In a petition posted online on Saturday, approximately 90 alumni demanded that the College administration increase efforts to curb hazing on campus. Among other demands, those signing the "Alumni Petition Against Hazing and Violence" pledged to cease donations to the College until more is done to address hazing.
Inspired by a letter written by faculty members that was published as an advertisement in The Dartmouth on Feb. 2, the alumni petition seeks more formal assurance that "all organizations accept Dartmouth's core values of respect" and demands that the College form an independent commission to investigate hazing on campus.
The petition claims that the pledge terms of Greek organizations prevent students joining the groups from adequately engaging in academics. The petition also states that hazing "institutionalize[s] binge drinking," which "often enables widespread alcoholism" and "encourage[s] a culture of violence."
Additionally, the petition charges the administration of President Jim Yong Kim with ignoring the prevalence of hazing on campus and instead responding to accusations with "evasive PR strategies and outright lies."
Jordan Osserman '11, one of the petition's authors, said that the administration has acted deceptively in its treatment of recent hazing allegations.
"The most obvious example of outright lies' is the administration's claim that it has made a serious effort to stop hazing," Osserman said in an email to The Dartmouth. "President Kim has yet to make a single public statement about hazing in the Greek system or even demand that houses hold themselves accountable to Dartmouth's core values."
Osserman said that he "did not personally experience hazing at Dartmouth" but said that hazing negatively affects the campus community.
"I've always felt that hazing was integral to what makes Dartmouth such a difficult and sometimes toxic place for so many students," he said.
Osserman said that other alumni contributed to the writing of the petition, including Anise Vance '11. Additionally, a number of faculty members who were involved in writing the faculty response to hazing assisted the authors, according to Osserman.
Osserman said that before working on the petition, he had been helping Andrew Lohse '12 publicize his experiences with hazing. He said he was disappointed with College administrators' inaction after Lohse's allegations of hazing against Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity were made public in a Jan. 25 opinion column in The Dartmouth.
At the time Lohse's allegations were published, administrators said they had been unable to corroborate Lohse's claims of hazing at SAE.
As of press time, 90 alumni had electronically signed the petition. The vast majority of alumni pledging support for the petition graduated in the last 10 years, with approximately one-third from the class of 2011. Angelo Carino '11, who signed the petition, said the lack of older alumni is a "matter of circumstance" due to a concentration of outreach within the authors' "friend groups."
Osserman said the authors of the petition have been publicizing the intitiative through Facebook and through emails to friends and alumni organizations.
Carino expressed cautious optimism about the effectiveness of the petition and stressed the importance of an alumni presence in attempts to change the campus culture.
"I don't know whether or not it will result in something," Carino said. "But it's worth a try. It's just valuable to get your voice heard."
