After the recent vote by Dartmouth faculty to radically change the college’s Greek system, some students speak up about the importance of men-only and women-only organizations on campus.

Sandor Farkas at The Dartmouth Review has the story:

The Single-Sex Greek System

Over Homecoming, the Class Connections program hosted social events between current students and alumni. At one such event, an alumnus read a list of defunct traditions as part of an effort to provoke dialogue about the dynamic nature of changing customs. After he had finished, another alumnus, clad head-to-toe in Dartmouth Green, interjected with one former tradition he had not heard mentioned: single-sex education.

After the initial silence his remark brought over the room, it became apparent his intention was not to lament the demise of “the good old days,” but to start a dialogue on an issue that is rarely discussed at all, let alone openly. Though there is little to no disagreement among today’s students that the move to coeducation has ultimately proved beneficial, a growing number of undergraduates are actively questioning the role of single-sex fraternities and sororities in our coeducational College. As the Administration and the Presidential Steering Committee prepare to change the Greek system in ways unknown, it is essential that students who value some of the only remaining single-sex organizations on campus voice their opinions on why such spaces are not only important but essential to campus life.

When the students propose to turn all Greek houses coeducational, they neglect one of the primary reasons why many decide to rush in the first place. While 297 women received bids from sororities and at least 241 men pledged fraternities this fall, just over thirty students decided to join coed houses. The mass appeal of single-sex houses cannot simply be attributed to the current nature of coed Greek houses or arbitrary decisions made by students.