trust and confidence. It does not come from surveillance that invades the little privacy most students have each day.
The ISC does not want to meet this forceful act with more force. We recognize and appreciate that this process has been paused for now. We are focused on correcting the College’s prior actions. We respectfully ask that the College remove all cameras, whether operational or not, and repair the damage they caused to our homes. Until then, the College should not expect our trust.
We have worked closely with the Greek Life and Student Societies office to foster dialogue and safety within our council. But the overall lack of consideration for women during this process exposes the College’s lack of mutual respect for its students and the power imbalance between male and female Greek spaces.
Our homes are not checkpoints for unknown parties to monitor. It is the one place no one should have to wonder whether or not they are being watched. Every woman in a sorority house deserves to close the door and know she is alone. Within their first term at Dartmouth, every student is taught about the importance of consent. We are taught to listen and respect the answer given. Today we ask the College to hold itself to the same standard. We did not consent. We do not consent. And until the cameras come down, we will not consent.
Kensington TeKrony ’27 is the president of the Inter-Sorority Council. Guest columns represent the views of their author(s), which are not necessarily those of The Dartmouth.
Elizabeth Ray ’27 is a news executive editor of The Dartmouth and member of Kappa Delta sorority. Annabelle Zhang ’27 is the editor-in-chief of The Dartmouth and a member of Chi Delta sorority.
Vidushi Sharma ’27 is a news executive editor of The Dartmouth and the vice president of internal affairs of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority and was not involved in the editing of this column.
