Cardinal Points

Issue date: 2/22/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Kelly Marsh Allison Swick-Duttine sits in her office. Swick-Duttine has been awarded the Anti-Hazing Hero award. "I was completely unprepared for the severity of hazing that was happening here when I first started the job," she said. [Click to enlarge]

Plattsburgh State's Director of Fraternity and Sorority Life and Organizational Development, Allison Swick-Duttine, has been honored for her anti-hazing stance as well as her efforts in developing fraternity and sorority programs and her service to various organizations outside PSUC. She was awarded the Anti-Hazing Hero Award from www.HazingPrevention.org and the Sue Kraft Fussell Distinguished Service Award from the Association of Fraternity Advisers. Swick-Duttine had been here barely five years when Walter Dean Jennings died as a result of hazing by an unrecognized fraternity (Psi Epsilon Chi) in 2003. "I was completely unprepared for the severity of hazing that was happening here when I first started the job," Swick-Duttine said. The Jennings tragedy opened discussions on campus that made it easier to talk about hazing, Swick-Duttine said. She defined hazing as an abuse of power and control, and she strongly opposes it. Her efforts to debunk hazing on campus are largely through continual values-based education. "Hazing simply does not fit into the definition of fraternal organization," Swick-Duttine said. She pointed out how absurd it is to consider hazing as part of groups that value integrity, respect and honesty. Reacting to the hazing incident that involved Sigma Tau Gamma last fall, Swick-Duttine said, "We can never ease-up on our commitment to anti-hazing prevention and education." "That's the frustrating thing about hazing," she said. "The moment you turn your back, it may begin to re-emerge in the campus culture." Her role on campus is to be an advocate and educator for the 14 fraternities and sororities. She has a long list of responsibilities, which includes advising the governance councils and honors societies while assisting individual organizations to fulfill their missions. In addition, Swick-Duttine is being recognized for her previous efforts outside PSUC, which include serving as the editor of the Association of Fraternity Adviser's magazine and chairman of www.HazingPrevention.org. On previous occasions, Swick-Duttine has been nationally recognized with awards including the College Fraternal Editors Association First Place Greek Life Article Award for her article "Hazing is Relationship Violence" in 2007. She said working at PSUC has been challenging and even heartbreaking, but she stayed on "because the institution has made a commitment to investing the resources into improving these groups. I attribute my honors and achievements to this campus that refused to give up on its fraternities

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