A Faculty Response to Hazing at Dartmouth Feb. 2nd, 2012

As Dartmouth faculty, it is our ethical and institutional duty to actively engage in the community

dialogue on hazing and fraternities that was sparked by Andrew Lohse’s op-ed piece in The Dartmouth.

These are serious issues that affect our lives, our teaching, our community, and the guiding principles

set out in Dartmouth’s Mission and Principle of Community.∗

Hazing is physically, emotionally, and psychologically damaging. It infantilizes and brutalizes

students. It degrades their ability to learn and our ability to teach. It breaks down their understanding

of right and wrong, of decency and indecency, and the lines between healthy sexuality and sexual assault.

Left unchallenged, it inures and habituates all of us to moral thuggery.

Hazing at Dartmouth is nothing new: it has been an open secret for decades. Many of us have

heard about hazing from our students, noticed absences during pledge periods and seen humiliating

paraphernalia that mark students as “pledges.” It’s not uncommon to see students in class during

pledge periods hung over and unable to participate. How does this square with our mission, our core

values, and our principle of community?

These Greek organizations operate and in some cases are constituted directly in opposition to the

values the College holds dear:

• Dartmouth prepares students for responsible leadership; hazing is leadership by intimidation.

• Dartmouth encourages “independence of thought;” hazing enforces conformity.

• Dartmouth embraces the principle of non-discrimination; many of these houses are constituted

on the basis of sex and gender discrimination.

• Dartmouth values “a community marked by mutual respect;” hazing humiliates students, de-

grading and victimizing aggressors and victims alike.

This culture of violence is, to a large degree although not exclusively, based in the Greek system.

It contributes to the verbal and physical harassment of women, LGBT people, and people of color on

this campus. It is responsible for many instances of sexual assault and rape.

Students maintain a code of silence and culture of complicity about this violence—often to protect

their Greek houses, but also because they fear ostracism. Indeed, they sometimes fear they will be

attacked if they speak out. While the Kim administration has tried to address some of these serious

problems, it has not insisted these organizations accept Dartmouth’s core values of mutual respect,

non-discrimination, inclusivity, and openness.

We challenge the Kim administration to require these organizations and others on campus to

adopt Dartmouth’s core values, and hold them accountable as every other group and member of this

institution is held accountable every day. We urge the administration to work closely with the faculty

to set up an independent commission composed of professionals in violence prevention, public health,

harm reduction and education to bring compliance. This can be done. Colleges and universities, some

similar to Dartmouth, have dramatically reduced hazing while improving the quality of student social

life.

The College must seize the opportunity to confront these issues forthrightly and courageously, not

only to improve Dartmouth’s reputation, but fundamentally to insure the emotional, psychological,

and physical well being of its students. Act now!

∗ These guiding principles animate Dartmouth’s social compact:

http://www.dartmouth.edu/home/about/mission.html

http://www.dartmouth.edu/∼upperde/principles

Sincerely, The following 105 members of the Dartmouth faculty:

Francine A’ness, WGSTTxetxu Aguado, Span. & PortugueseClaudia Anguiano, IRWJames Aronson, Earth SciencesAlexander Barnett, MathematicsRenee Bergland, WGSTMiles P. Blencowe, PhysicsCarol Bohmer, GovernmentSusan Brison, PhilosophyMichael Bronski, WGSTAnn Bumpus, PhilosophyLeslie Butler, HistoryColin Calloway, Native Am. StudiesWoon-Ping Chin, EnglishMary Coffey, Art HistoryAda Cohen, Art HistoryKatharine Conley, French & ItalianThomas H. Cormen, Computer Sci.Helen Damon-Moore, WGSTMona Domosh, GeographyScot Drysdale, Computer ScienceN. Bruce Duthu, Native Am. StudiesLaura Edmondson, TheaterFord Evans, TheaterJennifer Fluri, GeographyLinda Fowler, GovernmentNancy Frankenberry, ReligionSusanne Freidberg, GeographyElsa Garmire, EngineeringAlysia Garrison, EnglishAndrew Garrod, EducationAmy Gladfelter, Biological SciencesCarolyn Gordon, MathematicsRonald M. Green, ReligionUdi Greenberg, History

Brian Greenhill, GovernmentPeter Hackett, TheaterRobert Hawley, Earth SciencesPati Hernandez, WGSTSusannah Heschel, ReligionJeremy Horowitz, GovernmentJames Horton, TheaterAlexis Jetter, EnglishKeala Jewell, French and ItalianIrene Kacandes, German StudiesNelson Kasfir, Government (Emer.)Phyllis B. Katz, MALS ProgramTristan Kay, French and ItalianBarbara S. Kreiger, MALS ProgramLawrence Kritzman, French & ItalianJon Kull, ChemistryJohn Kulvicki, PhilosophyJohn Lamperti, MathematicsNed Lebow, GovernmentNancy G. Lin, ReligionThomas H. Luxon, EnglishChristopher MacEvitt, ReligionJonna Mackin, IWRFrank Magilligan, GeographyAnnabel Martin, Span. & PortugueseIrma Mayorga, TheaterMark A. McPeek, Biological SciencesBrian Miller, Studio ArtsCarlos Minchillo, Span. & PortugueseSharlene Mollett, GeographyJim Moor, PhilosophyLourdes Gutierrez Najera, Anthropol.Joseph B. Nelson, History (Emeritus)William W. Nichols, IWRAnnelise Orleck, History

Terry Osborne, Environmental Stud.Tanalis Padilla, HistorySoo Sunny Park, Studio ArtMisagh Parsa, SociologyScott Pauls, MathematicsElizabeth Polli, Span. & PortugueseCourtney Quaintance, French & Ital.Julia Rabig, WGSTIsrael Reyes, Spanish and PortugueseRussell Rickford, HistoryPeter J. Robbie, EngineeringMelissa Yang Rock, GeographyAdina Roskies, PhilosophyNaaborko Sackeyfio, HistoryIrasema Saucedo, Span. & PortugueseIvy Schweitzer, EnglishJeff Sharlet, EnglishWalter P. Simons, HistoryRoger Sloboda, Biological SciencesChris Sneddon, GeographySilvia Spitta, Spanish and PortugueseLeo Spitzer, Jewish Stud. (Emeritus)Richard Stamelman, Comp. Lit.Soyoung Suh, AMESJohn Thorstensen, PhysicsPeter Travis, EnglishCatherine Tudish, EnglishRoger Ulrich, ClassicsKenneth Walden, PhilosophyMichelle Warren, Comp. Lit.D.G. Webster, Environmental StudiesBarbara Will, EnglishMargaret Williamson, ClassicsLee A. Witters, Medicine & Biochem.Melissa Zeiger, English