Original Article: http://dartreview.com/archives/1999/02/03/wright_trustees_to_close_down_greeks.php
Wednesday, February 3, 1999
A pair of related incidents at Dartmouth have put the future of the College's treasured Greek system in severe jeopardy. The Trustees of the College released a letter to the student body and President James Wright gave an interview with The Daily Dartmouth which, taken together, announce a new administrative policy. Dartmouth, it seems, in a new 'spirit of inclusion,'will force its fraternities and sororities to become, by co-educational by policy. President Wright says he expects the changes to take place in time for next fall's rush.
The forced coeducation of Fraternities and Sororities has uncorked a firestorm of student and alumni protest (page 5).
Though the fraternities and sororities are ostensibly independent entities, Dartmouth will likely outlaw those houses which choose not to accept the changes, and prohibit their members from registering at the College.
In recent years, Bowdoin, Colby, and Middlebury Colleges have all outlawed single-sex fraternities by these means. Though several lawsuits are still pending, to this date the courts have consistently upheld the right of Colleges to outlaw private student associations, among them fraternities and sororities.
The Board's decision was phrased as an attempt to revitalize the College's 'residential life,' to make it more 'exclusionary.' Several student groups, then, have argued that those Greek houses which own their own physical plant might freely not comply, since they are not strictly College residences. The legal grounds for this argument are murky.
President Wright, however, announced that the Board of Trustees was willing to put up 'tens of millions of dollars' to repurchase the physical plant of those houses the Colleges does not currently own. Alpha Delta, Alpha Xi Delta, Chi Gamma Epsilon, Gamma Delta Chi Kappa Kappa Kappa, Phi Delta Alpha, Psi Upsilon, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Sigma Phi Epsilon, Sigma Nu, Theta Delta Chi, and Zeta Psi all own their own houses.
The last time the College had a serious confrontation with the independent fraternities (in the early nineties, over the institution of minimum standards) they were able to compel co-operation by convincing the Hanover Police Department and the Hanover Fire Department to routinely raid the houses for underage drinking and fire violations. The fraternities, under serious legal threat, capitulated.
This latest hubbub started this Tuesday, February 9th, when the student body received a seemingly innocuous set of letters from both the President and the Board of Trustees. Masked by their conciliatory tone, the letters critique Dartmouth's current 'out-of-classroom experience' and announce a new policy that, if enacted, would alter the lives of Dartmouth students forever through the elimination of the current Fraternity and Sorority system.
Implying that the current residential system doesn't 'contribute significantly to each student's intellectual and personal growth and well-being,' the Board criticizes the system that has been central to campus life for 158 years. Stating that their goals are incompatible with the current system, the Trustees present a list of principles that they deem will 'characterize the [future] residential and social system at Dartmouth.'
While few have opposed with the calls for 'greater choice...in residential living,' 'additional and improved social spaces,' and a reduction in the number of students living off-campus, the mandates for a 'substantially coeducational' environment and the elimination of 'the abuse and unsafe use of alcohol' seem to many to be direct assaults upon our very way of life. While everyone is against the abuse of alcohol, such a vaguely worded and sweeping statement could bring forth many repercussions beyond its seeming innocence. In an interview with The Daily Dartmouth, President James Wright explained that the Trustees' decision would, in fact, put an end to the Greek system 'as we know it.' He asserted that a new social system will be created, 'not built on single-sex fraternities and sororities.'
Said Wright, 'This is not a referendum...We are committed to doing this.' The strength of Wright's words have left many students wondering if their opinions will be continued to be ignored in the following months of discussion. Interestingly enough, Wright encourages these same disenfranchised students 'to participate in the process of identifying specific ways to meet [the Trustees'] objectives.'
Although the (as yet) unformalized changes will not be enacted immediately, it seems unlikely that there will be traditional rush next year. Wright suggested that the system may well be dissolved by the time this year's pledges are seniors.
Although, Wright has stated that the Trustees are 'prepared to invest money to meet [their] aspirations, ' it is unclear how this decision will effect the financial standing of the school, which relies heavily on the donations of alumni, many of whom were members of Fraternal organizations.
On special weekends such as Homecoming and this week's Winter Carnival, many alumni return to campus to visit their houses, strengthening their continuing bond with the college. Some alumni have threatened to withhold donations in coming years as a protest against the elimination of the system that made Dartmouth a challenging, fun, and unique environment during their tenure here.
The announcement has raised another issue. In the interview with The Daily Dartmouth, President Wright was asked if Dartmouth's four traditionally black fraternities and sororities (Alpha Phi Alpha, Alpha Kappa Alpha, Kappa Alpha Psi, and Delta Sigma Theta) would be included in the new plans to co-educate — if, in effect, Wright's new 'spirit of inclusion' would extend to those houses which are vocally exclusive.
'I think that most of the historically black fraternities and sororities are not residential,' Wright told The Daily Dartmouth, 'so they are not playing the same sort of role in the social life of the community that the residential houses are.' In other words, they'll be singled out to be spared the co-ed ax.
In his interview with The Daily Dartmouth, Wright tried to downplay the most controversial part of the Trustees' decision, the coeducation of Fraternities. He claimed that students should instead '[think] about what a stronger place this could be.'
Wright repeatedly dodged directly addressing the issues of coeducation, attempting instead to paint a picture of those opposing this decision as irrational and not open to change.
When discussing our dining system, Wright states explicitly that he doesn't feel the need to compare Dartmouth to Harvard, Yale, or any other similarly-prominent school, though this has been the basis of the recent dorm-locking debate and may prove to figure heavily in this issue as well.
Finally, when asked in his interview if the elimination of the Greek system was a fait accompli, Wright replied, 'I think that's clear. That's one of the bullet points of the Trustee statement.'
Several alumni have raised the question of a long-term ploy to increase dormitory building. Wright has long talked about bringing more students on campus, and about creating an in-house dining system on the Harvard model. That would mean building more dorms.
The only geographically feasible place that the College hasn't yet built on is that land owned by the fraternities — particularly Webster Avenue. This announcement by the Trustees, some alumni have speculated, may be the first step in a long-term ploy to displace the fraternities and build more dorms on their land.