Hazing has once again gathered national attention. This time the school in the spotlight is Sayreville War Memorial High School in New Jersey.
The hazing resulted in the cancellation of the entire football season and, according to the New York Times, took place in late September. This national story developed further when the freshmen, who were hazed, accused the older players of several disturbing crimes.
The hazing acts ranged from reported sexually suggestive acts to physical assault to sexual assault. In a letter written to the school and community, David Weitzel, the Sayreville War Memorial High School’s superintendent, said, “Our inquiry determined that students new to the team were expected to participate in several initiations that were both humiliating and inappropriate.”
These hazing acts were reportedly committed by several upperclassmen, some of whom were dealt criminal charges. The New York Times reported that, on several occasions, four freshman students were outnumbered and assaulted.
After these events came to the attention of the school board, the remainder of Sayreville War Memorial High School’s football season was cancelled. In addition, according to Fox News, the school’s head football coach George Najjar and four of his assistants were all suspended by the Board of Education. This was decided in a meeting attended by over 100 community members.
The school community has also descended into a level of unrest. Students have expressed their anger at the freshmen for coming forward. Other community members were convinced of possible racial profiling, upset by the fact that all seven accused players were black. The team, according to the New York Daily News, was 70-80% Caucasian.
New Trier itself has a policy against hazing. The school’s Extracurricular Code bars “Bullying and intimidation, hazing, and harassment of a written, verbal, physical, or sexual nature; including but not limited to hand written, computer generated, or spoken words,” according to the 2014-2015 Guidebook.
Consequences for this type of violation of the code vary, but usually result in a minimum of some sort of suspension from the student’s extracurricular activities or sports.
In the beginning of 2012 the New Trier community saw a similar turn of events when several members of the Maine West boys soccer team were charged with misdemeanor and battery after an alleged hazing came to light.
One thing known for certain is that this hazing has created a rift in Sayreville’s school community, not only causing uproar among teachers, parents, and community members, but also, according to the New York Times, tension among players who are trying to figure out who told the administration about the incident.
Many of the students initially accused of the violent hazing brushed off the claims by making it out as a joke, or something to bring the team closer. This prompted questions of how far students should be allowed to go with “bonding” and how serious schools should be in dealing with and preventing hazing.
With all of the tension that hazing can create, not to mention the physical and emotional harm that the hazed students underwent, perhaps it is time for all schools to have more strict policies against hazing.
“I feel like football won’t be the same here in Sayreville.” said a Sayerville senior interviewed by the New York Times.