Recent Hazing Incidents Offer Teachable Moment

Hazing has existed for centuries, yet only in the last 15 years has it gained national attention for crossing the line from good-natured ribbing to blatantly criminal. The most recent case of criminal-level hazing provides an opportunity for coaches and teachers to talk openly with their students about the grim reality that hazing is dangerous for everyone involved.

In Kalispell, MT, two high school football players have been arrested and charged in connection with the raping of teammates while on a bus ride from a game. The Missoulian newspaper reported that although Logan Robert Jones and Charles Victor Calobeer, both 15, were the only students charged with a crime, four other athletes were kicked off the football team. While the crimes are alleged to have occurred in September, authorities waited until last week to file formal charges.

Kalispell Police Officer Jason Parce told the Missoulian he had found that "numerous assaults" had occurred on the bus and that four victims had been dragged to a back seat and "dog piled."

The paper cites one victim as saying, “Jones and Calobeer were sneaking up to the front of the darkened bus and pulling teammates out of their seats one by one, then forcibly carrying them to a back bus seat and assaulting them.”

According to the charging documents, Jones covered that victim's mouth so he couldn't scream while Calobeer grabbed his legs and pinned him down. Jones then tried to insert his finger into the teenager's anus through his clothing, records state, and both Jones and Calobeer punched him in the groin and testicles.

Because this is merely the most recent in a long line of inappropriate hazing incidents across the country, EducationWorld offers the following talking points for coaches and educators:

1. Physically hurting someone is always wrong. Any activity that results in someone getting injured is just not acceptable.
2. This type of “tradition” is worth ending. If you’ve ever been hazed, think about how you felt when it happened to you. You probably didn’t like it. So why would you want to put someone, a friend and teammate, through the same thing?
3. It’s more about control than initiation.  For the most part, when hazing goes to the extreme, for the perpetrators it is more about exerting their dominance over the team than “welcoming” new members. There are many non-violent and more creative ways to initiate new members into a group.
4. It’s not just about violence.  Non-violent hazing traditions can also result in injuries and criminal charges. Initiation parties that involve new group members consuming dangerous amounts of alcohol are not uncommon. Students should know about the dangers associated with these types of rituals.
5. If it’s illegal in society, don’t do it.  You don’t need a special class to know that assaulting someone or inserting things into his/her body against his/her will is against the law. Students should understand that if they commit acts like these, they will be charged, and that is something that follows them for the rest of their lives. Try explaining to a potential employer that you were just initiating someone onto the team when you assaulted him. You probably aren’t going to get the job.
6. It isn’t just a “jock” problem. Criminal-level hazing is happening in association with groups of all types. Marching bands, glee clubs and choirs, debate teams and student governments have all been tied to extreme hazing, making the discussion appropriate for every student, not just athletes.

Related resource

Hazing: Not Just a College Problem Anymore

Article by Jason Tomaszewski, EducationWorld Associate Editor
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