Student accuses frat of hazing violations
Andrew Lohse '12 has accused the College of taking inadequate action in response to his allegations of hazing at his former fraternity, Sigma Alpha Epsilon.
By Laura Bryn Sisson, The Dartmouth Staff
Published on Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Administrators failed to adequately respond to November 2010 allegations of “dehumanizing” hazing at a campus fraternity, Andrew Lohse ’12, the student who made the allegations, said in a statement to The Dartmouth. College administrators, however, said Lohse’s failure to provide adequate evidence and speak on the record about the hazing at Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity limited their actions to contacting the national organization and alerting the Hanover Police Department of possible “Hell Night” activities during the 2010 Fall term.
Associate Dean of the College for Campus Life April Thompson said the administration took every possible action when Lohse presented the allegations a year and a half ago, but could not do more given Lohse’s insistence that his complaint remain anonymous.
Lohse first spoke to Thompson directly about hazing in November 2010, a year after his own pledge term, Thompson said, though they spoke “informally” before that time. Lohse requested anonymity and did not provide physical evidence, Thompson said.
“I was a member of a fraternity that asked pledges, in order to become a brother, to: swim in a kiddie pool full of vomit, urine, fecal matter, semen and rotten food products; eat omelets made of vomit; chug cups of vinegar, which in one case caused a pledge to vomit blood; drink beers poured down fellow pledges’ ass cracks; and vomit on other pledges, among other abuses,” Lohse told The Dartmouth.
The allegations originally presented to administrators were similar to those detailed in Lohse’s statement to The Dartmouth, Chief of Staff David Spalding said. Spalding said he did not recall seeing photographic evidence of hazing in a November 2010 meeting with Lohse and that Lohse did not present him with videos of alleged hazing incidents.
“It is most beneficial for us in these situations for a student to be willing to speak on the record, speak as a witness, identify individuals and provide evidence on that basis,” Spalding said. “[Lohse] was not willing to do that.”
Administrators also discussed plans for “Hell Night,” the culminating event of pledge term, with the then-president of SAE to ensure that the event would not violate the College’s hazing policy, Spalding said.
Hanover Police received information from the Dean of the College’s Office that hazing might take place near Bartlett Tower and the Bema on Dec. 1, 2010, and “staked out the area” on the night in question, Hanover Police Chief Nicholas Giaccone said in an interview with The Dartmouth.
“One of the officers had night vision equipment, and we did follow and see people leaving from SAE, and they were found in the Bema area,” Giaccone said. “What we observed did not reach the level of hazing.”
Officers stopped and questioned a group of SAE pledges but found no evidence of hazing, Giaccone said.
Hanover Police also inspected SAE’s physical plant and interviewed its president that night, determining the tip they received was false, SAE president Brendan Mahoney ’12 said.
Lohse, however, said he felt the College’s response to his allegations was inadequate.
“They have yet to take decisive action to diagnose and cure the abuse that plagues Dartmouth,” Lohse said.
Claims in Lohse’s statement that suggest inactivity on the part of the College are “completely false,” Mahoney said.
Under New Hampshire state law, “student hazing” is defined as “any act directed toward a student, or any coercion or intimidation of a student to act or participate in an act when 1) such act is likely or would be perceived by a reasonable person as likely to cause physical or psychological injury to any person; and 2) such act is a condition of initiation into, admission into, continued membership in or association with any organization,” according to the College’s Student Handbook.
The College defines hazing as “any action taken or situation created involving prospective or new members of a group or as a condition of continued membership in a group (fraternity, sorority, team, club or other organization), which would be perceived by a reasonable person as likely to produce mental or physical discomfort, harm, stress, embarrassment, harassment or ridicule,” according to the handbook.
As such, the College maintains a lower threshold for hazing than state law, Giaccone said.
The College has a legal obligation to report hazing to the state, as it is a violation of New Hampshire law, Thompson said.
Since the investigation into the December 2010 “Hell Night,” “there have been other reports of hazing in the Greek system in general from the College, and we have looked into them,” Giaccone said. None of these complaints, however, have spurred investigations of the same extent, he said.
Lohse sent an email to Mahoney indicating his intent to de-pledge SAE on Jan. 20, Mahoney said. Following the exchange, Lohse ceased to be a member of the fraternity, according to Mahoney. Lohse gave no reason for his resignation of membership, Mahoney said.
“We give [our new members] the resources to report any hazing violations,” Mahoney said. “We would never put someone’s membership in question for reporting violations.”
Mahoney also said he had not personally experienced any of the hazing practices described in Lohse’s statement.
A preliminary draft of Lohse’s opinion column, published today in The Dartmouth, was in the process of being fact-checked by The Dartmouth when it was posted on the Dartblog website, an alumni-operated blog independent of the College, on Tuesday. The column posted was not the version Lohse intended to publish in The Dartmouth, according to Lohse.
During the 2011 Summer term, Lohse stated his approval of the response to his allegations in an email to Thompson.
“I think the hazing question at SAE has been answered — word got backchanneled through National that what was happening had to stop, scaring everyone, and now giving me and others who didn’t like hazing a big amount of leverage from the inside with which to end the practices once and for all,” Lohse said in the July 11, 2011 email.
In an Oct. 6, 2011 opinion column in The Dartmouth, Lohse cautioned readers against “thinking that Greek life will alter you deeply.” He urged students considering entering the Greek system to “remember that your brothers or sisters, and friends regardless of affiliation, will be there for you without fail.”
When Lohse originally brought his hazing complaint to the administration, he was not an enrolled student at the College, according to Spalding. His enrollment status, however, did not affect the administration’s treatment of the issue, he said.
Spalding and Thompson said they could not comment on Lohse’s current standing with the College.
Lohse pled no contest to charges of cocaine possession and witness tampering and guilty to a charge of unlawful possession and intoxication on July 14, 2010. The no contest plea legally states that a defendant will neither challenge nor claim guilt for a charge.
The incident occurred after another member of SAE reported seeing Lohse and several other students using cocaine at the fraternity’s physical plant. Lohse allegedly spat on the witness and poured out a beer on the door of his room following the initial incident.
Let’s hope you wont have to swim in a bucket of piss and vomit this weekend and if you do, Mr Lohse will be there to hold your hand. Or if you’re lucky to piss all over you…
http://scallywagandvagabond.com/2012/01/dartmouth-frat-hopeful-accuses-frat-house-of-forcing-them-to-swim-in-urine-vomit-semen-and-to-eat-an-omelette-made-of-vomit/
By scallywag on Jan 25 | 12:07 pm
I personally know guys in SAE who told me that what Lohse said is 100% accurate but they signed an agreement at the beginning of their pledge term to never divulge information, sort of a confidentiality pact. Mahoney is straight out lying and SAE needs to get shut down. Why was there not an INDEPENDENT investigation into this hazing scandal when it was first exposed? Instead Thompson and Spalding just pushed it to the side and did nothing. Jim Kim, RESIGN NOW! You and your administration have put too many lives in danger. We have already had one death and countless psychological problems thanks to your lack of leadership.
By Dartmouth Student 13 on Jan 25 | 12:39 pm
Anyone who thinks this was made up is going around campus with a bag on their head.
The single-sex Greek Houses on campus are directly responsible for the culture of sexual assault, sexism, and dehumanization that is prevalent on campus.
The administration’s only goal is to keep their jobs – and they know this will be difficult if they lose alumni funding by addressing the single-sex Greek System.
There are alternatives for students who don’t want to put up with this shit – the Co-Ed houses, Student Societies (Amarna, Panarchy, etc), or going unaffiliated – no such atmosphere there. But these options are consistently ignored by the D and others.
By Oh Nine - Ti Li on Jan 25 | 12:49 pm
IT’S TIME FOR JIM CRIME TO RESIGN
By truth hurtz on Jan 25 | 12:53 pm
What’s the big deal?
http://www.break.com/usercontent/2007/10/Guy-Drinks-Beer-From-Ass-Crack-391589
By DartBored on Jan 25 | 1:13 pm
I think those of us who have close friends in the Greek system or participate in the Greek system ourselves, know that most of Lohse’s allegations ring true. I’ve personally heard from several of my friends about “doming” and drinking each other’s vomit. I’ve seen friends actually psychologically shut down as a result of pledge term. That being said, I wish it wasn’t Lohse leading this campaign. As others have already stated, his record is less than stellar.
By Anonymous on Jan 25 | 1:59 pm
“During the 2011 Summer term, Lohse stated his approval of the response to his allegations in an email to Thompson. “I think the hazing question at SAE has been answered — word got backchanneled through National that what was happening had to stop, scaring everyone, and now giving me and others who didn’t like hazing a big amount of leverage from the inside with which to end the practices once and for all,” Lohse said in the July 11, 2011 email.” Did Thompson really release an email from Lohse to the Dartmouth? What happened to confidentiality between a student and his dean??!!!????!!!! Thompson needs to be fired immediately
By anon on Jan 25 | 2:20 pm
@anon, he sent things the dean said out. Also, Lohse just attacked her and the administration for purported inaction. Lohse has no credibility
By Anonymous on Jan 25 | 3:06 pm
To believe that investigations by the Hanover Police and the Dartmouth administration would unearth anything would be laughable. Unless either group finds out the time and date of when hazing is going on and then bursts in unexpectedly, nothing will happen. And, honestly, did HPo really expect to find SAE hazing on the BEMA? I’m sorry, but anyone with half a brain would know to keep that stuff happening indoors.
Lohse is certainly somebody we have reason to doubt because of the cocaine incident – he has reason to be angry at SAE. But that’s it. I think it’s perfectly arguable that Lohse might actually be a good guy and, now that he has nothing to lose, is willing to expose the bad stuff that happens in frats (along with talking idealistically about everything else: http://thedartmouth.com/search?query=andrew+lohse).
If you’re going to point out that Lohse “pleaded “no contest” to the charge of harassing/tampering with the witness who had reported Lohse’s crimes” as Anon above says, reading the full affadivit from Warthen ‘10 reveals that Lohse’s “harassing/tampering” amounts to a blitz mildly expressing his displeasure at having SNS called on him for cocaine use (affadivit here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/31913045/Warthen-Affidavit).
Owing to the seriousness of these statements along with the support that the above posts are giving them, I think there’s a fair chance that they are true. Granted, maybe Lohse is posting above under different names. But there has clearly been no serious investigation and the issue stands.
By D’14 on Jan 25 | 3:06 pm
It’s so amusing how people automatically blame the administration when things like this happen. Here’s a novel idea: grow up. The administration shouldn’t need to tell us that forcing pledges to swim in a pool of bodily fluids is wrong or that it’s demeaning and dehumanizing. Most of us here are pretty smart. I think we can figure that out for ourselves. What does it say about Lohse’s character that he actually went along with this? If he had any integrity at all he would have de-pledged on the spot. We have a dangerous deficiency of students taking responsibility over their own actions. We’re so quick to blame the administration or the existing social norms. But our traditions are student-created and student-perpetuated. Real change will only come when we take it upon ourselves to change the system, and a big part of that is simply not becoming involved in activities that besmirch our individual character and integrity.
By Brian Giunta on Jan 25 | 3:24 pm
The administration knew about the hazing and they ignored it. We’re not blaming them that SAE hazed, we’re just blaming them that they did nothing to stop it when they found out about it. And not a word from President Kim about this incident that is now on the Huffington Post? Come on Brian.
By @ Brian Giunta on Jan 25 | 4:11 pm
Sounds like Lohser.
By anon on Jan 25 | 4:21 pm
My son is in a fraternity, though not SAE. He had a rash on his body for weeks after having to swim through muck. The stories of urinating and vomiting on each other are true. And I know he didn’t tell me half of what went on. Dartmouth turns a blind eye to this disgusting behavior. Maybe if it were President Kim’s child he’d finally speak up.
By parent’12 on Jan 25 | 6:21 pm
Look, since Jim Kim took office, much of the culture at Dartmouth has changed. PR has been used ridiculously. The College is using PR to spit out, essentially, propaganda. Things aren’t as rosy as they seem.
There was a time when the President cared about students and staff. Ever heard of Tucker? Or Dickey? Or Jim Wright? Jim and Susan Wright are well regarded by students and staff despite our falling down to 11th place on US News and World Report rankings. They cared and joined students to make the school a community. Dinner during orientation on their lawn? Check.
Then came Jim Kim. Everything was bright and rosy and optimistic. Then we saw the truth: he only cares about business. Money. Attention in the media. What about the students? Employees? Building a community? We hear the same rhetoric over and over again. The exact same quote from Pres. John Sloan Dickey. Employees are disgruntled not because of pay, but rather how Jim Kim has converted Dartmouth from an educational institution into one that just cares about improving its finances. Students are unhappy because of unpopular choices by the administration. The administration has turned a deaf ear on everything. Want Google Mail? No? Too bad. Want a new all-you-can-eat dining plan? Really? Sorry, you’re getting it. You want us to salt our sidewalks when it snows or rains freezing rain? Nah. And now this. It’s time for Jim Kim and his administration to go.
By Another anon on Jan 25 | 6:55 pm
I’m horrified and disgusted by these allegations, though not entirely surprised. As an alumnae of the college, I’ve grown increasingly concerned by the lack of leadership on any substantive issues by the Kim administration. Good PR isn’t enough, President Kim. I’m tired of real issues being covered up and nothing done to address them. It’s like our country in a microcosm…
Alumni aren’t blind followers. Don’t keep on counting on our support when there’s a lack of transparency and a failure of leadership, on many levels. I used to think of how proud I’d be if my children were accepted into Dartmouth. Now I’m not sure I’d want them to go. How very sad.
By Class of ‘82 on Jan 25 | 7:17 pm
This isn’t the first time Mr. Lohse has turned on campus organizations for his own gain.
During his freshman year Mr. Lohse was a writer for the Dartmouth Review, arguably the most conservative publication of the Ivy League but certainly well respected (alums include Joseph Rago, Dinesh D'Souza). When Mr. Lohse was offered an editorship at a liberal publication (TDI I think) he left The Dartmouth Review and his views immediately changed. He proceeded to publish a series of articles where he reported to be an “insider” in the Dartmouth Review and claimed that many writers were bigots and homophobes.
In other words Lohse is willing to turn against any person/organization and completely change his views on a subject for his personal gain. He may have a future career as Governor of Massachusetts.
PS No pledge term forces one to degrade women and do cocaine in public places. The fact that he did those things only speaks to his character.
By Romney? on Jan 25 | 7:30 pm
it’s easy to call this guy’s character into question. but if you actually go to dartmouth, it should also be easy to recognize a lot of his allegations as being familiar parts of dartmouth frat culture. think about slang like “doming yourself,” “dome-offs,” “pulling your trigger on each other,” etc. I’ve definitely heard of a** beers and vomelets too.
it bothers me that the conversation has become all about lohse and his reputation and character. the point of his opinion piece wasn’t even to prove that his specific descriptions of pledge term in this one fraternity were true. i have no interest in defending him as a person, but the point of his piece was that the physical and psychological effects of hazing can be really damaging and contribute to a larger problem with campus culture that extends way beyond any one pledge, pledge class, or fraternity.
we all know hazing exists here, even if we think it’s okay or even necessary for male bonding, which is an argument I hear a lot. so you may disagree that the things that go down during fraternity pledge term embody the “intoxicating nihilism” lohse talks about or contribute to larger problems like sexual assault. but have that conversation instead. because that’s the one at hand here. don’t have a conversation about one person’s character, or whether every single one of his descriptions was true, because unless you’re completely unfamiliar with our school and our greek system, you know that degrading and disgusting stuff goes on in almost every frat’s pledge term. he happened to be the person who wrote this article, but we all knew about it already. if you were surprised by what he said, you either don’t go here or you are oblivious.
By 13 anon on Jan 25 | 9:07 pm
I was a member of a fraternity and, although our hazing was not as extreme as that reported in this story, it was excessive and pointless. I do not find any of these allegations surprising. Neither should the administration. Although hazing is certainly a problem, what always bothered me most about my fraternity was the atmosphere of homophobia, misogyny and poor treatment of women by many members. The whole fraternal system shields and enables these attitudes and behavior. It won’t be easy and many wealthy alumni from the good ‘ol days will protest, but Dartmouth needs follow the path of other top universities that have had an active Greek system (e.g., Stanford), and begin the process of shutting it down. I would certainly feel must more comfortable sending my daughter to Dartmouth if the housed Greek system no longer existed.
By Anonymous on Jan 25 | 9:58 pm
Come on people. First of all, doing cocaine is not a moral flaw. It is either risky experimentation or a health issue. Secondly, turning against the Review sounds more like him not liking the Review because it’s kinda fd up. Thirdly, his moral character is not the point. The allegations are true. I’ve seen more than on Dartmouth man completely demoralized by pledge term, which is fd up because that is the goal. What does it say that the men of this campus continue organize a new round of this kind of hazing every year? What does it say about the women who tolerate and encourage them and flock to their houses for alcohol and sex? What does it say about the administration who stands by idly? It says we need a new administration, as well as a better method of admitting students that includes a better evaluation of their moral courage.
By d’14 on Jan 25 | 11:16 pm
I am an SAE alum from 10 years before the alleged hazing. I can’t say what went on during this guys pledge term or what happens at other houses now, but I can say with 100% certainty that it never used to be that way. The kind of hazing he talks about is just crazy. If any of it is true then what has happened at Dartmouth over the last 10 years to create such a culture? What rational person subjects themselves to that kind of hazing? During our “sink” night, we jumped into a little kiddie pool of water. There was nothing but water. Who wants to be friends with somebody who makes them swim in semen? That is insane. If somebody had asked me, or any of many pledge brothers, to do that we would have just started laughing at them. If any of that shit is actually happening then whoever is doing it needs to realize that pretty soon you will be in the real world, with a job and kids and a real life. You will look back on your college experience with painful shame and embarrassment. Grow up and change the culture yourselves or it is only a matter of time before the administration shuts down the whole greek system.
By SAE Alum on Jan 26 | 11:09 am