On Dec. 24, 2024, President Joe Biden signed the Stop Campus Hazing Act into law, requiring higher education institutions to disclose reports of hazing in their annual Clery Reports on campus crime. Additionally, the bill requires higher education institutions to develop a “prevention program on hazing.”
New Hampshire law currently classifies hazing as a misdemeanor, according to Hanover Police Department Lieutenant Mike Schibuola. In December, Hanover Police issued arrest warrants for three individuals in connection to hazing allegations within the Theta Beta Beta chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc..
Schibuola said that in his three and a half years at Hanover Police Department, the College has been “consistent” in its reports of hazing. The Department receives one to two hazing reports per term, he added.
“Since I’ve been here, [the Theta Beta Beta arrest warrants are] the first time that we’ve actually charged fraternity members and associates with the fraternity with actual hazing,” Schibuola said. “It’s very consistent, but it’s usually not at a criminal level.”
According to Schibuola, hazing reports are not always related to Greek Life and instead may involve new members on Dartmouth athletic teams.
The Stop Hazing Act defines hazing as any “intentional” or “reckless” act with “substantial risk” committed against a student, regardless of that student’s “willingness” to engage. The act is also concerned with acts that cause “physical or psychological injury” for the initiation or maintainence of membership in an organization.
Andrew Lohse ’12, the author of “Confessions of an Ivy League Frat Boy” — a memoir recounting his experiences at a Dartmouth fraternity — said the law’s definition of risk is “broad.”
“There’s always been a [hazing] problem and probably always will be,” Lohse said. “How you define it matters, and also how you don’t define it matters and getting that balance right is near to impossible.”
Lohse said he met with College administrators in 2010 with “folders” and “emails” documenting the alleged hazing he experienced. Ultimately, “nothing came of” Lohse’s reporting, which caused him to face “intense backlash,” he explained.
A sorority executive, who requested anonymity to speak candidly about her experiences, noted that while hazing is “not absent” from sororities, it is “more of a problem” among fraternities.
“I think that [the fraternity rush process] sets up this really weird power dynamic,” she said. “It makes brothers more susceptible to hazing once somebody is initiated.”
The sorority executive said she feels “comforted” knowing that hazing can be “avoided” through the Good Samaritan policy — a program offering assistance for intoxicated students — and by requiring every potential new member of Greek Life to sign an “anti-hazing agreement.”
“It’s very easy to forget the possible consequences of what you’re doing until it’s gone too far, and then you’re reminded of why you’re told not to do it,” she said.
Schibuola said the Hanover Police Department participates in meetings with Greek houses and their leadership — in compliance with New Hampshire state law — about anti-hazing and safety. The College already enforces anti-hazing education, he added. Potential new members are required to complete a module designed by StopHazing, a hazing research and prevention organization, prior to recruitment, according to the Office of Greek Life website.
Schibuola noted that the Stop Campus Hazing Act will benefit prospective students and families by making reports of hazing public in the Clery Report.
“Parents can have a better idea of if there is a hazing problem at a college,” Schibuola said. “If there are a lot of hazing complaints, people can make an informed decision about whether they want their student to join one of these Greek organizations.”
