Swim team censured for misconduct

On Feb. 3, the College began investigations into an incident involving both the men’s and women’s swim teams on Feb. 2.  Dean of the College and Chief Diversity Officer Shirley Collado released a statement saying that “violations of the college’s hazing policy by the men’s and women’s swim teams,” were investigated, and it was “determined that violations did occur.”

In addition to the team-wide investigations, the College is conducting an ongoing investigation into “charges of hazing by individual members” of both teams to “determin[e] whether action will be taken regarding individual team members under [the College’s] anti-harassment policy.”

Both teams were barred from competition in the Middlebury Invitational, held on campus on Feb. 5, while investigation was pending. As of Feb. 8, the Department of Public Safety interviewed over 30 students regarding the incident.  The following day, based on these findings, “college administrators determined that the women’s swim team, with the exception of the first-year students, [would] not compete for the remainder of the season.”  The College administration has allowed the men’s team to finish the season, and both teams will be on probation for the entirety of next year.

The College is still in the process of determining “possible violations of Middlebury’s hazing policy” as it pertains to individual team members.

“Middlebury College has a zero tolerance policy for hazing and harassment, and takes all possible conduct violations very seriously,” said Collado, concluding her statement.