Swick-Duttine

Allison Swick-Duttine is an anti-hazing hero.

UUP member Swick-Duttine, director of fraternity/sorority life and organizational development at SUNY Plattsburgh, has been honored as an “Anti-Hazing Hero” by HazingPrevention.org, a national non-profit organization dedicated to creating hazing-free colleges and universities.

Her efforts to eliminate hazing at Plattsburgh and at colleges countrywide also won her accolades from the Association of Fraternity Advisors, which awarded her its 2007 Sue Kraft Fussell Distinguished Service Award. The honor is given to individuals who have exhibited high professional standards and outstanding achievement in fraternity advising, campus programming and service to the college community.

The acclaim is appreciated, but for Swick-Duttine, a UUP member since 1998, it’s about permanently eradicating hazing in fraternities and sororities at Plattsburgh and campuses across America.

“There’s really been a culture change in the fraternity and sorority culture here,” Swick-Duttine said of Plattsburgh. “It’s a completely different environment than it was 10 years ago in that we have virtually eliminated hazing in our organizations. The grade point averages (of fraternity and sorority members) are higher than the all-campus average.”

“The Plattsburgh Chapter of UUP is proud to recognize Allison Swick-Duttine for her contributions to the campus and the community,” said Chapter President David Curry.

“Her anti-hazing education programs are deserving of the awards she has received.”

Remembering Jennings

It was the hazing-related death of Plattsburgh freshman William Dean Jennings in 2003 that emboldened Swick-Duttine to take her anti-hazing cause to the next level. Jennings died of water intoxication after members of the Psi Epsilon Chi fraternity — which was not authorized by the university — forced him to drink gallons of water through a funnel until he passed out. That happened on the last night of his 10-day pledging initiation, during which he was forced to drink urine and alcohol and stay awake for days.

Since then, she has worked to disband unrecognized fraternities at Plattsburgh and promote anti-hazing awareness initiatives, such as National Hazing Prevention Week events and diversity and sensitivity-based training sessions with groups like the Violence Prevention Project and the Center for Diversity, Pluralism and Inclusion. She also helped form the college’s student-run Center for Fraternity/ Sorority Life, which focuses on values-based programming echoing the principles of friendship, scholarship, leadership and service.

“At one time, there were seven unrecognized groups not affiliated with the college or nationally on campus that were calling themselves fraternities and sororities,” she said. “The plan was to shut them down permanently and we’re one of the few campuses that has successfully done that. When that occurred, the calls started coming in from other campuses and conferences to talk about the (Jennings) incident and our reaction to it.”

She has shared her experiences with other schools, speaking at regional and national anti-hazing seminars, traveling as far as California. The goal: to help campuses take steps to rid hazing and to establish healthy, productive alternatives.

On a national level, Swick-Duttine is on the Board of Directors of HazingPrevention.org and serves as vice president for the national sorority Sigma Sigma Sigma and as liaison to the AFA National Hazing Symposium. She is on the boards of the Gamma Sigma Alpha Honor Society and the Northeast Greek Leadership Association.

Locally, Swick-Duttine has served on the Plattsburgh City-College Commission, which works to identify and resolve issues involving city residents and college students. She has helped to create a number of service-based programs for Plattsburgh sororities and fraternities to become involved in, including organizing events such as the annual Senior Citizens Prom and “Up ’til Dawn,” which raised more than $30,000 for the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital last year.

“This college has provided me with not only a wonderful career, but opportunities to improve myself personally and professionally and, in doing so, I have been able to provide similar opportunities for our fraternity/sorority members,” she said.

— Michael Lisi