In his October 10th, 2007 column, Thomas Friedman wrote, "America needs a jolt of idealism, activism and outrage...of Generation Q." He was referring to our generation that has been largely quiet and has resorted to online activism (if anything) in the face of a score of serious problems that warrant and require old-fashioned, face-to-face activism.

If our whole generation is "Generation Q" in Friedman's eyes, he would call current Dartmouth students "Generation Q-squared" or "Generation Q Xtreme."

It is no secret that Dartmouth has a shortage of activism compared to college campuses across the country. Whether due to overall financial security or physical isolation of the campus, Dartmouth students are more or less an apathetic crowd. They also seem to have too short of an attention span to work for a cause in the long run, even if some campus incidents cause flare-ups on the short term (Whatever happened to "Solidarity Against Hatred"?). Furthermore, the people most visible and vocal during such flare-ups are often much more radical than the majority who often condemn racist, homophobic, or sexist incidents but take little action in bringing about meaningful change to campus. These incidents are no more than little bits of the real world that somehow slipped into the comforts of the Hanover Bubble, and many students who elected to attend a college in the middle of nowhere rather than in New York City or in Berkeley turn away from real world issues when possible.

This time, however, the potential cause for activism erupted from a large, soon-to-come disruption in the most discussed aspect of campus life: the Greek system. While many "real world issues" (sexism and gender parity being the most popularly associated) are entangled in the Beta/AZD issue, the change will directly impact long-term social dynamics of students. And let's not be naïve here. The change cannot be avoided: Beta (and Zete) will return, and the gender balance in campus social life will further tip to the disadvantage of women.

There has always been a group of women vocal about the gender imbalances seen in the social spaces on this campus. Counting those who have been complaining about this imbalance in private, many women (and men) recognize that the social gender dynamics on this campus is by no means fair to women. Yet, no one has successfully mustered enough support to advance any kind of agenda for change. To many women, a few bad experiences at frats are only worth bitching about to friends because "they happen all the time." And apparently a group of women being collectively and verbally harassed by members of a fraternity only amounts to a term's worth of bad feelings, discussion forums that are essentially formalities, and short-lived outrage by a portion of the female population.

So here's the painful truth: women at Dartmouth failed to unite while they could have taken action to prevent the exacerbation of gender parity in campus social spaces. If there had been a sufficient activist community concerned with the issue, someone would have acted upon rumors flying around about Beta's return, which was not last week's news (AZD's sudden removal may have been recent news but Beta's return had been rumored for quite a while). As a minority sorority member, I do not feel in any way comfortable about the return of an organization formerly derecognized for multiple infractions and known for blatant sexism and racism. However, regardless of the questionable college policies concerning the return of Beta, and regardless of the distastefulness of Beta's past, little if anything can be done to prevent the organization's return. The lack of a powerful activist community is just a bonus. Legally, the college's hands are tied, and realistically, it is better off dealing with a legitimate organization rather than a renegade fraternity (not to mention that it is not going to risk throwing away large amounts of money donated by Beta alums). In the real world, such "unfair" situations happen all the time. Expecting the real world to stay out of the Dartmouth Bubble is inane.

Protesting against Beta is not meaningless, even if it does not prevent the organization's return. Campus reaction should be a powerful gesture that affects college policy in the future. Yes, in the future. Those hoping for a more equal gender balance in campus social spaces have a long way to go. The change will not take overnight, even if students decide that it is time for them to start pressuring the administration for a greater balance in the gender dynamics of the campus social scene.

The return of Beta is a rude awakening for female students. The complacent attitude that had been taken in the past will result in greater gender imbalance of campus social spaces in the near future. The question is: what can be done from now on to work towards a better gender balance with regards to campus social spaces. There are multiple possible approaches to this question (for example, a college policy that allows the creation of local sororities or shifting some resources for the purpose of finding and creating new female social spaces in an easily accessible campus location, just to name a couple), but regardless of the approach, the college must actively engage in and promote change. The current male-dominated set-up of the social scene is a result of institutionalization. The students themselves can only do so much.

Still, it is the students who must start the process. Students (especially female students) should finally become serious about not simply addressing but changing the gender dynamics on this campus. They must form solutions and continue to appeal to the administration what exactly it is that they want; they must remain interested until the task is complete. This matter is not a war that is taking place half-way across the world nor is it the invisible but imminent threat known as global warming; it is about our campus, and if we can't care about what is ours, the world should not be ruled by our generation of Dartmouth students in any way. And wouldn't that be a disgrace?

The task will not be easy, for the deficit of female power in campus social spaces is large. With the current mentality of Dartmouth students, such undertakings may be too overwhelming, and the chances of an activist movement taking root may be slim. If anyone is disturbed or angered for my pessimism, I don't want to hear complaints. Go Facebook me, pelt me with an egg or a tomato (I actually prefer the latter because eggs tend to smell later on), take action, and prove me wrong. What? No? Didn't think so. But a "jolt of idealism, activism and outrage" from students would, indeed, be a nice change for this dormant campus.