“I don’t know that we get as much good information as we would like,” Dingman said, speculating that some students may be reluctant to report incidents because they do not want to be disloyal or jeopardize their chances of becoming a member.

Prompted by a question from The Crimson about how the College educates incoming freshmen about hazing during Opening Days, Dingman said that he would reexamine the program to make sure that it sufficiently addresses the issue.

As of press time, Dingman had added a discussion of hazing education to the agenda of a staff meeting for members of the Freshman Dean’s Office this week.

As fraternities at Dartmouth and other institutions have recently had the doors pried open, baring their initiation rituals for all to see, their universities have been forced to try to mitigate public relations damage and address the underlying issues.

At Harvard, student leaders and administrators say they hope that they will not find themselves in a similar position.

“You know, knock on wood,” Dingman said, pausing to rap his knuckles against the wooden arm of his chair. “It’s always risky to suggest that we’re immune from these problems. I mean, something could burst at any point.”

—Staff writer Caroline M. McKay can be reached at carolinemckay@college.harvard,edu.

—Staff writer Rebecca D. Robbins can be reached at rrobbins@college.harvard.edu.