Hazing Incidents At Phoenix-Area High Schools Raise Questions About Culture, Prevention

By Lauren Gilger, Steve Goldstein
Published: Friday, April 21, 2017 - 1:15pm
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Recently, two different high schools here in the Phoenix area — Hamilton High in Chandler and Mountain Ridge High in Glendale — have had serious allegations of sexual assault surface stemming from hazing rituals.

Both happened through involvement in boy’s sports — one wrestling, one football — and resulted in these alleged criminal hazing incidents that has so far seen three Hamilton students arrested.

The fact that two similar stories have emerged from two different schools spark a deeper conversation about young men and this type of violent behavior. How does a culture that allows hazing form in the first place and what does a school district need to do to make sure it stops?

To answer that, we turned to nationally-recognized hazing expert Hank Nuwer, a professor at Franklin College and the author of four books on hazing.

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