Dangerous and humiliating hazing at certain Greek organizations, usually a taboo subject in the American college system, is at the forefront of discussion due to several disturbing incidents allegedly carried out by Greek organizations in the New England area.
A March 28 Rolling Stone article, "Confessions of an Ivy League Frat Boy: Inside Dartmouth's Hazing Abuses," detailed serious allegations made by Andrew Lohse, a former member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity at Dartmouth, regarding hazing rituals at the school. In a Jan. 25 op-ed in The Dartmouth, Lohse wrote, "I was a member of a fraternity that asked pledges, in order to become a brother, to: swim in a kiddie pool full of vomit, urine, fecal matter, semen and rotten food products; eat omelets made of vomit; chug cups of vinegar, which in one case caused a pledge to vomit blood; drink beers poured down fellow pledges' ass cracks; and vomit on other pledges, among other abuses."
On Monday, Ravital Segal, a member of Dartmouth's class of 2009, posted on The Huffington Post and corroborated Lohse's sentiments about Dartmouth's Greek culture and revealed that she "was literally one sip of alcohol away from dying" during a 2006 sorority hazing ritual.
Closer to Tufts, the national chapter of the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity on Monday suspended its Boston University chapter after police responding to a noise complaint found five underwear-clad pledges covered in condiments and tied up in the fraternity's basement. The university will likely expel those involved, an action the Daily supports.
We do not wish to conflate these recently publicized instances of hazing with Greek organizations at Tufts. Indeed, we believe that pledges at Tufts are treated in a far better manner than they are at many other schools.
Still, the hazing incidents at Dartmouth and BU do concern Tufts, because they are indicative of a larger problem with the American university system: Dangerous and humiliating hazing practices go unreported due to fears of social ostracization.
Colleges must work to build a campus culture - not just an administrative policy - that denounces, rather than accepts, dangerous and humiliating rituals.
While many schools take hazing much more seriously than they once did, official policies are not enough. Handing out some pamphlets and showing a video during freshman orientation won't change campus culture.
Not only must schools continue to pursue harsh disciplinary actions against organizations and individuals proven to be involved in hazing, but they must also actively encourage whistle blowing. The most detestable hazing practices don't occur outdoors and won't be uncovered unless some of those involved in the hazing come forward.
Those courageous enough to come forward do so at the risk of severe social consequences. Schools don't need to compound this danger by inducing fear of disciplinary consequences against those who have brought the hazing to light.
After the publication of his op-ed, Lohse himself faced disciplinary action from Dartmouth for several months before the school dropped the charges against all members of the fraternity for lack of evidence. Dartmouth never should have taken action against Lohse in the first place, as it sent a message that once students have partaken in hazing, it will never be in their interest to come forward.
Still, colleges must pursue and punish with the greatest possible zeal those who perpetuate a culture of hazing activities that are illegal, life threatening or extremely degrading. No other approach will turn the tables on brutal hazing traditions.
Clearly, there are varying degrees of hazing. No one is arguing that being made to carry a cake around for a week is comparable to being forced to use a vomit-covered Slip 'n Slide, and disciplinary policies must take this into account.
Tufts itself has come out strongly against dangerous hazing practices in the past. The Tufts Chapter of Delta Tau Delta (DTD) only last fall got its house back after it was suspended in 2005 when a pledge stopped breathing during an event.
The virtual elimination of DTD from campus for years may have seemed harsh, but the university sent the correct message - that dangerous hazing would not be tolerated at Tufts.
