Editorial ADP pledge incident should spur social house investigation

Author: [no author name found]

This semester's social house pledge incident - an unregistered party hosted by Alpha Delta Phi (ADP) at which pledges were present that resulted in the house's probation until the end of January - is being portrayed as an isolated case in a generally smooth and successful pledge period for the social houses. The more likely scenario is that the large scale of the unregistered ADP party made it merely the one house that got caught.

The house leadership's alibi - that the football party and pledge event held on a Sunday evening several weeks ago were entirely separate gatherings - was a poor cover up. The house had a party, its pledges were there and they drank the available alcohol.

It is probably unrealistic to expect the future members of a system with deep traditions in Middlebury's once thriving fraternity scene to entirely avoid drinking. Consistent violations of the Inter-House Council rules, however, draw credibility away from an already loosely defined social house system and undermine the pledge process for houses that do adhere to the dry pledge period rules.

The ADP house leadership has acknowledged the incident as an error in judgment and the house does not deserve a punishment any more harsh than the short probation period it has been given before pledge and parties can resume. This incident, relatively minor when compared with behavior that has resulted in longer social house probations in previous years, does provide an impetus for an updated investigation of pledge policies and social houses in general. Such an investigation should be as transparent and honest as possible and be comprehensive of all social houses and house members if the College is to reap any benefit. The most recent developments in the College social scene must also be factored into any such consideration.

As Middlebury grapples with the recently enforced guest-list party policy, tightens its controls on under-age drinking in response to the presence of the new state liquor inspector, and hosts an increasing number of diverse commons-sponsored social events, it makes sense to consider how social houses fit into the evolving scene. It must be determined if the houses are continuing to function as a valuable social outlet for the College community or are in actuality becoming increasingly irrelevant and outdated.