<p>Hi prospective parents and students! I have not posted on here for a long time, and never from the college student end, but I saw that a recent article is getting a lot of attention. The comments and stories in this article about hazing are rather unsettling, and I wanted to let you know that this is absolutely not an accurate portrayal of our school.</p>
<p>I won't go into many details, but the person making the accusations has many reasons to fabricate or greatly exaggerate his story, and it does not reflect what I or anyone I know has experienced. I hope that this does not hurt your interest in Dartmouth - we are actually a very socially open and accepting place. If you have questions or concerns about this I would encourage you to talk to current students and visit campus. I'd be happy to answer questions as well.</p>
<p>Also, for what it is worth, I am a member of a fraternity, so I’d be happy to try to answer questions about that as well.</p>
<p>Would you be willing to reveal which house you belong to?</p>
<p>I’d prefer not to say. I will say though that it is not the one in the article. So I can’t speak personally about their pledge term, but I will say confidently that the things described do not reflect what I or anyone I know have experienced here.</p>
<p>negativepi, I certainly don’t blame you. 
As I’ve mentioned on the parents’ thread, my S is a member of a house that also does not indulge in this type of disgusting initiation ritual. While he hasn’t told me exactly what they actually do, it isn’t the stuff Lohse describes. (Nor is it the infamous elephant walk, which he thinks is even worse.) But he does say that although guys from these houses do not talk about it, it is generally known that SOME houses do this kind of thing, while others do not. So students who are interested in pledging can pick and choose among houses, particularly if they actually take the time to get to know the brothers instead of making judgments based on idiot frat rankings on B@B.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, all kinds of organizations at all kinds of schools seem to engage in stupid and sometimes dangerous and/or demeaning initiation rites. Administrators everywhere try to stop it, and they may have achieved a reduction, but it will not stop until participants in these groups show enough self respect to walk away or refuse.</p>
<p>My son is also a member of a fraternity that does not engage in this type of behavior, but my son has told me graphic stories of what happens at other fraternities. What Andrew Lohse describes in his article is typical of what goes on in a few of the houses. From what I understand, it is common for pledges to be forced to drink until they vomit and then they are forced to continue drinking. I am surprised that no one has died. Dartmouth is a wonderful college on many levels, but the administration has turned a blind eye on this matter. The school claims it has rules, but rules are useless unless enforced. I personally asked Dr. Kim why security doesn’t knock on the door of these houses during pledge term? He didn’t have an answer for me. I am happy to see Dartmouth hazing is getting all this negative attention because it might force the school to finally do something about it. I had feared nothing would happen until someone was hazed to death.</p>