Dartblog

Dartmouth students are in the middle of a serious debate on hazing. Good for them. Yesuto Shaw’s column in The D the other day has now been followed up by a strong piece by military veteran David Brooks ‘15. He accurately distinguishes between the rigors of his Marine Corps boot camp experience and fraternity hazing:

But didn’t I say that [military] hazing had made me a better person? Yes, but my hazing served a purpose beyond the typical “brotherhood” excuse that is often touted by fraternities. The Marines are training for war, not to share beers. My DIs were my superiors who had endured one of the most strenuous training schools in the Marine Corps for the right to make me a Marine. No other student at this school is your superior. The DI in the above story had set off from Kuwait to Baghdad at the beginning of the Iraq War. He led his platoon right into Saddam Hussein’s palace. He knew what it took to mold me into the person that could succeed in the environment that he had also endured. No student should be expected to endure beatings, incentive training or the level of personal subjugation that Yesuto described.

Let’s hope that The D allows an extended series of accounts and opinions about hazing. Past Editors have too often limited dialogue about any given issue to two pieces. That’s wrong. Certain issues, and especially this one, need to be debated at length.