I have some questions about the fraternity system. I am addressing these questions to the Dartmouth community with the hope that they will not be taken as a cynical stream of challenge, but as a voice in the dialogue that must be continued.
First and foremost at this time of rushing, I question the need for a social system of exclusion. This I do not understand as a basic premise -- why do I need a process such as rush to exclude some of the individuals who want to become a part of a house? Do I really understand the process by which one person is chosen and another is excluded, and do I accept the criteria and process used to judge my peers and myself?
Perhaps more unfathomable, why do I need another group to chose who I am close enough to call my brother or sister? Why should I put myself into such a system and compromise what I consider to be an essential part of my individuality? Can I really assume that there will be a honest bond of friendship between myself and the group of men or women that the house has chosen to be my brothers or sisters?
Why must I pay a large amount of money each term in order to become part of a group of friends? If this is indeed justifiable, is it acceptable that financial burdens might discourage or exclude some people from becoming part of that intimate circle of friends?
Second, I feel the question of gender relations at Dartmouth goes beyond mere exclusion of the other sex from fraternities and sororities. What is this system really doing to gender relations at Dartmouth? As a man, I do not understand why I need to join a house where the friends of mine who are women are both made to feel uncomfortable and excluded from membership.
Are the Greeks part of the solution to ending sexual assault on campus? Or are they, as a whole, creating an atmosphere which may foster unhealthy or demeaning attitudes toward women? With full knowledge of the past blatant examples of sexism, harassmen, and rape that have been a part of this system, can I justify supporting any aspect of the Greek system?
Third, why should I accept the need for an initiation to this "family" of friendship? How will accepting dehumanizing demands made upon me as a pledge make me a member of a "family" of brothers and sisters? Why should I choose to go through the system of initiation that I know will make me compromise my self respect? How can we, as a group of students, accept the fact that hazing is an organized and sanctioned action that undeniably happens within the Greek system?
Finally, I must ask as an individual, are the purposes and activities of the Greek system things that deserve my commitment? We are students at one of the greatest centers for learning in the country, young women and men with the energy and intelligence to actively shape the world around us; where do we want to devote a serious part of our time and energy?
These questions, if valid, should have answers. If the answers elude us, then why should any one of us make ourselves a part of a Greek organization? Becoming a part of a group while ignoring its full impact is what I consider to be the most dangerous type of apathy.
