Month: December 2007

Feminist Daily News Wire
October 4, 2007

EEOC Steps In to End Los Angeles Fire Department Discrimination

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) on Tuesday accused the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) of violating civil-rights law through a pattern of discrimination, harassment and retaliation against black and woman employees. Its findings came after investigating discrimination complaints from two anonymous women firefighters. The LAFD must now implement drastic reforms or face a possible federal lawsuit, reports the The Los Angeles Times.

The LAFD has paid out about $13 million dollars in a string of recent discrimination suits. Firefighter Brenda Lee sued over harassment and “hazing”, including having urine mixed into her mouthwash. Last week, African American firefighter Tennie Pierce won a suit filed after he was made to eat dog food by his white coworkers. Other women and minority firefighters have described being sexually harassed, “hazed,” denied transfer requests and promotions, forced to undergo excessive “training,” and retaliated against or ignored when they filed discrimination complaints.

Mayor Villaraigosa and other city officials have promised to cooperate fully with the EEOC and impose major LAFD reforms.

Media Resources: Los Angeles Times 10/3/07, Los Angeles Daily News 10/3/07

Plattsburgh, New York – December 5, 2007

The New York Supreme Court has awarded the parents of a Plattsburgh State University student who died during a hazing ritual, more than one million dollars in damages.

The parents of Walter Jennings filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the outlawed fraternity Psi Epsilon Chi and 14 former members. He died four years ago of water intoxication while pledging for the frat.

The court ordered one of the frat brother, John Burnius, to pay the family $1.5 million dollars in punitive damages.

13 other frat members settled with Jennings’ family out of court for undisclosed amounts.

5 Injured in Police, University Student Clashes

The New Times (Kigali)

NEWS
11 December 2007
Posted to the web 11 December 2007

By Jean Luc Passie
Bujumbura

Police in Bujumbura on Saturday clashed with students of the University of Burundi, the only public university in an operation aimed at flushing out students from their campus houses of residence.

The students went on rampage after Education minister, Dr Saidi Kibeya, had ordered the university closure and gave the students a 24-hour deadline to vacate the premises. Hundreds of policemen were deployed at the campus premises overnight.

“I can say that the operation was a success,” Police Spokesman, Pierre Channel Ntarabaganyi, said, adding that three policemen and two students were injured in the fracas. He dismissed earlier reports which claimed that one policeman was killed.

Gunshots were heard early in the morning and teargas canisters fired at the students. Ntarabaganyi said his men had to react “because one student shot with a pistol and another threw a hand grenade”. It is not clear whether the weapons were recovered from the rioting students.

The students were ordered to pack their belongings and go after they ignored orders to stop the so-called hazing ritual for new students. Senior students “exaggerated” the practice when they took two university officials hostage at the faculty science. The officials were trying to prevent them from abusing their new colleagues.

Hazing at the university is a traditional ‘welcoming’ ceremony which includes forcing new students to shave their heads and rolling them in the mud if they disobey.

The students held two officials for ten hours before security officials intervened. The teachers’ association subsequently issued a statement saying they would not resume teaching “until order and discipline are restored at the university”.

The students’ association, known as ASSER (Association des etudiants Rumuri) was banned, and over 20 students dismissed, among them the association’s chairman, Eric Nkenguburundi.

All students will have to apply for readmission and also vow to abide by the internal rules and regulations of the university.

The dismissed students, who are considered by the Education minister as ‘ring leaders’ of the riot, will not even be allowed to register in private universities which also fall under his ministry.  Bernard Baransaka, a social sciences student, told The New Times that the decision to close down the university was ‘untimely’.

‘It would have been better to discuss how the hazing practice could be improved, and where to do it,” he said, adding that the measure to close the university “could have severe consequences”.

Nkenguburundi defended the practice on a local radio station saying that the hazing practice teaches new students “the culture of mutual respect at the University”.

Both students however declined to comment on the incident at the faculty of Science which ignited the situation, only saying that a concerted dialogue would have helped diffuse the crisis.

The University Rector, Gaston Hakiza, said nearly 3, 500 residential students of an estimated 8, 600 will be affected by the decision.

Thousands of students could be seen waiting anxiously for transport on the highway near their residential homes with policemen in close attention.

Link: Two former East High football players accused of sexually hazing other team members pleaded guilty to lesser charges Monday and were ordered to perform 100 hours of community service and write apologies to the victims.
They also agreed to testify against a third player if his case goes to trial.
All three teenagers were charged with one count each of forcible sodomy, attempted sodomy and forcible sexual abuse, which are first-degree felonies in adult court. The charges alleged that on three occasions, two players held other boys down while the third touched his genitals or buttocks to the victim’s face or head.
On Monday, the two players admitted they committed sexual battery, a class A misdemeanor, and simple assault, a class B misdemeanor, by holding victims down in the locker room while the third player allegedly sexually assaulted them.
Third District Juvenile Judge Sharon McCully said that rather than being sexual predators, the two had engaged in “stupid jock behavior.”
But the judge emphasized that what might have seemed “funny” at the time was humiliating, embarrassing and hurtful to the victims.
She called the tradition of locker room hazing “unacceptable,” and noted that this case resulted in the filing of serious felony charges.
In court Monday, both
players apologized to the victims and their families, who did not attend, and their own families.
The third player could resolve his case short of trial during a Wednesday hearing before Juvenile Judge Dane Nolan.
The three players were all 15 years old when the incidents occurred in late August and early September. All three were kicked off the sophomore football team and are now attending other schools.

http://www.yle.fi/news/left/id77348.html
Link above and story below: HN

The Finnish Conscripts’ Union is urging the Defence Forces to adopt a tougher line against hazing. The union says hazing should result in a loss of military rank or dismissal. According to the Defence Forces, the military does not tolerate hazing.

Jyrki Iivonen, the director for public policy at the Defence Ministry, says hazing is inexcusable and unacceptable in all circumstances. Furthermore, he says intervention occurs immediately when cases of hazing surface.

But according to the union, the military’s views on hazing need to be delivered to the troops. Harri Sieppi, the union’s chair, says the policy of no tolerance has not reached the barracks.

The union says it wants concrete examples warning against hazing. The union adds that it hopes hazing, like drug use, will not be tolerated whatsoever.

On Thursday the union meets with the Defence Forces commander at its annual meeting. Hazing is among the topics to be discussed.