Don’t Tear Down the Choates
By Ming K. Lee, The Dartmouth Staff
Published on Friday, February 1, 2008
To the Editor:
Nathan Bruschi's column ("RIGs, The Greek Replacement," Jan. 29) adds to a growing chorus of voices calling for the demolition of the Choates to create room for an extension of frat row. As a current resident of the Choates, I can understand this sentiment -- the facilities are antiquated and the architecture strikes a distinctly dissonant chord with the rest of the campus. Although I feel that the Choates do have charm, I would support their demolition in order to expand the social spaces available on campus.
What concerns me, however, is the practicality of this proposal, which would eliminate 305 beds for the entering freshman class. This problem may be what has delayed the destruction of the Choates, which has been falsely promised every year. Eliminating housing for almost a third of the incoming class without an immediate replacement is simply not viable.
The present situation with Greek organizations may simply stem from a general lack of housing on campus. If we want to expand the spaces available for sororities and fraternities on prime campus real estate, we must first expand the housing space available for students in general.