College Hazing Under Fire

The University of Vermont hockey team had spent most of the season denying shocking claims by a former teammate.

A few weeks after New Year's, the truth put their season on ice.

"We are terminating the 1999-2000 UVM men's ice hockey season effective immediately," Judith Ramaley, the UVM president declared January 14.

"It was a statement about character, it was a statement about responsibility," Ramaley explained to CBS News recently. "Not only did our ice hockey players engage in hazing, but then they lied about it."

What they lied about jolted the hockey-mad campus, shut down a highly successful program that went to the final four in 1996, and led to a lawsuit by fourth-string goalie Corey Latulippe.

At an October team party called "The Big Night," freshman were forced to wear women's underwear, drink warm beer and hard liquor, and parade in an "elephant walk" -- where they moved in a line holding each other's genitals.

Neither Latulippe or his lawyers would agree to be interviewed for this story. Latulippe left school and now plays junior hockey in upstate New York. In his lawsuit he alleges, among other things, civil rights violations and assault and battery.

Not everyone feels the same about what happened that night. Fellow freshman Ryan Miller went through the ordeal and says he now feels closer than ever to his teammates.

"I met some great guys," Miller said. "The character in our locker room is great. I mean, what can you do? You know, reality bites, there it goes...."

What happened in Vermont appears to be commonplace. In the most recent study conducted for the NCAA it was estimated that 80 percent of college athletes are subjected to some form of hazing when joining a team. Half of those involved alcohol-related hazing. And two thirds were subjected to humiliation, such being cursed at or being forced to wear embarrassing clothing.

"This was my first experience dealing with hazing, but I know a lot of players around the country, across the country, I've heard a lot of stories," Miller said.

Hazing used to be tolerated or turned a blind eye to. For many schools, it was a part of campus life. But several high profile hazing incidents like the 1997 alcohol-related death of MIT student Scott Kruger have prompted a country-wide crackdown -- from fraternities to sports teams.

"It's been a tremendous problem since 1970, where either in a hazing or pledging related incident, we've had a death a year since 1970," claimed Hank Nuwer, a hazing expert.

Experts say the toughest thing for school officials is trying to understand why young people would endure behavior in a group that they would never tolerate individually.

"I think we as older adults really underestimate how much these kids want to belong, how much they look for the status of a peer group, and so forth," Nuwer said. "And they lust for it."

At Vrmont, the loss of a hockey season has meant a series of new policies, including a contract for athletes in all sports that addresses hazing and alcohol use. Officials hope the experience will make it a safer school.

Ryan Miller is convinced it will also make them a better team. "Getting your season cancelled is a real eye opener, and I think that its going to be a lot more intense, a lot more serious," he said. "I think fans are going to see a different team -- a lot more serious, a lot more intense."

"I hope that the wake-up call that we got was such a loud alarm clock that other people hear it," Ramaley said.

Until the state legislature acts, Vermont remains one of just nine states without an anti-hazing law. The only criminal charge pending against any hockey team member is a single count of providing alcohol to a minor.

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