Marsico Legislation to Stop Hazing Heads to Governor’s Desk
HARRISBURG – Rep. Ron Marsico’s (R-Lower Paxton) legislation to protect students from harmful hazing rituals by making it a crime for hazing to occur at Pennsylvania schools and to require schools to write and enforce policies to prevent hazing passed through the House of Representatives today and will now head to the governor’s desk for final approval.
“Hazing is another form of bullying, which must be stopped,” Marsico said. “Traditional bullying involves singling out one individual at any time and bullying him or her as a means to exclude the person. Hazing involves bullying someone to make him or her earn his or her way into a group or onto a team.”
Hazing is often defined as the practice of rituals or other activities involving abuse or humiliation to initiate a person into a team or group. Currently, 44 states have some version of anti-hazing laws. Pennsylvania has such a law, which makes hazing a third-degree misdemeanor, but it is limited to institutions of higher learning.
Marsico’s legislation,
House Bill 1574, would expand that law to apply it to public and private secondary schools, as well as to clarify that forcing a student to engage in conduct against his or her will is itself a form of hazing. The Senate recently amended the bill to include the requirement for each secondary school to post a copy of its anti-hazing policy online and to provide copies to all athletic coaches involved in organizations within the secondary school.
“I would like to thank Sen. Andrew Dinniman for his support and changes in the Senate and the unanimous support this legislation received in that chamber,” Marsico said.
Very recently, allegations surfaced about football players at Central Bucks West High School in Bucks County where players had engaged in pre-season hazing at the school that included a requirement that rookies grab another player’s genitals while fully clothed. Another hazing incident allegedly involved placing towels over players’ heads and leading them into the shower. Additionally, in New Jersey recently, multiple football team members at Sayreville War Memorial High School were charged with sexual assaults on younger players that took place as part of an initiation rite. In 2011, two high school basketball players at Andover High School in Massachusetts were expelled and five were suspended for pressuring underclassmen to play a game where the loser was forced to eat a semen-soaked cookie.
“The instances of hazing here in Pennsylvania, as well as across the country, clearly are not limited to colleges or universities,” Marsico said. “And that’s why our laws need to reflect the severity of these actions, and impose appropriate punishments.”
Marsico’s work on a bill to combat hazing of students continues his long history of child protection-related legislation. Marsico also recently had legislation enacted to prevent cyber-bullying of minors. Marsico also authored the resolution to create Pennsylvania’s Task Force on Child Protection, which resulted in numerous reforms to Pennsylvania’s child abuse laws.
“Every child in this Commonwealth has the right to grow up free from intimidation, torment and emotional distress. They deserve to grow up in an environment that allows them to focus their energy on achieving their full potential, and this legislation will allow that to happen,” said Marsico.
Representative Ronald Marsico
105th District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Autumn R. Southard
717.652.3721
asouthar@pahousegop.com
RonMarsico.com