According to the board of former students, ‘unacceptable behavior’ has recently taken place in at least eight disputes. ‘There is an outright denial, it is made small, even when injuries are visible and the zero-year students declare that violence has taken place. In our view, there is something really wrong with a number of boys and especially girls who consider it normal that extreme humiliation, kicking and beating up should be part of the short green time,” they write to the other reunions of the Amsterdamsch Studenten Corps. and the Amsterdamse Vrouwen Studenten Vereeniging (ASC/AVSV).
The rector of the ASC/AVSV, Jack Koopman, put an end to the hazing after several reports of transgressive behavior within disputes had been received. It was not clear exactly what incidents were involved.
The reunions announce measures in the internal letter. ‘After the end of the green period, it will therefore be prosecuted and where possible sanctioning individual members and (green) boards who have committed misconduct or have had them committed. Whether that leads to suspension or removal from the association remains to be seen.’
With a view to the 170th anniversary, in July 2022, the veterans want to clean up and realize a culture change. A Commission for Revision of the Introductory Time is being set up to prevent excesses in the future.
It is not the first time that ASC/AVSV, with more than 2700 active members, the largest student association in the Netherlands, has been discredited. Around the hazing in 2016, three people ended up in hospital after the future sorority members had to swim in the canal and sleep among the rubbish.
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