Hank Nuwer, Author; Hazing Deaths Database Journalist Hank Nuwer tracks hazing deaths in fraternities and schools. Nuwer is the Alaska author of Hazing: Destroying Young Lives; Broken Pledges: The Deadly Rite of Hazing, High School Hazing, Wrongs of Passage and The Hazing Reader. In April of 2024 and April 2025 , the Alaska Press Club awarded him first place in the Best Columnist division.
He has written articles or columns on hazing for the Sunday Times of India, Toronto Globe & Mail, Harper's Magazine, Orlando Sentinel, The Chronicle of Higher Education and the New York Times Sunday Magazine. His current book is Hazing: Destroying Young Lives from Indiana University Press. He is married to Malgorzata Wroblewska Nuwer of Fairbanks, Alaska. Nuwer is a former columnist for the Greenville (Ohio)Early Bird and former managing editor of the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner in Alaska.
Nuwer was named the Ohio Society of Professional Journalists columnist of the year in 2021 for his “After Darke” column in the Early Bird. He also won third place for the column in 2022 from the Indiana chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. He and his wife Gosia, recently of Union City, Ind., have owned 20 acres in Alaska for many years. “The move is a sort-of coming home for us,” said Nuwer. As a journalist, he’s written about the Alaskan Iditarod sled-dog race and other Alaska topics. Read his musings in his blog at Real Alaska Daily--http://realalaskadaily.com
Asssociated Presss has reported that Nicholas Weiss and Kevin Plelps of Sigma Alpha Beta were arrested on misdeameanor hazing charges after police charged they branded seven pledges with a bayonet.
The seven suffered burns, according to police.
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Former Robertson High School football Head Coach Ray Woods.
Las Vegas City Public Schools Superintendent Rick Romero.
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Adults deny guilt in
hazing scandal
Four of five arraigned in Las Vegas
Updated: Friday, 17 Apr 2009, 12:20 AM MDT
Published : Thursday, 16 Apr 2009, 5:24 PM MDT
* Reporter: Crystal Gutierrez
* Web Producer: Bill Diven
LAS VEGAS, N.M. (KRQE) – Four of the five adults accused in the Robertson High School hazing scandal maintained their innocence Thursday and pleaded not guilty to charges they failed to report child abuse.
Las Vegas City Public Schools Superintendent Rick Romero, Athletic Director Mike Yara and former football Head Coach Ray Woods entered not guilty pleas in front of a Las Vegas judge Thursday morning.
One of Woods’ assistant coaches entered a not guilty plea over the phone while the other is out of the state and will be arraigned later.
The five are charged with failing to report child abuse after reports surfaced of older players hazing younger one at a training camp in August. The charge is a misdemeanor.
Six of the players were charged with felonies including rape over allegations the hazing included sodomy committed with a broomstick. One of the players pleaded guilty, another pleaded no-contest, and the other four are awaiting trial.
The coaches resigned shortly after the hazing allegations became public.
District Attorney Richard Flores said the former football players’ hearings are all he is going to need to get convictions against the five adults. During preliminary hearings some of the younger students testified coaches knew about the hazing and in one case had walked in on one incident and then left.
The former Robertson High football coach disagrees.
“All that I would like to tell you is that I’m innocent,” Woods said. “I responded as soon as I found out about the incident; I responded immediately.
“I’m confident that when the justice system is done I’ll be cleared.”
The attorney for Romero and Yara said they had no knowledge of what was going on because they were not at the camp. They reacted as soon as they heard, he added.
“He (Romero) found out a little bit of information that maybe some inappropriate hazing was occurring on the last day of camp,” attorney Jerry Walz said. “He took immediate action to close the camp down in order that everybody be returned immediately to Las Vegas.â€
Flores said the superintendent’s actions after hearing about what happened constitute a crime.
“The statute says that they shall immediately contact law enforcement or CYFD,†Flores said referring to the state Children, Youth and Families Department.
Preconference hearings between the state and defendants are expected to take place in two to three weeks. During the conferences plea agreements will be discussed.
Those who do not reach a plea deal will go to trial.
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Charges were handed up Tuesday in the hazing death of a SUNY Geneseo college student from Queens.
The Livingston County District Attorney’s office charged three members of the Pigs Fraternity, who they say are responsible for the death of 19-year-old Arman Partamian.
They are charged with criminally negligent homicide and tampering with physical evidence. They pleaded not guilty and were released on their own recognizance and face up to four years in prison for each charge if convicted.
“I am tired and saddened each and every time I have to call a student’s parent and tell them they’re either sick or dead. And it’s never for a good reason, it’s never something accidental, it’s always something stupid like drinking to excess,” said Livingston County District Attorney Thomas E. Moran.
Geneseo’s president issued a statement saying, “We are continuing to evaluate our options for campus disciplinary action against the students charged in this case, but we can take no final action until we have official reports on the investigation from law enforcement authorities.”
Partamian died on March 1st as the result of excessive drinking while pledging the Pigs Fraternity.
He is a 2007 graduate of Brooklyn Technical High School.