Alleged Hazing at Princeton

[exlurker]

Princeton's student paper is beginning a series of articles on Greek life there with a fairly long story about alleged hazing -- mainly fraternity hazing, and leaning toward the lurid. I think because of Princeton's reputation / fame, and its proximity to New York and major media centers, this is the kind of article that might get picked up by other news sources. The story has some interesting quotes, including a few from Princeton's president.

See

http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/2010/04/26/25997/

Excerpts:

The first in a five-part series about fraternities and sororities on campus
By MATT WESTMORELAND AND JOSEPHINE WOLFF
SENIOR WRITERS

Published: Monday, April 26th, 2010

. . . Though fraternity hazing exercises may violate both University rules and state laws, often combining heavy drinking by minors with other illegal activities, the University neither officially recognizes nor actively engages with any of the Greek organizations on campus. Former fraternity members interviewed for this article told the ‘Prince’ that the University’s lack of oversight exacerbates these activities, but President Tilghman said she does not think recognizing Greek organizations would help the administration significantly influence members’ behavior.

. . . “I fundamentally believe that it’s impossible to regulate the very things that we are most concerned about with fraternities … which are the excessive alcohol and the hazing,” Tilghman said. “The notion that recognizing them will fix that — all you have to do is look at episodes that happen all over this country at universities that have recognized their fraternities and sororities to know that this is chasing fool’s gold.”
Though fraternity hazing is by no means unique to Princeton, some students and alumni said they believe University recognition might improve the situation on campus.

. . . Fraternity rush activities at Princeton run the gamut from harmless, silly tasks to more serious, potentially dangerous challenges. Some of the most visible examples include pledges from various fraternities streaking through large lecture classes and Kappa Alpha pledges standing outside McCosh Hall all day dressed as Secret Service agents.

Sororities tend to have tamer pledge requirements . . . . Frances Schendle ’06, who joined Kappa Alpha Theta when she was a freshman, recalled that new members were required to be “on call” one night per week to run errands for the older sisters.

“Older girls could call on us to do things like go to Frist and buy a bag of candy and come eat it with them while watching ‘Sex and the City,’ ” she said. “The activities we had to go through as a pledge were meant to foster bonding as a class.” . . .

. . . Tilghman said hazing and binge drinking in fraternities have long been major concerns for University trustees. “[In spring 2005] one of our trustees said something that has certainly lingered in my mind and in the minds of the trustees: ‘Would we be having a different conversation if a student had just died?’ ” she recalled. . . .

Tilghman said she doubts that the administration could successfully regulate Greek organizations, even if it recognized them.
“[Because we don’t recognize Greek organizations] we lose the potential for regulating the behavior that most concerns us,” she said. “Because I’m a skeptic, I think that potential is a low potential. But it’s not zero.” . . .

. . . “Either it’s going to be through swimming through a lake and getting hypothermia, or it’s going to be from massive alcohol poisoning,” [an ex-fraternity pledge] said. “Eventually, somebody’s probably going to die.”

Tomorrow: A look at who rushes fraternities and sororities on campus and why.