Greek gender integration blow to tradition

Forget 24-hour dorm visitation. What if guys and gals lived together in Greek houses?

Dartmouth College made national headlines this week when its board of trustees announced plans to revolutionize the school's Greek system by possibly abolishing single-sex fraternities and sororities. Dartmouth students, who overwhelmingly support the 150-year-old tradition of single-sex social organizations, have raised hell about the issue.

What if Chancellor Robert Khayat made a similar announcement at Ole Miss? Would students and alumni like the idea, or would there be a riot surpassing the James Meredith integration crisis? My guess is the latter.

The folks at Dartmouth seem to think Greek sex integration is a good idea because it gives men and women an opportunity to relate to one another on a more respectable level. The idea is if they're psuedo-brothers and sisters, then they'll be less likely to get drunk, beat the hell out of each other and go on rape rampages.

I can see the point. Although I don't know firsthand, I'd guess that living in a brotherhood building with nothing but toe-headed guys would be kind of like hanging out in a white-collar prison. I imagine it's easier to take the opposite sex for granted under the status quo system.

When you really think about it, aside from sports teams, single-sex fraternities and sororites are probably the last bastions of sexual segregation found in a university-setting. Seems kind of backwards when you think about it like that.

But at the heart of the matter is tradition. Change, for better or for worse, threatens age-old traditions that many people hold dear to their hearts. Aside from Lilith Fair, where else could girls get together to form a giant family year after year if it weren't for sororities? Aside from bachelor parties, where else could guys get smashed and flail each other with paddles if it weren't for fraternities? Tradition obviously has a valid place in our society.

It will be interesting to see what becomes of our carpet-baggin' cousins up at Dartmouth. If it weren't for the College Board and The Clarion-Ledger, the decision they reach this semester could one day trickle south and affect Greek life here at Ole Miss.

Who knows? Maybe 50 years from now single-sex Greek institutions will be a thing of the past. Maybe males and females will be living in the same quarters at Ole Miss. Maybe Peyton Manning will have a granddaughter as quarterback ­ or a grandson on the Rebelettes. Who knows? Maybe it would even be for the best.

Chris Thomspon