Hazing allegations at Amsterdam student association may involve assault, excessive verbal abuse

Beating, stomping, and extreme and persistent humiliation are among the alleged incidents of hazing which involved transgressive behavior at the A.S.C./A.V.S.V. student association in Amsterdam. The scant details about the incidents were outlined in a letter from the board representing the association’s former membership.

Multiple students sustained injuries during to the initiation ceremony, the Volkskrant reported. On Friday, it was announced that the student organization immediately stopped its introduction programs because the board had received reports of misconduct during the initiation ceremony.

Both men and women carried out the transgressive acts, according to the former members’ letter. "In our view, something is really wrong with some boys, and certainly also some girls, who see it as normal that extreme humiliation, stomping and beating each other up should be part of the short initiation period,” the letter stated. The hazing was carried out with the attitude, "That also happened to me, and thus I will do it, too.”

A spokesperson for A.S.C./A.V.S.V. would not say what exactly transpired, but did say on Friday that it had been "completely unacceptable". The University of Amsterdam received a report about the misdeeds later that day.

The Vrije Universiteit also said they were informed later than protocol demands. “We only recently were updated on the incidents when we asked questions ourselves”, a VU spokesperson told the Volkskrant on Friday. “We want to know next week from the representatives of the association why we were not immediately informed about what happened.”

The A.S.C./A.V.S.V. is the largest student association in the Netherlands with over 2,700 members. In July 2022, the association will celebrate its 170th anniversary “but there is no reason for celebration if a clear cultural change does not take place”, the former members wrote.