St. Olaf cancels baseball season, cites hazing
A hazing investigation resulted in the cancellation of all remaining baseball games, or about half the season, at St. Olaf College.
The college's president David Anderson said in an email to the St. Olaf community on Friday that an independent investigation found serious violations of the private college's policy in incidents that occurred both on and off the Northfield campus during the weekend of Feb. 28.
"There was no specific allegation or complaint" filed, St. Olaf spokesman Steve Blodgett said, "but the administration did learn from chatter on student social media that an incident had potentially occurred."
Officials said federal law and the college's own privacy policies limit their ability to disclose details regarding the violations.
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But they said the investigation revealed incidents of "ridicule, harassment and public displays of servitude." They also allegedly involved underage drinking.
"Violations were compounded by an orchestrated attempt to deceive college officials and the outside investigator and prevent them from learning what had happened," according to the email.
President Anderson emphasized that hazing is unacceptable at St. Olaf.
"Any form of hazing is reprehensible and inconsistent with our core values as an institution," Anderson said. "Therefore, in the weeks and months ahead we will redouble our efforts to communicate the standards and values that should properly guide our co-curricular programs."