Amsterdam mayor, Education Minister shocked by degrading tasks fraternity's hazing
Amsterdam mayor Femke Halsema and Education Minister Robbert Dijkgraaf responded with shock to reports of degrading tasks prospective members of an Amsterdam fraternity had to perform last year. Amsterdam student association L.A.N.X. announced that it suspended the Ares fraternity for tasking its first-years with having sex with a woman in an alleyway, among other things.
On its website, L.A.N.X. said it discovered that prospective members received a list of tasks to achieve while on a hazing trip to Bucharest in November last year. If they could prove they did a task, they got points, and those with the fewest points were penalized. Under the “women and sex-related” section of the list were the tasks “date a refugee” and “fuck a bucket in an alley,” among other things.
“I find the information that has come out shocking,” Halsema said, NOS reports. “It shows that we still have a long way to go, starting with the students themselves.” She called the list “yet another example of a persistent problem among student associations.”
Halsema said that L.A.N.X. informed her about the issue last week and she would meet with the association soon. She expects L.A.N.X. will take measures “to prevent these types of abuses in the future,” she said. “I am also curious about what additional sanctions will follow for the fraternity in question.”
The events are “unbelievable and so out of date,” said outgoing Minister Robbert Dijkgraaf of Education. “Unfortunately, we still see this at the start of the academic year. Which should be a beautiful, pleasant time. It is very good that institutions are responding strongly to this.” He hopes that the educational institutions will have a sharp discussion with the student association about this.
The three institutions associated with L.A.N.X., the VU University Amsterdam, the University of Amsterdam, and Hogeschool van Amsterdam, spoke of “persistent behavior.” The institutions will discuss how to proceed, including whether L.A.N.X. will receive funding this year.
