Many officers of Greek organizations and athletic team captains are ambivalent about -- or unaware of -- the Student Life Initiative reports proposing future hazing and group adjudication policies released by College committees on Wednesday.
Reactions ranged from frustration to optimism, with indifference in between. While some organization leaders were familiar with the substance of the committee proposals, most required a short briefing on the recent announcements before commenting, and a few did not even know that changes had been recently unveiled.
Nearly all athletic and Greek leaders expressed reservations about the administration's new, broader view of hazing which the report defined as "any action taken or situation created as part of initiation to or continued membership in a student organization."
Phi Tau coeducational fraternity president Jamie McMahon '01, who was initially unaware of the proposal specifics, said, "Personally, I think that requiring actions [from pledges] which are demeaning is unacceptable, but since Phi Tau does not require things of this nature, I do not feel that this new policy will change our initiation process at all."
All Greek and athletic leaders who spoke with The Dartmouth expressed similar sentiments about their organizations.
Men's track captain Joe McKnight '01 said, "There isn't any hazing on our team," but he did "know of some hazing on other teams and in other organizations."
But while all leaders who spoke to The Dartmouth explicitly denied that hazing took place in the initiation practices of their own teams and houses, many felt that the new definition was too unclear.
"It does seem like the definition is so vague that almost anything could be construed as hazing," Alpha Xi Delta President K.J. Hennessey-Severson '02 said.
Lacrosse captain Christopher O' Hara '01 criticized the clause in the hazing proposal that states, "almost anything that new members are required to do that is not required of more senior members is likely to constitute hazing."
"If the school considers things like freshmen having to put the goals in the creases before practice, or bringing the water to practice, hazing, then we are all in big trouble. The focus should rest on preventing acts that would demoralize individuals or put them in uncomfortable positions," he said.
Shihwan Chung '02, president of the Coed Fraternity Sorority Council, pointed out that "There needs to be a distinction between new member development and hazing. With absolutely no new member development, a lot of the positive aspects of these organizations are lost. People need to understand that there is a difference."
He added that "the behavior of organizations will be scrutinized more carefully, which can be a good thing," but he hoped for a "period of gradual adjustment with cooperation between members of the Greek community and the administration."
The response to the proposal of the Group Adjudication Committee to establish a "single judicial system embracing all student organizations" was generally more positive.
Currently, the different types of student organizations, such as Greek houses, athletic teams and clubs, each have their own separate adjudication processes.
Hennessey-Severson said that the new body -- which will be called the Organizational Adjudication Committee -- "seems to me like a very sensible idea. It certainly is not right that different organizations can receive different punishments for similar acts because they are adjudicated by different bodies."
Chung agreed that "centralization has the potential to be a very good thing," as it would "hold everyone to the same standards." But he added, "self-adjudication, self-governance and accountability to one's peers are important as well."
Both the hazing and group adjudication committees were chaired by Senior Associate Dean of the College Dan Nelson and comprised of students, administrators and members of the faculty.
