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“Good for the five Dartmouth undergraduates who, seeking to reform Greek life on campus, protested by abstaining from the recruitment process for new sorority members this winter. It takes courage and conviction to speak out against the institutions and peers with which one associates,” writes the Valley News in an editorial.

The paper says that criticism of Greek organizations most often comes from those who aren’t fraternity and sorority members. To hear such disapproval “from sorority leaders themselves makes the indictment all the more powerful,” the paper says.

The women have “called for strict punishment of men who engage in violence against women,” and they are protesting what they say is the “glorification of alcohol,” by sororities, according to the editorial.

“It’s apparent that at least some students are thinking about the implications and seeking to alter behavior perpetuated by entrenched Greek traditions. This is a heartening development, because if aspects of Dartmouth’s social life are to improve, the students themselves must instigate the improvements. We commend the Sorority Five and hope the peer-to-peer dialogue they initiated will continue,” says the editorial.

A subscription is needed to read the full story, published 1/26/14 by the Valley News.