6 Highlands students charged in connection with hazing allegations

Six student-athletes from Highlands School District have been charged in connection with an alleged hazing incident.

Harrison police Chief Brian Turack said the students, all members of the boys basketball team, were charged with harassment, disorderly conduct and hazing stemming from an incident Nov. 26 on a bus carrying the team from a tournament. Details of the incident were not released.

Turack did not release names of the students or their ages.

There were no court dockets related to the charges in the log from District Judge Carolyn Bengel’s office. Minors would be charged in juvenile court.

Superintendent Monique Mawhinney previously confirmed the district was investigating an alleged hazing and bullying incident. She was not available for comment Friday.

She had said that the conduct would not be tolerated and appropriate action would be taken for any founded claims.

The team’s head coach, Bill Flow, resigned Dec. 16 amid the investigation.

District Solicitor Anthony Giglio did not return TribLive calls seeking comment.

Turack said he consulted with the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office to determine charges.

“Hazing, in any form, is illegal and can have physical, emotional and legal consequences,” Turack said. “Due to the nature of the charges and the ages of those involved, no additional details will be released at this time.”

While Highlands School District wrangles with its hazing scandal, they’re likely not alone.

Nearly 50% of high school students experience some sort of hazing, experts say.

That’s more than 1.5 million teens humiliated, harmed or made to participate in dangerous activities — all under the ruse of group bonding. About 30% report potentially illegal acts as part of the incidents, and 25% report first being hazed before the age of 13, according to Alfred University.

“If it’s not addressed, it proliferates,” said Bart Rocco, assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Education and executive director of the school’s Tri-State Area School Study Council.

Rocco, also a former superintendent at Elizabeth Forward School District, said prevention starts with a solid framework.

“A lot of people don’t know what it actually is,” Rocco said. “You have to have a clearly defined policy for everyone, from students to staff to the bus driver.”

Hazing is similar to bullying but usually happens in a group setting and is meant to exert dominance over another person.

It’s often passed off as a rite of passage.

Bullying rises to the level of hazing when coercion, for the purpose of continuing the status in an organization, involves one of the following: breaking a law; consuming anything that would risk harm; physical, mental or sexual brutality; or activity that creates bodily injury.

Hazing was brought into the limelight in 2017 following the death of a Penn State student after fraternity-related events. That incident led to then-Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf signing the Timothy J. Piazza anti-hazing measure into law, elevating hazing activities that result in serious injury or death to a felony-level charge.

The law applies to colleges, high schools and middle schools.

Hazing is a summary offense but becomes a misdemeanor if it causes injury. Aggravated hazing is charged when there is serious bodily injury or death, or the offender forces the consumption of alcohol or drugs. That offense is a felony of the third degree, which carries up to seven years in prison.

More than 1.5 million high school students experience hazing each year, according to the Hazing Prevention Institute.

A high school near Harrisburg canceled its football season in 2022 because of hazing accusations. Officials at Middletown Area High School said a cellphone video showed a group of students restraining two teammates and using a muscle therapy gun and some athletic equipment to poke the kids’ buttocks while they lay on the ground.

“Schools can do the utmost to do everything right, but that doesn’t mean it’s not going to happen,” Rocco said.

Schools should make their policy clear, through assemblies or handbooks, and then repeat the guidelines several times a year, he said.

“You have to tell them what it looks like, talk about the negative impacts and talk about what a bystander should do,” Rocco said.

“Everyone should know the reporting mechanisms and feel that there’s a culture where they’re not afraid of pointing it out.”

Rocco said if bullying isn’t addressed, chances are it will multiply.

“You might have a situation where a child has been teased or harassed, and, if no one addresses it, it could take off into a much larger situation where everyone thinks they can get away with picking on that kid,” Rocco said.

“You want to provide a culture of kindness. You can’t wait to act.”