COLUMN: D'mouth's folly destined t fail

From Dina Bass', "No Loss for Words," Fall '99 From Dina Bass', "No Loss for Words," Fall '99Jon Belushi must be spinning in his grave. Last week, trustees at Dartmouth University, a school whose rowdy fraternities set the standard for frat boy misbehavior by serving as the inspiration for Animal House, introduced a set of principles meant to permanently alter or perhaps destroy the school's legendary Greek system. Even worse than the "double secret probation" placed on Animal House's Deltas, the plan will, at minimum, require all houses to become co-ed. At most, the plan will eliminate the school's 28 fraternities and sororities altogether. It is pretty clear that administrators and trustees were aware of student opinion and decided to disregard it. Dartmouth's new President, James Wright, made this position clear when he told The Dartmouth that the announcement was "not a referendum." Even faculty, who voted for the substance of the five principles, acknowledged there was little consultation with anyone outside the highest levels of the administration. And it shows. While the plan's stated goal -- creating a more diverse social and residential experience at Dartmouth -- is worthwhile and necessary at a university with few social options and a shortage of beds that forces students off campus, the plan itself throws the baby out with the bathwater. First of all, there is something to be said for single-sex houses and the bonds formed there. I have heard many alumni of Penn and other schools talk about the girlfriends they stay in touch with for 20 years after meeting in a sorority. All swear the single-sex atmosphere helped them meet and become comfortable with other women in a way not possible in coed situations. There is also something to be said for preserving choice. The best way to create a vital thriving social life is to give students lots of choices. Dartmouth, with 50 percent of upperclassmen in fraternities or sororities, probably is too Greek to really be a school with a lot of social options. But creating other social options, through residences, majors and performing arts groups, is the best way to improve social life. Limiting student choices is both draconian and ineffective. Nearly every Ivy League school has some form of Greek-type system. You can call it finals clubs, like Harvard does, or eating clubs like Princeton, but it's still an invitation-only system. Dartmouth's Greek system, if eliminated or forced into coed existence, will merely rise from the ashes in another form. Call it exclusive, but college students, like all humans, tend to form groups based on similar interests. The best way to prevent other students from being left out is to create options they find acceptable, not take choices away from others. So what is going to replace a thriving Greek system that currently provides a social framework for half of Dartmouth's over 3,000 upperclassmen? Well, don't ask Dartmouth administrators. They have no clue. Apparently, they want students to come up with something. After forcing this decision on students, administrators and trustees now intend to give students a year to come up with an answer to fill a void they created. It is unwise to destroy something before you have a solid replacement, let alone before you have any ideas for a replacement. This, more than anything else, makes the decision harder for Dartmouth students to swallow. There are things that need to change at Dartmouth, but Dartmouth administrators shouldn't confuse a need for change with a need for upheaval. Ending single-sex Greek life or Greek life at all is not the answer. Especially when Dartmouth has nothing to replace it with. I am not Greek and I don't think you need to be Greek to see both the unfairness and the sheer stupidity of this decision. I am not Greek largely because I decided that I was comfortable with the social group I had found by the middle of freshman year. But the key word in that sentence is "decided." I had a choice. Many of my friends chose to rush and have formed strong friendships with members of the fraternities and sororities. In a few years -- the changes will not go into effect immediately -- students at Dartmouth will not have this choice.