Free Band-Aids Today

Courtesy of Johnson and Johnson

During my breakfast at Collis Cafe this morning, I was startled when a fellow student smacked three band-aids down on my table. “They are to raise awareness about hazing,” he explained. I examined these band-aids before me, hoping to gain further understanding. They were quite small, probably only large enough to cover a paper cut, although one did have SpongeBob Squarepants on it.

Looking back at the Dartmouth Daily Updates blitz I received this morning, I noticed there was an advertisement for this silly little awareness campaign. It states, “The idea behind the band-aid is that you can’t cover up the kind of damage hazing can do to someone.  Hazing at its worst can produce physical signs, but hazing can also affect people’s reputations, friendships, and emotional and academic health.” Yes, hazing does hurt, but I do not see how making band-aids available to students at Collis will make much of a dent on this issue.

–Elizabeth A. Reynolds