Original Article: http://dartreview.com/archives/2004/04/11/changing_fortunes_of_the_greek_system.php
Sunday, April 11, 2004
The winter term augured well for the Dartmouth Greek system, though recent developments have put its changing fortunes in a different light.
The tail-end of the term ended well. The Phi Delta Alpha fraternity and the Kappa Delta Epsilon sorority hosted gala discussion forums, featuring prominent Greek leaders and top administrators and Trustees. Notable turnouts included President James Wright, Dean of the College James Larimore, Dean of Residential Life Martin Redman, and recently-elected Trustee Bradford Evans '64. The forums focused primarily on the current status of the Greek system and its general relationship with the administration.
Discussion concentrated on the degree to which the College should have administrative control over the Greek system, in regards to the timing and handling of the Rush process. Student leaders in recent months have pressed the College to move Rush from sophomore winter term to sophomore fall. (Rush was shifted from the spring term of freshman year as part of the Student Life Initiative.) The discussions were intended to continue the conversation, and, hopefully, bring it to a positive conclusion.
Overall, the events at Phi Delt and KDE were extremely successful. The administration candidly expressed its concerns; at the same time, Greek leaders provided competing perspectives that were well-articulated and well-taken. Most came out committed to solid relationships that allow honest and open discussion regarding the concerns of both groups.
As part of the discussions, Dean Larimore put out a formal statement in which he expressed a "shared and mutual interest in the success of Greek organizations at Dartmouth."
Recently, however, the state of affairs dramatically shifted. Dean Larimore announced at an April 5th dinner that the College would be willing to permit Rush to move to the fall—but only beginning during the fifth week of the term. (Rush currently takes places during the first week back on campus, which allows new members to be fully integrated into houses.) It was taken implicitly that any possible changes to the timing of Rush would not involve drastically altering the process itself, which has proven successful in the past. The announcement came as a shock to all.
The change would tentatively occur this upcoming fall for the '07 rush, pending approval by the Inter-Fraternity Council (IFC), the Panhellenic Council (governing sororities), and the Co-ed Council. However, Panhell recently expressed discontent with the plan, citing irrevocable scheduling conflicts with exams and sorority education programs. The IFC leadership continues to weigh its options. IFC President David Grey '05 put the dilemma succinctly: "While the monetary advantages and opportunity to strengthen our relationship with the administration are both very important to us, we have to determine whether what we gain is worth the overarching changes that Greek system would have to undergo in order to implement it."
Dean Larimore expressed three important concerns about the changes. He claimed he does not in anyway want to compromise measures to welcome new students into "the Dartmouth community."
He worried of a potential loss of Greek participation in new student programs. Dean Larimore was also uneasy about "activities" that he claimed were detrimental to the academic mission of the College. He concluded that all houses must begin to move toward a "continuous membership development" pledge period similar to that of Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity. Most houses currently maintain a single-term new membership education program.
While some administrators have expressed a willingness to negotiate further and continue dialogue, this new incident has the potential to become a major point of contention in the coming months. This paper will await further development before commenting at length, and will withhold its judgment—for the time being.