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.
