Fifth Student Alleges Hazing at Maine West High School

Another student has come forward in the wake of the Maine West High School boys soccer team hazing scandal. The juvenile is the fifth member of the team to claim that he was the victim of a hazing ritual during a team-building event in 2012.

The lawsuit was filed Monday in Cook County Circuit Court, and it claims that a fifth member of the soccer team was assaulted during a “campus run” by older teammates. The juvenile, whose name was not released, alleges that older players held him on the ground and physically and sexually assaulted him.

Sadly, this isn’t the first time Maine West High School has been in the news for a hazing incident. Late last year we learned that the Department of Children and Family Services was investigating MWHS for hazing allegations dating back to 2008.

The school district voted to fire Maine West coaches Michael Divincenzo and Emilio Rodriquez for their roles in the incidents. Divincenzo was charged in May with multiple misdemeanors, including hazing, battery, and failure to report abuse as dictated by law as a teacher and a coach.

Attorney Sean Sullivan comments

This is a story we’ve been following closely, and we’ve commented on it before. Sadly, it seems another accuser has come out, which seems to support the conclusion that there was a pattern of abuse and hazing at this school. Acts of severe hazing (such as the actions described here) are the most egregious and should result in criminal charges being filed, but it is not just these individual acts that should be punished.

What is most troubling to me is that it seems the school district and the school itself should be facing a civil lawsuit for a complete lack of oversight and failure to address this situation such that it fostered an atmosphere where these hazers felt that this behavior was acceptable. Hazing is never an acceptable behavior and this school and the school district are just as complacent as the individual perpetrators.

Related source: Chicago Tribune

NIU Frat Members Named in Wrongful Death Suit

The family of a Northern Illinois University freshman who died after drinking excessive amounts of alcohol is suing the fraternity who hosted the pledge party for wrongful death.

In the lawsuit, the family of David Bogenberger alleges that members of the Pi Kappa Alpha house encouraged their son to drink large amounts of alcohol and failed to provide assistance when Bogenberger became unconscious.

An autopsy revealed that Bogenberger, 19, had a blood alcohol level of .4, nearly five times the legal driving limit for adults.  In the suit, the Bogenberger’s stated that the fraternity did not follow national hazing policies, and their actions caused their son to consume “excessive and dangerous amounts of alcohol”.

Peter Coladarci, the family’s attorney, argued that the nationally recognized fraternity did not adequately ensure that their chapters knew about the dangers of overconsumption.

“The national organization has a responsibility to provide meaningful training, supervision and oversight to its local chapters, so that fraternity members understand that alcohol-related hazing is … potentially deadly,” said Coladarci.

Underage consumption is common on college campuses, but fatalities are not.  One study suggests that roughly 12 underage students die each year due overconsumption.

All 22 members of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity were named in the lawsuit.  Each individual faces criminal charges, while five leaders have been charged with felony hazing.

Attorney Sean Sullivan comments

Regrettably, hazing incidents seem to be ever increasing in the news these days.

Whether it is extreme binge drinking at a college fraternity party, or physical assaults among high-school athletic teams, young people are being hurt. Illinois in particular has seen several incidents at the high school level in the last year or so.

The best way to protect these young people and end hazing is to stand up to these bullies and draw attention to the problem. Filing lawsuits will help bring attention to these incidents and put these bullies on notice that these particularly callous or negligent acts will not be tolerated anymore.

Related source:  Chicago Tribune

2 Illinois High Schools Involved in Hazing Scandals

Two Illinois high schools have been at the center of the high school hazing debate, and the schools are taking different paths to settle the issues.

Hazing Scandal #1

At Hoffman Estates High School, fourteen members of the high school basketball team were ordered to forfeit three games after alleged hazing incidents.

Officials said members of the basketball team would single out a player for initiation, then pile on top of that player and poke, grab and touch the individual in areas that sometimes included the buttocks and groin.  All players were fully clothed during the hazing incidents and the touching did not occur underneath a player’s clothes.

The Hoffman Estates police department is working with the school during the ongoing investigation.

The team’s coach is also being investigated, but players told school officials that their coach knew nothing about the initiation ritual.

The school has stated that the team will forfeit their next three games as a result of the “horseplay”, and members of the team will undergo training in hazing awareness.

Hazing Scandal #2

In an unrelated high school, the Department of Children and Family Services is looking into possible criminal violations stemming from hazing incidents dating back to 2008.

The DCFS is investigating one or more school officials at Maine West High School who may have known about the incidents and failed to report the conduct to proper authorities.  The Illinois Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act requires knowledge of alleged abuse to be reported, and violations range from a Class A misdemeanor to a Class 4 felony.

The investigation comes on the heels of a variety of incidents involving hazing on the boys soccer and baseball teams.

A parent of a freshman on the 2008 baseball team informed the school principal that members of the team had tore off her son’s pants and underwear on numerous occasions, sometimes exposing his genitals.

School officials investigated the complaint and four students were disciplined, but top district officials were not informed.  An internal investigation is being conducted to determine if the school acted appropriately.

The DCFS decided to get involved after the more recent hazing incident surrounding the boys soccer team.  Details about the latest incident have not been released, but six players were charged with misdemeanors after allegedly hazing three players.

Hazing and bullying is a growing epidemic in our schools,” says Illinois attorney Sean Sullivan. “What troubles me most about these two stories is that the Department of Children and Family Services is concerned enough to seek further investigation in one case, but not in the other.  It seems like a slippery slope to define one as ‘horseplay’ and the other as bordering on a sex crime. Both of these cases involve bullying of student athletes, and both deal with hazing related to school activities.  In my opinion both should warrant further investigation, not just one.”

Related source:  Chicago Tribune