Dartmouth College is taking steps to crack down on hard partying in the wake of a string of incidents that depict a culture of sexual assault and dangerous drinking at many American colleges.
College president Phil Hanlon said in a speech Thursday morning that the school will now ban all hard alcohol (that which is 30 proof or 15% alcohol by volume) from the Hanover, New Hampshire campus. That would exclude beer and wine but include hard alcochol. Hanlon said the school will also roll out a new housing system and try to create more on-campus social alternatives to partying.
"When it comes to a safe environment—and one that is advantageous to learning—we know that excessive drinking is one of the most pressing challenges we face," Hanlon said in his prepared remarks.
The administration had considered eliminating fraternities and sororities from campus altogether but ultimately decided on a set of strict reforms, Hanlon said. These reforms include doing away with "pledging," the probationary period new recruits undergo before becoming full-fledged members, during which hazing often takes place.
The president was spurred to action last spring after Dartmouth saw a 14% dip in applications for the next school year, which he attributed to "extreme and harmful behaviors" that had tarnished the school's legacy. At the time, he asked a committee of students, faculty and alumni to offer up ways to combat the behavior.
“We can no longer allow this college to be held back by the few who wrongly hide harmful behaviors behind the illusion of youthful exuberance," Hanlon said at the time.
The committee put together a report that examined the prevalence of drinking and sexual assault on campus and outlined solutions.
The Ivy League school revamped its policy for handling sexual assault last year with mandatory expulsion for some cases and an independent investigation process. It also started offering bystander training to prevent incidents from occurring and Hanlon said the college now plans to release a safety app.
Dartmouth was one of a slew of colleges that faced a Title IX investigation over complaints that they had mishandled accusations of sexual violence. Though its key details were ultimately called into question by the Washington Post, Rolling Stone's article on a gruesome gang rape at the University of Virginia also prompted several universities to review policies regarding sexual violence.
Dartmouth has garnered a reputation for heavy drinking and a destructive frat culture in recent years. In another controversial Rolling Stone piece in 2012, a former Dartmouth fraternity member recounted sickening hazing practices. He later went on to write a memoir about the ordeal. Another Dartmouth student, Crispus Knight, wrote a memoir about his years at Dartmouth that described the dangerous fraternity culture that led him to fail out of the school.
The report said Dartmouth students do more high-risk drinking than their peers at other U.S. colleges, and the number has slightly increased since 2012. But the number of incidents of extreme intoxication treated has been on the decline.
"We envision a campus where students are free of extreme behaviors," Hanlon said. "Where sexual assault and high-risk drinking are eradicated from our campus."