Categories
Hazing News

Nothing to cheer about in Katy

KATY, Texas, July 30 (UPI) — Texas officials say they are investigating a case involving several cheerleaders accused of endangering the safety of underclassmen during hazing rituals.At least a dozen varsity cheerleaders at Morton Ranch High School in Katy, Texas, are accused of hazing 14 junior varsity squad members last week, KTRK-TV, Houston, reported.

Some underclassmen said older cheerleaders bound their hands and forced them to wear blindfolds before throwing them into a pool.

“Once you duct tape someone’s hands, blindfold them throw them in a pool, start flicking their body parts, that’s way too far,” a junior varsity cheerleader’s sister said.

“The district is investigating an alleged off-campus incident possibly involving inappropriate behavior by certain students,” a Katy Independent School District official told reporters.

By Hank Nuwer

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 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 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

Leave a Reply