Correcting Stewart’s Zete assertions
By Kevin Fisher
Published on Wednesday, April 18, 2007
To the Editor:
I am a member of the Zeta Psi fraternity, and I cannot help but think
that I speak for the other brothers in my house when I say that Shaun Stewart's op-ed ("Smith, Creationism and Frats. Oh My." April 16) angers me greatly.
While it may be true that Zeta Psi was de-recognized as a result of publishing offensive materiald, Stewart's claim that "Zete was de-recognized for publishing date-rape techniques in their house newsletter" is untrue. According to the College's relevant press release, "the publications, which the fraternity subsequently described as satire, included use of the names and photographs of specific Dartmouth undergraduate women in descriptions of these purported exploits, and a promise of 'patented date-rape techniques' in a future issue."
While I realize that this article was editorial in nature, this does not release your office from a basic level of fact-checking and journalistic integrity that was clearly absent here. Your paper owes my fraternity a public correction and a private (at the very least) apology. It would be an understatement to say that Stewart's claim borders on slander. I hope that in the future your staff may be more diligent and honest in its reporting.