HUPD Quietly Updates Hazing Report, Says Harvard Independent Received Warning — Not Probation

The Harvard University Police Department quietly updated its hazing transparency report on Thursday to reflect that the Harvard Independent received a warning — not probation — following an April 2025 hazing incident.

The correction came after the Dean of Students Office provided HUPD with incorrect information, according to College spokesperson Jonathan Palumbo.

The update follows a Crimson article published Wednesday that reported that the Independent had been placed on probation for violating the College’s hazing policies, citing the version of the report initially released by HUPD.

HUPD spokesperson Steven Catalano did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the error.

By Thursday, the hazing compliance report had been amended to indicate that the Independent had received a warning.

The revised sanctions marks a significant change from the original disclosure, as probation can carry restrictions on a student organization’s ability to book campus space and host social events.

A warning, by contrast, usually does not result in formal restrictions on a club’s operations.

The hazing finding stems from an April 2025 incident in which members of the Harvard Independent lined up new members, threw eggs at them, and covered them in honey, according to the report.

The correction is the latest misstep in the rollout of Harvard’s hazing transparency report, which was released more than a month after the deadline mandated by the federal Stop Campus Hazing Act.

Katie I. Merriam ’26, the president of the Harvard Independent at the time of the incident, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday. Current Harvard Independent President Mia P. Tavares ’27 declined to comment.

—Staff writer Sebastian B. Connolly can be reached at [email protected] or on Signal @sbc.23. Follow him on X @SebastianC4784.