[KSDK] Student Expelled After Hazing At Illinois School

A high school hazing incident has outraged residents in the small town of Virden, Illinois. Parents argue the district is not taking the matter seriously.
The incident in question took place September 19. The school's athletic director said four senior football players ganged up on two freshmen in the locker room, and hazed them.

The district would not release any details about what happened, only to say it was serious in nature.

School district leaders learned of the incident from a third party the following day. After all four students admitted to the incident, they were suspended.

Monday night, the School Board held a disciplinary hearing and expelled one of the students, who officials say played a larger role in the hazing.

Parents say they expect more of the district. Parents, including those of students who witnessed the hazing, say the incident was sexual in nature. Virden school officials will not confirm or deny the allegations.

One parent said his son was in the locker room when the hazing took place. "The just told me things that they had never seen before," Brent Williams said. "And they were very, very uncomfortable. Really troubled by it."

The mother of one of the victims, who wishes to remain anonymous, said her son was not physically harmed, but that he remains emotionally scarred from the incident. The mother and other parents want police to open an investigation.

The school district has the option of handling the matter internally. "We told parents that was an option they had, to press charges," Virden Athletic Director Bruce Paisley said.

VIrden's police chief said his department will not investigate until a report is filed. The report, he said, must come from someone directly involved in the incident.

But parents say any complaint involving a crime of a sexual nature should be not be taken lightly.

"It's not just these two kids. All of these kids are ours. We're supposed to protect them. If we can't protect them, who is? Don't trust school to protect our kids," Kim Armour, a parent said.

Armour filed a report Monday afternoon. Virden Police would not confirm Monday night whether it will in fact investigate.

In response to criticism that all four students should be expelled, Paisley said he believes the district acted appropriately.

Monday night, parents said they were especially upset to learn the students who weren't expelled remain on the football team.

Meanwhile, other parents side with the district's handling of the incident. Many parents, who declined to identify themselves, said the punishment was appropriate.

The Virden School District said it will enact measures to ensure a similar incident does not happen again, Paisley said.

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[KeyTv] 3 plead no contest in UT hazing death

Three University of Texas fraternity members entered pleas of no contest in relation to the hazing death of one of their frat brothers Tuesday.

Benny Chan, 24, Andrew Nguyen, 22, and Kamal Pulukuri, 23, accepted a plea deal to charges they caused Phantha "Jack" Phoummarath’s death.

Phoummarath, 18, died of acute alcohol poisoning on Dec. 10, 2005. His family spoke in Houston after about the plea deals.

"The plea deal is going to give a message or send a message to other parents that this is what their sons could potentially be signing up for. And so if we can prevent other deaths in this process, then I think we've accomplished what we wanted to,” Phoummarath’s sister Marion said.

At UT, student reaction was mixed.

"I believe that this is an issue that should be taken a little more seriously,” Joy Martindale said.

"I think it's a good penalty," UT sophomore Benjamin Nichols said.

Drug and alcohol counselors feel it will help in the long run.

"I have worked with several members of that fraternity ever since that incident and they were very, very deeply affected by it," said Chuck Roper, UT coordinator for Alcohol and Drug Education.

As part of the plea deal, the national chapter has to show written proof they have revoked the UT chapter charter. The three men have to acknowledge wrongdoing and apologize to the victim's family and participate in producing educational video focused on risks involved with hazing.

The plea deal stems from a lengthy 12 month investigation into Phoummarath’s death.

The Lamda Phi Epsilon Zeta chapter at UT will have to reapply for its charter. It won't be eligible to do that until
2011.

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Hazing, cyber-bullying tageted by Eugene school board [KMTR.com]

Last Update: Jun 7, 2007 9:57 AM

Eugene (KMTR) - The Eugene 4J school district is cracking down on new methods used by school bullies. They have added "hazing" and "cyber bullying" to the list of punishable offenses.

The board added those offenses to their harassment policy after hearing about hazing incidents between seniors and freshman on high school sports teams.
Dennis Biggerstaff, Churchill High School’s principal, says there have actually been fewer incidents over the past few years, but he thinks the anti-bullying message should still be clear to kids now and in the future.

"Whether it's text messaging, email, MySpace, YouTube, there's all kinds of ways for them to communicate. And sometimes we see interactions between kids that are harmful and not really appropriate," says Biggerstaff.

If a bullying incident affects a student's ability to learn while on campus, such exchanges that happen off campus will now be punishable as well.

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UCF Fraternity Suspended Until 2011 [13 Central Florida News]

Monday, June 04, 2007 4:23:39 PM

A fraternity at the University of Central Florida faces a longer suspension after the university says it violated the terms of it's original suspension.

Pi Kappa Phi was suspended for a year in 2006 after hazing allegations. However, the national director of the Pi Kappa Phi said some students took part in a fraternity event while on suspension.

The UCF Office of Student Conduct extended Pi Kappa Phi's suspension from the university until 2011.

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3 Found Guilty In School Hazing [courant.com]

Students Brutalized At Home For Gifted
June 6, 2007
By CHRISTINE DEMPSEY, Courant Staff Writer

MANCHESTER -- Three teenagers accused of brutalizing underclassmen last fall at a Glastonbury home for gifted minority boys accepted a plea agreement Tuesday that will put them in prison for at least nine months.

Jeff Utobor, Silvester Baez and Pedro Reyes each pleaded no contest to a reduced charge of second-degree assault before Judge Raymond Norko in Superior Court in Manchester. No contest means they will not fight the charges, although they don't admit guilt.

At the time of the assaults, the three teenagers from outside the state lived at a home in Glastonbury and attended the local high school through a program called A Better Chance. They were among four upperclassmen accused of abusing three freshmen in the home.

The victims were ordered to do push-ups and to fight each other, police said. The freshmen were slapped, punched, kicked and hit with pingpong paddles, according to an arrest warrant.

On Tuesday, Utobor, Baez and Reyes, neatly dressed with their mothers at their sides, accepted the state's offer of five years in prison, suspended after nine months, followed by five years of probation. Norko may sentence them to up to 24 months active prison time.

Utobor's sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 16. Baez's is scheduled for Aug. 23 and Reyes' for Aug. 28.

A fourth teen, Christopher Lewis, pleaded guilty to third-degree assault in March and was given probation. His charges were less serious than those of Utobor, Baez and Reyes. Baez, for example, was charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree sexual assault, cruelty to persons and disorderly conduct.

The teenagers are 16 or 17 and are from New York City or Massachusetts. They were participants in A Better Chance, a 32-year-old program that accepts out-of-state boys from cities and offers them a Glastonbury education in hopes they will benefit from career opportunities they otherwise would not have had. Graduates have gone on to careers as doctors, lawyers and engineers, among other things. There are other ABC programs in the state and nation.

The upperclassmen repeatedly abused the three freshmen, the arrest warrant says.

On Sept. 28, one boy was slammed onto a table, ordered to fix it and slammed on it a second time. He yelled for God to help him while being beaten, the warrant says.

Earlier that month, on Sept. 13, the same boy was given a choice between a beating or having a pen stuck in his anus. He later told police that he couldn't take another beating, so he chose the pen.

"Mr. Baez and Mr. Reyes held him down while Mr. Utobor inserted the pen, your Honor," Assistant State's Attorney Lisa Herskowitz told Norko.

Jonathan Russell, president of ABC's board of directors, said in a telephone interview: "It caught us totally by surprise that the boys were doing this. So we're much more wary now.

ABC residents have always been told not to participate in hazing, drinking and doing drugs, he said.Russell said the program, which has a capacity for eight students, currently has two participants.

Gerard Sims, the resident director, is stepping down from that position, although ABC is hoping he'll stay on as a tutor, Russell said. He said the departure doesn't appear to be a result of what happened; it's unusual for people in those positions to stay for more than a few years.

Russell said ABC is doing "everything in our power to ensure that it doesn't happen again." He said he couldn't go into details because the three teens aren't sentenced yet, he wants to respect the privacy rights of minors and the organization faces the possibility of being sued.

"It was a terrible incident," he said. "We're in a rebuilding mode from that. It's going to take a long time."

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Students, adults must oppose hazing [The Republican]

Wednesday, June 06, 2007
Asoccer player's head is forced into a toilet. A freshman football player is attacked and hit in the stomach until it turns red. A student is forced to drink alcohol until he vomits. These are all forms of hazing, a way a group employs humiliation and danger to initiate new members.

A 2000 Alfred (N.Y.) University study indicates that 48 percent, or 1.5 million students report having been subjected to some type of hazing activity each year. Forty-three percent report that the incident was humiliating; 29 percent participated in a potentially illegal act and 23 percent indicated that the activity involved some form of substance abuse.

Hazing incidents happen because being part of a group is a basic human need. Forming a sense of identity and belonging is a major developmental task for teenagers and adolescents. During the adolescent developmental stage, teens are often in a situation where they are much more vulnerable to peer pressure. They want to make friends and be accepted.

As teens spend less time with adults and more time with their peers, the need for acceptance increases. In addition, because some view hazing as a harmless tradition or kids just having fun, it is often overlooked or dismissed by parents and school authorities.

But most teens don't feel hazing is an issue. Only 14 percent felt that they were hazed, even though 48 percent participated in an activity defined as hazing. They also don't tell an adult for fear of retaliation and harassment and the assumption adults won't do anything about it. The three new football players who were sodomized during a weeklong training camp in Pennsylvania one summer were at first not immediately taken seriously when they reported the incident. They were then intimidated and harassed before officials finally intervened. The attackers were prosecuted, the coaching staff was let go and the football season was canceled as a result of the incident.

Hazing is not a harmless tradition. It is a form of abuse and victimization. Seventy-one percent of the students who were part of a hazing incident reported negative consequences, such as fighting, a decline in school performance, hurting other people, having difficulty eating, sleeping or concentrating and being confused or embarrassed. Thirteen percent of the students reported that they did not join a group because they were afraid of being hazed or left a group because of hazing or both.

Any student is at risk of being a target of hazing, although male students are much more likely. It is estimated that 24 percent of all athletes participate in some type of hazing activity. Students with lower grade point averages are also at a greater risk.

The study also found that 24 percent of students involved in church groups were part of a hazing activity, so even activities that may be viewed as safe or positive can also fall into this category.

It is felt by some that these rituals and traditions can't be curtailed because they are so ingrained into our culture. Respondents to the survey felt that strong disciplinary action would be the most effective way to curb hazing (61 percent), followed by legal prosecution (50 percent), positive, bonding activities (43 percent) and increased awareness (37 percent). To keep kids safe, a clear anti-hazing message, supported by the school and community, needs to be sent. Respondents suggested sharing stories of students involved in hazing incidents similar to the mock car crashes that are done to deter driving under the influence.

Fortunately hazing is not tolerated in any form in our educational system. School systems publish anti-hazing policies in their policy books. Additionally, the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association, which oversees interscholastic athletics in the state, has taken a strong stand against hazing. All adults involved with athletics are mandated to report such incidents. Failure to do so will result in a fine.

Hazing will continue until victims come forward to report the behavior and school leaders, coaches and adults who run other teen groups adopt a zero-tolerance policy.
While it may seem like fun and harmless kids play, hazing is much more complex. Kids deserve to participate in activities free of teasing, tormenting or hazing. Let's ensure this is the case.
Additional information about hazing and its negative effects can be found at www.alfred.edu/hs_hazing or at www.StopHazing.org Robert Bardwell is a school counselor and director of student support services for the Monson Public Schools. He is the president of the Massachusetts School Counselors Association. He also is an adjunct professor for the school counseling programs at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and Springfield College. His column appears monthly during the school year.

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UPDATE: Four Coopersville baseball players

Posted by Chronicle News Service June 04, 2007 22:05PM

COOPERSVILLE -- Four junior varsity baseball players were expelled by the Coopersville school board tonight after a district investigation found they were involved in hazing incidents that included putting their bare rear ends in the face of victims and other "sexual harassment."
Three other students who also were involved in the incidents were handed lesser penalties tonight by the board.

Dating back to April, about 13 incidents were perpetrated by one or more of the four students who were expelled, district officials determined. They hazed and sexually assaulted other members of the team, and on one occasion a member of the freshmen baseball team, district officials found.

A separate criminal investigation by the Ottawa County Sheriff's Department continues.
A school district report, released today, outlines details of the hazing, including restraining students by holding down arms and legs, slapping victims' stomachs to cause the skin to turn pink, applying pressure to the victim's rectal area through their clothes using thumbs or fingers -- on one occasion, a toothbrush was used to apply pressure -- pulling down (perpetrators') pants and putting their rear ends in the face of victims, and using their hands in the victim's genital areas.

For the complete story, return to Mlive.com on Tuesday or pick up a copy of Tuesday's Muskegon Chronicle.

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Hazing' under review: 4 JV baseball players suspended; school, police investigating [MLive.com]

Tuesday, May 29, 2007
By JEFFREY CUNNINGHAM

Ottawa County Sheriff's Department investigators and Coopersville school officials said late last week they were still sorting out what actually occurred in a May 18 hazing incident involving members of the Coopersville High School junior varsity baseball team.

What is clear is that four members of the junior varsity baseball team have been suspended from school for 10 days for an alleged assault on one or more players on the team.

The remaining games of the junior varsity baseball team's season have also been cancelled. The coach has resigned, school officials are currently investigating the incident, and a detective with the Ottawa County Sheriff's Department has launched a criminal investigation.

A spokesman for the Sheriff's Department said that they expected to turn the case over to the Ottawa County prosecutor by the end of last week for him to file possible assault charges against at least one and possibly more of the players that had been suspended from school.

"All we are able to confirm at this time is that we are investigating the incident, we have suspended four students, and that the Ottawa County Sheriff's Department is also investigating the matter to see if something criminal happened," Superintendent Kevin O'Neill said. "Anything else at this time is speculation and I think that we need to be dealing with facts when we are dealing with students."

The incident in question occurred on May 18 after the team's practice, according to Coopersville athletic director Steve Bennink. The junior varsity team finished practice and the players had gone to the locker room in the high school while first-year Coach Brian Barrett locked up the equipment on the field. "He told me that he came into the locker room five to 10 minutes later and saw a couple of guys wrestling on the floor," Bennink said last Thursday.
When Barrett asked what was going on, they told him nothing and then the players left the locker room, Bennink said he was told.

Later that night Barrett got a call from a parent telling him that the caller's son had been attacked in the locker room before Barrett came in, Bennink said. "He called me right away and we talked about the incident and I immediately called Ron Veldman, the high school principal."

Veldman immediately called the school's community policing officer, he said, who began the investigation as to what actually happened in the locker room. The investigation was turned over to detectives the following Monday.
Bennick said the he met with the coach the next morning to discuss the situation, and at that point told Barrett that he might be suspended as a result of the investigation. "As the season was almost over and he knew that he couldn't coach for us next year, as he will be student teaching, he decided to resign at that point," Bennink said.

O'Neill confirmed school officials are looking into allegations that similar incidents have occurred on more than one occasion during the baseball season and may have occurred earlier during the school year. "We are investigating to find out what happened and if similar incidents happened at other times of the season and year," he said.

Once the investigation is complete and that could be as soon as the end of this week, O'Neill said he will then decide what further actions to take. "It may be that no further action is required or we may decide that some of the actions of the students involved warrant expulsions," O'Neill said.

He said that once the school's investigation is completed, he will take the recommendations to the school board's discipline officer, which, is this case is expected to be board president Tim Postma. At that time, parents and students can request a closed meeting to discuss the actions that have been recommended.

If expulsions are recommended, action will have to be approved by the full school board at the July 18 board meeting, O'Neill said. He added that the school district's investigation is separate from the on-going criminal investigation by the Sheriff's Department.

At a news conference on Wednesday, Lt. Mark Bennett, of the Ottawa County Sheriff's Department, confirmed that more than one suspect was under investigation and that it appeared that there had been more than one victim in the alleged assault.

As to how many more persons there may have been involved with the assault, Bennett said that he would not elaborate until the investigation is concluded. "We need to make sure that the incident has been thoroughly investigated before we talk about it," Bennett said. "To do anything else might compromise the investigation and that wouldn't be fair to the victims in the case or anyone else."

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