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Harvard College reversed its judgment that the Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra violated its hazing policies after a group of students in the orchestra appealed the original decision, according to an email sent to HRO members on Friday and obtained by The Crimson.
But the HRO’s suspension through December — which was issued as a result of the finding that the club had engaged in hazing at its annual retreat — and subsequent probation for the spring semester will remain in place, due to a determination that the group “held social events without properly registering and providing alcohol to minors,” according to the email from HRO President Veronica A. Li ’26 and conductor Federico Cortese.
Cortese told The Crimson he believed the newly described violations — unregistered social events and the provision of alcohol to minors — occurred during the off-campus retreat rather than on multiple occasions. College spokesperson Jonathan Palumbo did not respond to multiple requests for comment over the weekend.
The HRO became the first reported student organization to run afoul of Harvard’s newly tightened hazing policies after a freshman submitted a complaint regarding the club’s retreat, held Sept. 6 to Sept. 7 in Cummington, Massachusetts. Upperclassmen blindfolded new members, shouted orders at them, and provided them with vodka. Returning members also pretended that freshmen would be subjected to more intense activities, though many attendees said they were unfazed by the tactics.
The College’s investigation, conducted by the Dean of Students Office, found that the group had violated its new anti-hazing policies, which were updated in response to the Stop Campus Hazing Act, passed last December.
Under the suspension, the HRO has not been able to hold any social events this semester. Rehearsals and performances also cannot be advertised with the HRO name, so the group has held events under the banner of the class associated with the orchestra, “Music 110R,” since late September.
The ruling reversal, also made by the DSO, comes nearly two months after its initial decision and after several individual HRO members faced hearings in front of the Harvard College Administrative Board — the College’s main disciplinary body.
Allegations of misconduct at the College are handled by two separate bodies, depending on the nature of the concern. The DSO investigates complaints against student organizations, while the Ad Board adjudicates potential policy violations by individual students.
The Ad Board found that the conduct of the individual students “did not raise to the standards of Massachusetts law for hazing,” Cortese wrote to The Crimson on Friday.
Instead, Cortese wrote, the Ad Board found that the students were responsible “only for inappropriate social social behavior,” meaning they faced admonishments — warnings that fall short of disciplinary probation, but could lead to more severe disciplinary action in the future.
Meanwhile, the DSO evaluated the appeal of the group suspension, which was submitted by several students. Administrators ultimately removed the finding of hazing from the group, but chose to keep the initial sanctions in place, citing the dissemination of alcohol and hosting of unauthorized social events.
“The two judges, rightly or wrongly that they may be, are perfectly entitled to have different interpretations of the same facts,” Cortese wrote, referring to the DSO and Ad Board. “That is not per se very unusual. It may look odd, but in fact it happens and it is ok. Period.”
“Whatever the case, the orchestra has adhered and will continue adhering very strictly and carefully to the sanctions, no matter what they are,” he added.
In an email sent to club leaders on Thursday, Associate Dean for Student Engagement Jason Meier announced the hazing finding reversal, but did not elaborate on the College’s reasoning.
“The investigation also found that HRO violated the applicable policy in other ways — including holding social events without properly registering and providing alcohol to minors. Hence, findings as to violations of those policies remain the same. As such, the HRO received and will continue to hold the sanction of suspension,” Meier wrote, according to a reading of the email.
The Crimson was unable to independently review the message.
The quiet reversal raises questions about how the College conducted its initial investigation and determined that the HRO violated hazing policy. The College has not publicly commented on the appeal process or explained why the hazing determination was rescinded.
Cortese, for his part, wrote that he would not speculate on the peculiar outcome of the case.
“I can only say that the orchestra has been behaving impeccably in these months,” he wrote. “No one doubts that Hazing is a serious issue and it needs to be taken very seriously. The question remains whether certain behaviors raise or not to the standards of the definition of Hazing. That’s why we have judges.”
“It shall pass,” he added.
—Staff writer Samuel A. Church can be reached at samuel.church@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @samuelachurch.
—Staff writer Cam N. Srivastava can be reached at cam.srivastava@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @camsrivastava.
