On August 30th, in an email sent to all Swarthmore students, faculty, and staff, Dean Jim Terhune released the contents of the external investigations conducted at the end of last semester and over the summer into both the fraternity leaks and the campus protests.

The text of the email can be found here. The document on the fraternity leaks is here, and the document on the campus protests here. 

We view the timing of this release as specifically tactical on the part of the administration, seeing as most students had not yet returned to campus and first-years therefore learned about the events of last spring through the lens of this blatantly one-sided report. As a result, our statement aims to serve as a response to the investigations and the email, as well as a way to reclaim our narrative of success last semester.

We would like to start by inviting all students, especially first years, to visit O4S’s table at the activities fair on Friday. We will be present throughout the event to answer questions and engage in conversation. 

The “findings” on the 100+ page fraternity leaks and the “Why Swarthmore’s fraternities must go” Tumblr page consist of just four pages; the document about campus protests is fifteen pages long. The priority of the college and of these investigations is to intimidate and punish student activists. In effect, the college continues to brush over its history of violence and deception.

The investigation presses on several occasions in which students refused to participate, painting students as uncooperative and blaming them for the administration’s lack of insight into fraternity misconduct. In his email, Dean Terhune wrote: “regrettably, many students who may have had information to share chose not to speak with the investigators in the Campus Events Investigation. Clearly, we need to commit ourselves to strengthening the fabric of our community and finding ways to engage in difficult conversations with candor, respect, and a presumption of good faith.” Dean Terhune fails to mention that, as written in the Documents Investigation Executive Summary, only one former member of Phi Psi participated in the investigation and no members of Delta Upsilon participated. Once again, the college focuses blame on student protestors rather than students implicated by the leaked fraternity documents.

Last semester, after much discussion and consultation with a lawyer, we decided not to participate in the Campus Events Investigation which was, from the outset, intended to intimidate us. We attempted several times to contact and meet with administrators to determine what the potential consequences of this investigation would be, and did not receive an answer beyond that all disciplinary measures were on the table, up to and including suspension and expulsion. With this in mind, it was impossible for any one of us to presume good faith, respect, and candor in the context of the investigation—an investigation that was not an effort to “strengthen the fabric of our community,” but rather to shame and weaken the student protestors who have fought to better that same community. It is within our power to uphold the forms and practices of justice that we believe in; it was clear to us from the start that this investigation was not representative of our vision of justice.

In Dean Terhune’s email, he states: “The contents of the fraternity documents and the Tumblr page are deeply disturbing and at odds with our community values. Our community has serious work to do to rise above the kind of sexist, racist, and homophobic language and behaviors described in these documents.” 

However, this email cites no concrete actions the college has taken to “rise above” this culture of bigotry, victim-blaming, and abuse which the former fraternities encouraged and continue to encourage. Rather, the investigation summary describes these documents as “historical” and the Tumblr accounts as “unsubstantiated.” This language is designed to invalidate the past and present experiences of survivors on our campus. Moreover, it lacks any acknowledgment of the college’s complacency in the actions of the fraternities. It is clear that the investigators treated the Tumblr submissions as a collection of reports meant to be submitted to Title IX, rather than as a project to reveal the institutional perpetuation of violence and “show the futility of scapegoating any individual for what is in fact pervasive,” as the creators of the Tumblr state on the page itself.

We must remember that college actions like this are pedagogical: they reaffirm to fraternity members, who are predominantly wealthy straight white men, that they have the privilege to escape accountability to their communities for their actions, including and especially violence against people with less power than them.

It is also crucial to point out the deliberate and unprecedented cruelty of the documents investigation summary. In isolating the “two individuals” who allegedly “primarily authored the Tumblr”, when they simply anonymized a mass of submissions, this summary places a target on these individuals’ backs and specifically mocks and belittles them with more than enough information to identify them to the student body and especially former fraternity members. The document even includes a specific out of context quotation from one of these individuals, spoken in a confidential meeting relating to Title IX matters and framed in order to minimize and invalidate the harassment they experienced. This is unacceptable. 

Later in the email, Terhune writes that, “The College will always encourage critique and dissent and provide students the opportunity to engage in protest and other forms of expression.” Given the reaction of the administration and the Office of Public Safety last spring, this statement clearly fails to align with the practices of the college. Especially as we enter a new semester, we are disappointed that our administration yet again touts Swarthmore’s appreciation of activism while continuing to stifle and punish those who are most vulnerable in the community. To the administration we ask: What is “acceptable” dissent in the eyes of the college? Who is allowed to dissent? Whose voices are heard and whose are twisted, silenced, ignored?

It is important for us to reiterate the reality of the situation: Swarthmore College is afraid of protests and will take specific measures to prevent, intimidate and punish those who wish to engage in them. Their redefinition of our narrative is just another attempt to erase the harm they have caused and the obvious success of our work. At moments like these, it is important to remember the change and the joy we created on our campus last spring. We must remind each other of our strength and teach newcomers that they are now part of a community that values true safety and community care. 

Organizing for Survivors still has plenty of work to do in the coming months, and we intend to redouble our efforts to be in collaboration with the greater community. We continue to change and grow as a group and appreciate the time and energy individuals and groups take to talk with us about this growth.