High school frat hazing injures three boys
Friday, August 02, 2002
By PETER POCHNA AND CHARLES AUSTIN
Staff Writers
Some Hawthorne High School students will soon face charges for a fraternity hazing incident that sent three boys to the hospital last weekend, police said Thursday.
Although police declined to comment on the nature of the injuries, a parent familiar with the incident said the injured youths - incoming freshmen - were severely paddled on their buttocks. The parent, as well as others familiar with the incident, said the investigation apparently is centering on Sigma Kappa Delta, a fraternity with a long and checkered history at Hawthorne High.
Police said the three boys were treated at The Valley Hospital following the incident Friday night in a wooded area just across the town line in Ridgewood. Investigators described the acts as criminal.
"I don't care how people might sugarcoat this - it was violence and we are not taking it lightly,'' said Ridgewood police Capt. Keith Killion.
He said the investigation is complicated because so many students were involved, but that some juveniles as well as young adults will be charged early next week. The charges could range from hazing, a disorderly persons offense, to the more serious crime of aggravated assault, he said.
A father of one of the alleged victims declined to discuss what happened to his son.
"I've got a lawyer, and I was advised not to comment on anything,'' the father said.
The incident puts the spotlight on a fraternity that has generated controversy several times since its founding more than 40 years ago.
Jayne Ace-Bosgra, a former head of the high school Parent Teacher Organization, said the group's activities may be "evolving out of control.''
She said her son, who graduated last year, was approached by SKD his freshman year. He declined to join and went on to have a great high school career, she said.
"As far as I'm concerned, they're just another organized gang," Ace-Bosgra said.
In 1986, Hawthorne's school board adopted a policy to suspend any students who belonged to fraternities, sororities, or secret societies.
School officials at the time said the clubs foster elitism, bigotry, and rowdy behavior.
Officials cited an incident in which a bus from a rival school was pelted with rocks and bottles after a football game.
School officials also said fraternity members had carved emblems into desks and spray-painted school walls.
They pointed to SKD and two other groups as the active fraternities.
The American Civil Liberties Union sued the school district on behalf of some students and parents, arguing that the policy trampled on the students' First Amendment right of association.
The school dropped the policy, but kept rules banning the organizations from operating in school as well as forbidding students from wearing clothing adorned with fraternal symbols.
In 1990, about 20 SKD members wore their group's shirt to school.
They were told to turn the shirts inside out. At the time, students estimated that 80 of the 455 enrolled at the high school were members of SKD or other similar groups.
Hawthorne police Lt. Martin Boyd said the department has known about SKD and fraternities for years, but is unfamiliar with their activities.
They are "more or less secretive organizations,'' Boyd said.
He said SKD has had no particular trouble with police in the past.
Hawthorne school officials declined to return telephone calls on Thursday.
Mayor Fred Criscitelli said the school has done what it can to stop the fraternities' activities.
"I've never known them [SKD] to do any good deeds,'' the mayor said.
Peter Pochna's e-mail address is
pochna@northjersey.com; Charles Austin's e-mail address is
austin@northjersey.com
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