As a starting point, I think CC has a little anti-Greek bias. It’s almost taboo. Although Greek life is an integral part of Dartmouth’s culture, simply noting that fact is reductive if one doesn’t understand Greek life at Dartmouth, which many people make little attempt to do. (I’m aware of Animal House and the Rolling Stone article and the criticisms of the latter.) I suspect that many assume Greek life hasn’t evolved since the 80’s and 90’s when most of us were in college. The resulting assumption seems to be that Greek life in general is constituted of some combination of elitism, toxic masculinity, binge drinking and wild parties, and, to be painfully blunt, rape. It’s almost become an ideological symbol.
But what I’ve noticed on CC is a huge difference between (a) first and secondhand accounts of Greek life at Dartmouth and (b) those simply repeating Dartmouth’s reputation for Greek life without elaboration. The former explain that Dartmouth’s Greek system is incredibly inclusive now. Parties are not just open to everybody, but there are a huge variety of fraternities and sororities. The way numerous Dartmouth students have explained it, gay, straight, trans, POC, liberal, introverted, extroverted, and every other flavor of student are involved in the Greek system. While there are certainly parties, that does not seem to be the raison d’etre for many of the fraternities and sororities. It some ways, it seems almost more like Yale or Rice’s residential system but self-selecting and beginning sophomore year. The thing I’ve heard quite often from Dartmouth students is that they didn’t plan to participate in Greek life and probably wouldn’t have done so at any other college. And, of course, there are many Dartmouth students who never join a fraternity or sorority and still have a fantastic time.
To be sure, I’m not saying that Dartmouth’s Greek life is for everyone. It is a structured form of socialization, and that by itself is likely to rub many people the wrong way. (FWIW, I don’t think I’d participate if went to Dartmouth.) But I don’t think the reality of Dartmouth’s Greek life always jives with most folks’ superficial perception.
As for politics, my sense is that Dartmouth’s student body trends heavily liberal to moderate liberal but is, on the whole, less overtly political or activist than other schools. A true conservative student would probably feel more comfortable there than at, say, Brown. But that hardly makes Dartmouth a conservative school. (Fun read: A History of Changing Views: Tracking Campus Politics - The Dartmouth)
And thus ends my defense of Dartmouth or at least certain misconceptions thereof. But I think it illustrates the bigger epistemological struggle for us helicopter parents to really understand a school we’ve never attended. By necessity, we all have to rely on third-party accounts. And, in a digital age, there are so many accounts that it’s difficult to separate the wheat from the chaff. But I’ve noticed that on CC*, this process of giving nuance to echo-chamber stereotypes often turns on whether a particular college has defender participants on this forum. For example, if I were to claim that the culture of Williams is dominated by preppy athletes (as some have done before), I’m confident that 2 or 3 Williams alumni or parents on the forum would “well actually” me. While there are many NESCAC champions here, there currently seem to be few Dartmouth supporters to help correct overstatements.
*For the record, I think this forum is great overall. I’m continually impressed by its supportive nature and, compared to other venues, the accuracy of advice.