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Schools reopen, renew push against hazing
By Robert Carroll, Globe Correspondent | September 7, 2006
For many area high school athletes, autumn means end-zone celebrations, beautifully crafted soccer goals, and long putts coolly drained. But for some players, it could signify something darker — like being forced to drink alcohol, shave their heads, and even endure beatings.
Hazing season, as some refer to it, is upon us.
“The start of school sports is always a time to start monitoring,” said Paul Wetzel, spokesman for the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association. … Hank Nuwer, author of the book “High School Hazing: When Rites Become Wrongs,” points to a 1999 study by the National Collegiate Athletic Association that found that 80 percent of student athletes had, at some point, faced a hazing incident as reason to believe the situation might never be totally cleared. “Hazing is out there,” said Nuwer.
Nuwer said he believes mentoring programs like those in place at Duxbury and Plymouth North are a great start.
“When older kids respect younger kids, there isn’t that need for control,” he said. “That’s the key.”
