Hank Nuwer, Author; Hazing Deaths Database

Moderator:  It is only a matter of time before a prosecutor tacks on “torture” to hazing charges.

Excerpt:

A group of Chinese study-abroad students in Los Angeles, California, are standing trial for allegedly kidnapping and torturing a fellow student, the Beijing News reported on June 12, 2015.

Zhai Yunyao, Zhang Xinlei and Yang Yuhan–all whom were born in 1996–along with three other minors, are accused of abducting and torturing fellow study-abroad student, surnamed Liu, on March 30 in the Rowland Heights area of LA. Four others suspected of taking part in the criminal act are still at large.

According to Liu’s statement to police, given on June 3, she was lured by a primary-school peer to “discuss something.” Liu was then reportedly forced into a car and taken to a nearby park.

There, Liu said she was beaten by a group of girls and stripped naked by Yang Yuhan. Liu’s nipples were then burned with lit cigarettes. Liu recalled that one girl tried to set her hair on fire, but it wouldn’t ignite because the girls doused Liu repeatedly with cold water.

The girls then cut Liu’s hair off and forced her to eat the hair. She was then forced to the ground and made to eat sand. Liu said one of the girls was capturing the assault on a mobile phone.

The torturing lasted five hours; the assault left Liu seriously injured.

Here is the link

Moderator:   The letter, presumably well intentioned, demonstrates why educators and coaches need to emphasize why “voluntary participation” by athletes is no excuse in a court.

Excerpt

In a letter, obtained by Action News, one of the suspended player concedes – in her words – “You know just as well as I do, our team had a freshman welcome week, there is no denying that.”

Action News had previously reported that freshman players were given written instructions on things they had to do or there would be consequences.

It’s alleged that those students had to consume alcohol, perform sexual acts involving inappropriate touching and lap dances, and other acts to graphic to outline.

The player acknowledged the existence of the letter outlining those things, but she says everything was meant to be voluntary.

The player says she now realizes that some students may have thought that they were required.

In the letter she refers to the inappropriate touching by saying, “To us, this is no big deal because we do that all the time.”

She also goes on to say, “One of the events planned was a lap dance.”

Here is the Link

Excerpt:

The defendants — Benjamin McNamee, 24; Aaron Golson, 22; and Darryl Cearnel, 28; are being tried together and each face up to 15 years in prison if convicted.

Known as “Crossing Bus C,” the ritual required band members to make their way through a pounding gauntlet of fists, drumsticks and mallets from the front of the bus to the back. Two other band members — Lissette Sanchez and Keon Hollis — went through the bus before Champion, and survived.

A total of 15 former band members were charged with manslaughter. One, Jessie Baskin, served one year in county jail. Others plea bargained for probation and community service. The band itself was suspended for more than a year while officials tried to clean up the program.

Dante Martin, now 27 and serving a six-year term for felony hazing and manslaughter, is the only former band member to receive prison time the death of Champion.

Martin’s attorneys told his jurors that there was no actual hazing, likening the ritual to a “competition” in which Champion and the others voluntarily took part.

But state attorney Jeff Ashton said testimony made it clear that band members were looking for a measure of respect and acceptance by “crossing Bus C,” and that their willing participation was “not a defense” for those who were charged.

This is a truly comprehensive law journal article on hazing. I learned several things I did not know. Kudos.

Excerpt:

In order to sensibly discuss the problem of collegiate hazing, one should first attempt to quantify the problem. The available data suggests that collegiate hazing is extremely common—approximately half of all college students report experiencing behavior that may be considered hazing ¹² —but perceptions of the number of hazing deaths are greatly inflated. Since 1970, on average, three hazing deaths occur each year in the United States. ¹³

As with other types of criminal activity, ¹⁴ there are two approaches to measuring incidents of collegiate hazing: compiling reports of hazing incidents and surveying individuals about their experiences with hazing. Both approaches must contend with two primary problems: the lack of a generally accepted definition of hazing ¹⁵ and the fact that most hazing is shrouded in secrecy. ¹⁶

1. Compiled Hazing Reports

There is no governmental or private organization that compiles statistics of hazing incidents, injuries, and deaths. ¹⁷ Instead, most of the literature on hazing relies on the work of journalism professor and anti-hazing activist Hank Nuwer, ¹⁸ who has compiled reports of collegiate deaths due to hazing since 1990. ¹⁹

Despite popular perception to the contrary, there is little evidence of a significant increase in hazing deaths in recent decades. Nuwer reports that from 1838 to 1969 there were thirty-nine collegiate hazing deaths. ²⁰ There were twenty-six deaths in the 1970s, twenty-nine in the 1980s, twenty-eight in the 1990s, and thirty-five in the 2000s. ²¹ To put deaths due to hazing in context, from 2005 to 2012 there were on average 19.25 murders each year at American colleges and universities. ²²