Hazing in American High Schools
What amazed me was the documented research that high school students engaged in hazing - some of it quite violent and dangerous too. Why do parents, teachers, administrators and school boards permit hazing?
Hank Nuwer: There has been a long-standing, simplistic attitude that hazing builds unity or is a "natural" part of childhood. For one thing, administrators, student newspaper advisers, or school board members that stand up against hazing often find themselves alone--branded as a pariah, rabblerouser, and so on. There have been school board meetings where lone parents or a group of parents have come in to say that soccer or football are tough sports, and that those who would get rid of hazing are weakening the participants and killing the team itself. I also have talked with administrators who fear that prohibitions and policies actually encourage some would-be hazers by making it a rebellious or daring activity they must do. Again, I think we start with education. We make people (including parents, principals, coaches) defend their stances with facts and logic--not emotion and blind following of long outdated traditions like hazing. I really think we need to do this before we have a string of high school deaths on our hands. We as a community have a chance to reduce this problem before it gets so big that it escapes our hands. Witness how hard colleges have it to stop deaths from problem drinking and hazing. I think if the issue of college deaths had been addressed more forcibly in the 1970s when it became obvious they were occurring, the cumulative number of deaths now would be lower.
Has hazing been outlawed in any states?
Hank Nuwer: Yes, 42. Some states such as Minnesota make it easier for a victim to get justice in civil suits. Some such as New York are pretty tough laws and the first person to be criminally punished in that state nearly 20 years ago was a high school student.
Is hazing confined only to public schools or does it also occur in private schools?
Hank Nuwer: There has been some talk that hazing hasn't been as big a problem in some inner city schools where students not only go to school and play sports but have jobs. That deserves study. The number of media reports points to some hazing in private schools--including those with military traditions--but also other acts that I would refer to as bullying because they are not done to bring someone into a group.
