Behind Hazing: Expert warns of dangers in normalized hazing practices
National Hazing Expert, Hank Nuwer, has spent almost 40 years diving into these cases. Nuwer says what happened was 'not a rite of passage — it was abuse.'
Westhill boys lacrosse team will miss second game amid alleged hazing investigation
'It reminds me of the death of Chuck Stenzel at Alfred University,' said Nuwer, referring to a 1980s hazing death in NYS. 'This case was extreme. Putting someone in a trunk — that's not team bonding, it's dangerous.'
Psychology professor at Le Moyne College, Rachel Dinero, who studies group behavior and trauma, said that hazing isn't just impulsive behavior; it's culturally acceptable. Dinero also acknowledged that hazing traditions are often passed down, and that the respected 'leaders' of teams, clubs, and Greek life become normalized.
'There's pressure to conform,' Dinero said. 'Even when individuals know it's wrong, they look around, see others doing it, and think it must be okay.'
Dinero said that hazers often believe no one will get hurt, but in reality, victims don't know, and therefore, the aftermath can be just as damaging. The professor also notes that teens are more at risk than others since their brains are not fully developed.
'High school hazing often flies under the radar because victims are afraid to speak up. But just because we don't hear about it doesn't mean it isn't happening,' said Dinero. 'This is the kind of trauma that can lead to PTSD… Even if someone walks away physically unharmed, the emotional scars can last.'
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Axios
2 days ago
- Axios
ICE raids leave abandoned pets and property in their wake
Federal immigration raids across the U.S. are leaving many immigrants no choice but to abandon their vehicles, work tools and even cherished family dogs and cats. Why it matters: The forsaken pets and property can pose safety problems for cities and towns, along with ramping up the stress for family members who also fear being detained. Unlike local law enforcement agencies, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents don't appear to be impounding property after arrests, leaving work trucks, food carts and lawnmowers for the taking. With few systems in place to confiscate property or pets after immigration arrests, new networks of volunteers have erupted and cities are scrambling to come up with solutions. Zoom in: The abandoned pets and property phenomenon appears to be most common now in Southern California, especially after what activists are calling the "Summer of ICE," referring to federal immigration raids that began in June. Immigrant advocates from San Diego to Los Angeles to the Inland Empire are reporting immigrants "disappearing" after masked agents quickly arrest them, forcing them to leave their cars behind with keys and phones inside. Ontario resident Chris Ames told KTLA-TV that agents took away two gardeners mowing his lawn last month. "They left the lawnmower going right here on the front lawn ... They threw my gardeners' phones in the car with the car keys, left everything open, and just took off." Zoom out: An immigrant family was seen in a video shown on KTLA-TV earlier this month giving an emotional farewell to a dog after receiving orders to leave the country. In California, Nina Thompson of the San Diego Humane Society tells Axios they had to take in two dogs in June, resulting from an ICE detention case. In Texas, a spokeswoman for Harris County Public Health tells Axios that Houston-area shelters have seen an increase in stray pet intake this year, but does not know if it is connected to ICE raids. In Florida, Janet Steele, director of Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control, told the Miami New Times that she's aware of at least 19 pets surrendered to the shelter or its rescue partners this year "as a specific result of immigration detention." In North Carolina, an immigrant rights group is providing information on how to care for pets in the event of an arrest. Department of Homeland Security said in a statement to Axios that "ICE does NOT impound property." The department didn't offer any more comment. What they're saying:"What we've seen gets arrested and their property just stays there," Tamara Marquez of the Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice (ICIJ) tells Axios. "Either organizations or community members take it upon themselves to find the family members so they can go back and get their property back." Marquez said so far in the city of San Bernardino, California, there haven't been reports of people stealing left-behind property because activists have been aggressive in keeping track. Meanwhile, police in Santa Ana, California, are urging residents to report any abandoned vehicles or belongings they believe may belong to someone detained by federal immigration officers, per a social media post. Between the lines: The breakdown in property and pet abandonment is likely a result of local police refusing to cooperate with ICE on immigration enforcement. Typically, local police are responsible for impounding property and turning pets over to animal control or shelters. What we're watching: The issue of vacated property and pets has even become a campaign issue in the mayoral race in Albuquerque, New Mexico — a city that routinely has one of the country's highest rates of auto theft. Incumbent Democratic Mayor Tim Keller is facing a challenge from fellow Democrat Alex Uballez, a former U.S. attorney, who is making how the city responds to immigration detentions part of his campaign. Uballez says on his campaign website that the city should "direct city services to recover and reconnect the property, personal belongings, and pets of those taken by ICE to family members."
UPI
3 days ago
- UPI
Canadian man accused of killing daughter, 9, in upstate New York
July 30 (UPI) -- A Canadian man on Wednesday pleaded not guilty in the death of his 9-year-old daughter earlier this month while they were on vacation in upstate New York. Luciano Frattolin, 45, was denied bail by Judge Tatiani Coffinger after acting Essex County District Attorney Michael Langey said he was a flight risk because of his citizenship in Ehiopia and Italy, as well as his ties to Canada. "No amount of money would ensure he'd return," Langey told the judge. Public defender Emily Evatt said he had no criminal history and planned to stay in New York City with a friend. Frattolin was in financial trouble, WRGB-TV reported. He is the founder of Gambella Coffee in Montreal, which is named after the town in Ethiopia where he was born and where green coffee beans are hand-picked, WNYT-TV reported. Frattolin is facing a second-degree murder charge and concealment of a human corpse. He is accused of killing his daughter, Melina Galanis Frattolin, in the evening of July 19 during a vacation, then concealing her body and saying she was abducted. He said she was kidnapped when he pulled over on Interstate 87 to go into the woods to go to the bathroom, police said. An Amber Alert was issued the next morning. Later that day, her body was found in a pond in a remote area near Ticonderoga, which is 98 miles north of Albany and 146 miles south of Montreal. The New York State Police said a preliminary autopsy shows she died from "asphyxia due to drowning." In the indictment, officials said he concealed her body "by placing it in a wooded area, near a fallen tree with a rock on top of the corpse." Authorities believe she was killed a few hours after she called her mother to say they were traveling on the way back to Montreal as part of a 10-day vacation that included New York City and Connecticut. The girl lived with her mother. The couple had been estranged since 2019, according to Capt. Robert McConnell of the New York State Police. The mother said she had no prior concerns about them traveling together. Police noticed inconsistencies in his timeline of the trip, McConnell said. A jury trial has been set for January 2026.
New York Post
3 days ago
- New York Post
‘Uncontrollable' passengers escorted off plane after chugging vodka during delay: ‘May never want to fly again'
Tempers were taking off. A pair of passengers had to be escorted off a plane when they became 'uncontrollable' and fought with crew members after boozing on board, as seen in a viral video 'It was quite a serious altercation,' fly-witness Ian Boyle told SWNS of the incident, which occurred Thursday aboard a Jet2 plane that was slated to fly from Leeds in the UK to the Greek island of Crete. Advertisement 3 'We can confirm that two disruptive passengers have been banned from flying with us, following their appalling behavior which led to police having to offload them,' said a Jet2 rep while discussing the incident (pictured). Ian Boyle / SWNS Unfortunately, the flight became delayed, after which the two hellions decided to bide their time by sharing a bottle of vodka that they'd bought at a duty-free store. '[They] thought it was okay to drink it while we were delayed,' Boyle recalled. Advertisement Go figure: The duo subsequently became quite inebriated and started to wreak havoc aboard the grounded aircraft. Crewmembers attempted to intervene, but were reportedly no match for the boozy bozos and had to enlist the aid of authorities. 3 Authorities were called to escort the hellions off the aircraft. Ian Boyle / SWNS 'The airline staff were doing their best, but the drunk guy just overwhelmed them,' said Boyle. 'The police had to intervene because the man was so drunk he was uncontrollable.' Advertisement Thankfully, the police managed to put the kibosh on the booze cruise. Footage shows the yellow vest-wearing officials boarding the plane and escorting the hooch-chugging hooligans off. 3 The passengers (pictured) were arrested for fighting in public. Ian Boyle / SWNS The clip then cuts to the drunkards being ushered across the tarmac by a whole platoon of authorities. Advertisement The West Yorkshire Police reported that the two revelers were 'arrested' for brawling in public, but were 'bailed pending further inquiries.' Thankfully, the liquor-logged louts have since been blacklisted by Jet2. 'We can confirm that two disruptive passengers have been banned from flying with us, following their appalling behaviour which led to police having to offload them,' a spokesperson for the carrier announced. 'As a family-friendly airline, we take a zero-tolerance approach to disruptive passenger behaviour.' Nonetheless, Boyle claimed that some passengers were scared by the incident. 'There were kids on board who may never want to fly again,' he said. This isn't the first time that plastered passengers have been 'bounced' from a plane. Earlier this month, nine wealthy American teens were busted at London's Heathrow Airport this week after causing mayhem on a Virgin Atlantic flight from Los Angeles.
