Dry Weekend misplaces emphasis

From Feb. 8 to Feb. 9, the University implemented a dry weekend policy to curb alcohol use during sorority and fraternity recruitment events. According to the Office of Greek Life, alcohol is already banned from new member activities, but there have been problems in the past with heavy drinking right after sorority recruitment, which is why they chose that particular weekend to be alcohol-free.

While the Office of Greek Life certainly has noble intentions, the editorial board believes that its dry weekend policy is an inadequate solution to the heavy drinking that inevitably occurs in sororities and fraternities. Even if new sorority members cannot attend frat parties that weekend, they can still drink in older members’ apartments. And, even if they do abstain from drinking for one weekend, that will not stop them from drinking with their sorority the next weekend.

While this step may not be very effective, it is better than doing nothing to address the situation. This page thinks, however, that the Office of Greek Life should focus their efforts on hazing in addition to drinking, especially due to last year’s reported fraternity hazing. The editorial board is disappointed with the Office’s approach to hazing prevention and encourages it to devote more attention to the matter.

Incidents of hazing can only be prevented when the University is aware of their existence. The editorial board believes that the Office of Greek Life’s current policy of hazing reporting is both ineffective and insufficient.

In the Inter-Fraternity Council section of the Greek Life website, for example, the “JHU Hazing Policy” button is the only one which doesn’t actually link to a document. What’s more, the telephone number which the Office provides on its Anti-Hazing Pledge Cards to report incidents of hazing appears to be disconnected. Our calls placed to this number have continuously received an automated voice informing us that the extension “has not been activated and is not accepting messages.” If the University is serious about cracking down on hazing, they should provide a 24-hour hotline on their Anti-Hazing Cards, not a disconnected extension without a voicemail box.

The editorial board encourages the Office of Greek Life to institute a comprehensive anti-hazing policy that provides students with the resources necessary to report incidents of unlawful conduct. Other universities are tackling hazing by supplying students with such resources as smartphone anti-hazing applications and anonymous tip lines. There is no reason why Hopkins shouldn’t do the same.