Citing Bad Behavior, Dartmouth College Bans Hard Alcohol, Pledging
Bad news for Dartmouth College partyers and area liquor stores: Citing student misbehavior, the Ivy League school that inspired Animal House announced Thursday that it will ban hard alcohol on its campus, even for students of legal drinking age.
The ban will go into effect at the end of March and apply to beverages with 15 percent or more alcohol by volume (30 proof) — a measurement that would also encompass some wines and beers, WBUR reports.
Similar bans are in place at Bates, Colby, and Bowdoin colleges, as well as Providence College, according to The Boston Globe.
Dartmouth President Philip Hanlon told WBUR that students are more apt to “pregame’’ with liquor than with beer or wine, and the majority of students taken to hospitals for drinking too much had consumed hard alcohol.
In addition to the liquor ban, Dartmouth also prohibited the practice of pledging at fraternities and sororities, due to the possibility of hazing. Its Greek organizations — to which half of Dartmouth’s students belong — will still be able to bring in new members, however, The Boston Globe reports. WBUR notes that the school’s fraternities and sororities will now have to submit an annual review like other student groups.
As one of nearly 100 U.S. universities under investigation for how it has handled sexual assault complaints, Hanlonalso announced new measures against sexual violence.
In addition to creating an online “consent manual’’ and conducting student surveys about sexual assault, the collegewill require all students to undergo a four-year sexual assault prevention program starting next year, the Globe reports.
An oversight committee has been put in place to make sure the school follows through on its plan. Former Tufts University President Larry Bacow will be its chair.
Hanlon’s full speech to the Dartmouth community, in which he discussed these reforms, can be read here.
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