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Note from Debbie Smith: Matt’s Law Passes Da Guv’s Approval

All: Here is a note from Matt Carrington’s mother below on

the signing of the California hazing bill.

Woo Hoo!!!

All of our hard work and persistence has finally paid off!  For those of you that have not heard Governor Schwarzenegger signed Matt’s Bill into Law today.

I received the fantastic news from Robert Oakes by phone at 12:39 this afternoon.  Needless to say I was ecstatic and couldn’t wait to tell you all but unfortunately I was in Chico, 3 hours away from home and my computer.

This is a monumental occasion and it would have never happened if not for all of your incredible support.  Thank you, thank you, thank you, you have all been so wonderful through these very exhausting months.

However, as you know our work has just begun, now we must bring awareness to the fact that Matt’s Law exists.   But I will go into that later as I have still not made it home and would like to get there.

This is a great day, I am so proud of all of you for being here for Matt and us if I could I would hug all of you right now.  Matt would be so elated that this is all happening.  Hugs and kisses Matt I love you, this one’s for you honey, may your memory live on in all of us forever.

“Hug your children and tell them you love them everyday.”

Love,

Debbie, MM

www.wemissyoumatt.com

By Hank Nuwer

Journalist Hank 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, the Alaska Press Club awarded him first place in the Best Columnist division and Best Humorist, second place.

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 Warsaw, Poland and 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 and in his weekly column "Far from Randolph" in the Winchester Star-Gazette of Randolph County, Indiana.

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