Dear Dean Foster,
Hazing is a serious allegation and for good reason. It can cause significant emotional and, in the most serious instances, physical harm. Hazing demeans people and can ostracize those we ought to welcome.
Bowdoin’s commitment to fostering community is a noble goal and one which clearly does not allow for the humiliation of its newest members.
It is that seriousness that makes the recent allegations of hazing by the Bowdoin Men’s Rugby Football Club so absurd and insulting. If Bowdoin and its administration truly want to stomp out hazing at the College, they should take care in publicly accusing organizations of such serious misconduct.
Labeling the acts of hyping up a college-sanctioned party and donning party outfits in the dining hall—something done weekly by social houses—as hazing only serves to undermine the credibility of the administration (and dilute public perception of future allegations of hazing).
The recent series of hazing allegations and punishments at Bowdoin has turned me from a supporter of Bowdoin’s administration and its goals to a strong skeptic of nearly every move the College’s leaders make.
The punishing of the Meddiebempsters for an event designed specifically to avoid hazing accusations was a strong step in a disturbing and irrational direction. This most recent event involving the rugby team has truly turned me and others against what we once saw as an administration guiding the College in a positive direction.
I hope that the administration will reconsider its punishments and take more care to avoid prematurely accusing innocent students of grave misconduct.
Tight knit communities like the men’s rugby team are integral to the Bowdoin experience and it is crucial that they work with the administration to make Bowdoin the great school it is. Unless it changes, however, the administration will continue to lose the support of alumni who are becoming disaffected with the handling of the student affairs of the College.
Sincerely,
Jack Morrison
Class of 2011Dear Dean Foster,
Hazing is a serious allegation and for good reason. It can cause significant emotional and, in the most serious instances, physical harm. Hazing demeans people and can ostracize those we ought to welcome.
Bowdoin’s commitment to fostering community is a noble goal and one which clearly does not allow for the humiliation of its newest members.
It is that seriousness that makes the recent allegations of hazing by the Bowdoin Men’s Rugby Football Club so absurd and insulting. If Bowdoin and its administration truly want to stomp out hazing at the College, they should take care in publicly accusing organizations of such serious misconduct.
Labeling the acts of hyping up a college-sanctioned party and donning party outfits in the dining hall—something done weekly by social houses—as hazing only serves to undermine the credibility of the administration (and dilute public perception of future allegations of hazing).
The recent series of hazing allegations and punishments at Bowdoin has turned me from a supporter of Bowdoin’s administration and its goals to a strong skeptic of nearly every move the College’s leaders make.
The punishing of the Meddiebempsters for an event designed specifically to avoid hazing accusations was a strong step in a disturbing and irrational direction. This most recent event involving the rugby team has truly turned me and others against what we once saw as an administration guiding the College in a positive direction.
I hope that the administration will reconsider its punishments and take more care to avoid prematurely accusing innocent students of grave misconduct.
Tight knit communities like the men’s rugby team are integral to the Bowdoin experience and it is crucial that they work with the administration to make Bowdoin the great school it is. Unless it changes, however, the administration will continue to lose the support of alumni who are becoming disaffected with the handling of the student affairs of the College.
Sincerely,
Jack Morrison
Class of 2011
Dear Dean Foster,
Hazing is a serious allegation and for good reason. It can cause significant emotional and, in the most serious instances, physical harm. Hazing demeans people and can ostracize those we ought to welcome.
Bowdoin’s commitment to fostering community is a noble goal and one which clearly does not allow for the humiliation of its newest members.
It is that seriousness that makes the recent allegations of hazing by the Bowdoin Men’s Rugby Football Club so absurd and insulting. If Bowdoin and its administration truly want to stomp out hazing at the College, they should take care in publicly accusing organizations of such serious misconduct.
Labeling the acts of hyping up a college-sanctioned party and donning party outfits in the dining hall—something done weekly by social houses—as hazing only serves to undermine the credibility of the administration (and dilute public perception of future allegations of hazing).
The recent series of hazing allegations and punishments at Bowdoin has turned me from a supporter of Bowdoin’s administration and its goals to a strong skeptic of nearly every move the College’s leaders make.
The punishing of the Meddiebempsters for an event designed specifically to avoid hazing accusations was a strong step in a disturbing and irrational direction. This most recent event involving the rugby team has truly turned me and others against what we once saw as an administration guiding the College in a positive direction.
I hope that the administration will reconsider its punishments and take more care to avoid prematurely accusing innocent students of grave misconduct.
Tight knit communities like the men’s rugby team are integral to the Bowdoin experience and it is crucial that they work with the administration to make Bowdoin the great school it is. Unless it changes, however, the administration will continue to lose the support of alumni who are becoming disaffected with the handling of the student affairs of the College.
Sincerely,
Jack Morrison
Class of 2011