The University is investigating allegations of hazing and underage drinking among members of GW’s secret society The Order of the Hippo.
Student Judicial Services has received multiple allegations of hazing stemming from what is believed to be an initiation ritual of the Order of the Hippo members last week. Late on the night of April 28, some of the group’s apparent participants were seen being led blindfolded around University Yard. The blindfolded students also had what appeared to be mud or paint on their faces.
“(SJS) is now looking into reports of alleged violations of the Code of Student Conduct involving individual students that have been brought to their attention with relation to alleged activities Thursday and Friday,” University media relations director Tracy Schario said in a statement.
Robert Chernak, senior vice president for Student and Academic Support Services, said some under-21 members may have drank at a University Club event following an April 29 induction ceremony.
“There were reports of allegations of underage drinking by some members, and inappropriate measures may have been taken,” he said during an interview at Wednesday’s Midnight Breakfast in the Marvin Center. “What we have to do is look into the matter fully and be sure we get all the facts.”
Chernak added that any violations of the student code of conduct or D.C. law would be the responsibility of individual members, and the not organization as a whole.
Administrators suspected of involvement in the secret society – including President Stephen Joel Trachtenberg and Vice President of Communications Michael Freedman – would not comment on the hazing allegations, saying they knew nothing about them.
Other officials playfully denied the group’s existence, even though the Order of the Hippo sponsors events, has an e-mail address and sent out invitations to its April 29 dinner in the School of Media and Public Affairs building.
“As far as I know there is no hazing that is going on,” said University Marshal Jill Kasle, who said that if the organization exists, she may be its advisor.
“No University organization that I am a part of would commit hazing acts specifically against the University’s policy with my knowledge,” Kasle added. “I would not allow it.”
According to an invitation obtained by The Hatchet, the April 29 dinner in the SMPA building – which was followed by a reception at the University Club – was an initiation dinner for “the hippo class of 2005.” The night before, several blindfolded students were spotted in University Yard, hands on shoulders, with students whose eyes were not covered. All of the students seen Thursday night were at Friday night’s SMPA dinner.
Seniors Lee Roupas and Devlin Keating, both former Student Association officials, were not wearing blindfolds. The blindfolded group included junior Carrie Warrick, vice president for public affairs for SA President Omar Woodard; senior Christian Washington, Woodard’s executive administrator; sophomore Jeff Goodman, a campaign advisor to SA President-elect Audai Shakour; and former SA senator Josh Lasky. Sophomore Calder Brannock and senior Ed Buckley were seen giving speeches next to the bronze hippopotamus statue outside Lisner Auditorium on H Street. None of the students seen Thursday night would comment on their activities.
“Inductees have to act like hippos in the mud and give speeches to the hippo statue,” said a student close to several members of the Order of the Hippo. The student said this is not the first year the organization has conducted induction activities that she characterized as hazing.
The code of conduct defines hazing as “Any action taken or situation created intentionally, with or without consent, whether on or off campus, to produce mental or physical discomfort, embarrassment, harassment or ridicule.” The definition says those being hazed may also be “engaging in public stunts and buffoonery; morally degrading or humiliating games and activities.”
Penalties for breaking the code utilize “the range of sanctions of the University’s Code of Student Conduct.” In October, the University disciplined the Alpha Epsilon Phi sorority for “requiring candidates to keep a penny in their shoe” and “wear specific clothing under their street clothes, which created a situation where new members were subject to physical and mental discomfort and embarrassment.”
Interfraternity Council President Jordan Peterson said blindfolding students and putting mud on their faces would “definitely be hazing.”
“If one of the Greek organizations on campus was seen doing something like this, then it would definitely be brought before SJS and would most likely result in at least the chapter being suspended,” Peterson added.
Doug Fierberg, a District lawyer who has represented families that have had a son or daughter killed or seriously injured in hazing incidents, said hazing is a serious problem across the country.
“Such rituals show the dedication of the inductees, how committed they are to joining such a group,” Fierberg said. “The problem is, all too often such hazing is taken too far, and students get hurt.”
Schario said the University takes its no-hazing policy very seriously.
“We’ve been tongue-in-cheek about the Hippo Society, which is fun dialogue to have about students who do good work (e.g. the telescope at 1957 E St.),” she wrote in the statement. “However, these are serious allegations, and this should be the focus. We will not condone misbehavior. Violations of the code of student conduct will be taken seriously and investigated according to SJS processes.”
-Michael Barnett, Erin Shea and Kyle Spector contributed to this report.
