Joe experienced severe hazing as a freshman on the Munster High School boys' swim team, including having his hair shaved and dyed in humiliating ways. He and his family reported the hazing to multiple coaches and administrators over two years, but it continued. They are pursuing the issue to prevent further students from being abused and to create positive change around hazing policies. They request education for all involved, discipline for those complicit, and an expert presentation on hazing.

1. Joe’s hair is shaved across the top

2. HAZING
A Problem Within the Munster High
School Boy’s Swim Team Program

3. Joe 2010

4. Who – Joseph Hunt
• Joe is representative of all students, he was
not the only one victimized. We are just the
only ones with the good sense and courage
to come forward, to recognize that abuse
should not be part of any educational or
extracurricular program in this school
system or any other.

5. Joe MHS Tennis Team 2011

6. About Joe
• Dare Role Model for past • Munster Knights Chess
two years Team member
• Sports enthusiast • 2003 Northwest Indiana
• Member of championship Regional First Place
teams in in 2007 in • 2003 won game against
baseball and 2008/09 in sponsor/mentor Dr. Wei
basketball Zhou
• MVP in 2007 as Pitcher • 2007 was member of team
against a Gary team. that won State Team
Opposing coaches chose Chess Championship for
MVP. Eighth Grade and Under

7. Some of
Joe’s Trophies

8. Academic Achievements
• Always an excellent • Scholar Athlete in
student with near perfect freshman and sophomore
attendance years
• Terra Nova testing in • Enrolled in gifted program
middle school, scored in
the 98th percentile in Math, through Northwestern
99th percentile in Math University
Computations, 99th • SAT in middle school,
percentile in Math scored better than more
Composite, 98th percentile than 30 percent of college
in Science, 99th percentile bound seniors
in Social Studies.

12. Recent History
• August 2008, our • Fall of 2008 to March
neighborhood 2010, displaced and in
devastated by tornado process of rebuilding
that struck Griffith in Munster, so Joe
• September 2008, our could continue his
home suffered education at MHS
substantial damage in
the flooding and had
to be demolished

13. Joe’s Poem
about himself

14. Joe 2009 – Hazing began that summer just
prior to starting his freshman year

15. What - Hazing
• The relentless and sometimes severe hazing that
takes place on the MHS Boy’s Swim Team.
• Hazing refers to any activity expected of someone
joining a group (or to maintain full status in a
group) that humiliates, degrades, or risks
emotional and/or physical harm, regardless of the
person’s willingness to participate. It is a complex
social problem that is shaped by power dynamics.

16. New York Times
Letter of this slideEditor
Content to the is being
July 31, 1908
suppressed until copyright
permission has been
obtained from the author.

17. Hazing Practices within the
Swim Program
• Irritating waterproof • Equipment required for
ointment applied practice taken, swim
• Younger members paddles, fins
required to clean up locker • Lower classmen expected
rooms
to give up their shower
• Younger members
stall for upper classmen
required to clean up buses
• Younger members • Hygiene products taken by
required to clean up lunch upper classmen
trays in order to sit with • Being hit with a plastic bat
older members • Being hit with swim fins

18. Hazing Practices within the
Swim Program (Cont’d)
• Hair cut and dyed in a humiliating and
demeaning manner
• Eyebrow shaved off to punish for changing
hair cut/color
• Five Starring, being hit on the back with an
open hand resulting in a “Five Star” mark

19. Joe’s Hair is shaved down the middle

20. Joe’s hair is shaved across the top

21. Joe’s hair is dyed luscious
raspberry red

22. Joe’s head is shaved to try
to even it up

23. Who?
• Who was a victim, who was the abuser?
• Most everyone on the team was a victim at
one time or another
• Upperclassmen, often the captains on the
team were the abusers. Some of the young
men who hazed others have gone on to
some of the finest colleges and universities
in this nation.

24. When?
• The abuses on the team were constant. Joe
estimates he suffered several hundred single
incidents of hazing.
• Where was the supervision?
• How could such obvious signs of abuse and
abusive behavior be missed?

25. Joe’s head is shaved to try
to even it up

26. Team photo with obvious signs of abuse

27. Where?
• The abuses took place on the pool deck, in
the locker room, in the showers, in the
lunchroom, on the buses and in private
homes.

28. Why?
• Swimming is a grueling sport. Demanding on the
student and the parent.
• Hazing was a known, accepted and even protected
“tradition” of the MHS Boy’s Swim Program.
• Despite countless rules, policies, bylaws and
contractual agreements, none were employed to
counter the hazing culture that flourished
unchecked.

29. Contacts with Staff and
Administration
• Fall of 2009, Coach Ryan • March 9 – Superintendent
Nolin, phone Pfister, in person
• January 31, 2011 – Coach Matt • April 18, phone to Mr. Pfister
Pavlovich, in person for follow-up meeting
• February 3, 2011 – Athletic
• May 18, receive return phone
Director Michael Smith, in
person call from month earlier
• February 9, 2011 – Phone and • May 23, Mr. Pfister, present
email with Coach Matt formal complaint, in person
Pavlovich and AD Michael • May 26, Principal Tripenfeldas
Smith and Dean Clark, in person
• March 6 – Principal Steven
Tripenfeldas, phone

30. How has Joe been affected:
• Suffers bouts of • Stressful dealing with this
depression on top of regular
• Suffers bouts of anxiety adolescent issues
• Lowered self-esteem • Skin issues
• Diminished self- • Neck injured in attack,
confidence treated but continues to
• Drop in grades cause discomfort from
time to time.
• Difficulty concentrating

31. How does Joe continue to be
affected?
• Great anxiety over • Health concerns due to
returning to school level of chlorine
• Places great pressure exposure he suffered
upon himself to as result of hazing
“prove” himself behaviors in the
• Loss of friends on showers
swim team due to their • Stress and anxiety due
ignorance of how to amount of time it
hazing is hurtful and has taken for this issue
damaging to be addressed

32. Additional Concerns
• The instances of abuse by the coaching staff itself have not
been addressed. These are addressed in the next slide.
• There are many incorrect statements contained in both the
summary of the investigation and Ms. Szarmach’s
subsequent investigation.
• Many students who graduated this year and who clearly
violated their contractual agreements to participate in
extra-curricular activities as well as IHSAA competitions
have received no punishment whatsoever.
• Treatment of parents and students when dealing with staff
and administration should be improved.

33. List of Abuses by the
Coaching Staff.
• These are merely examples and may not include all the actions by this
coaching staff that have negatively impacted the members of this team:
• Morning practices that run too long, thereby depriving athletes of time
to have breakfast. This is abusive on physical, mental and emotional
levels.
• Evening practices that run over by more than five or 10 minutes.
Numerous occasions. Abusive to both parents and swimmers.
• Disciplines that have been haphazardly applied with the most serious
infractions receiving no discipline. Singling out individuals when
numerous members have exhibited same behavior.
• Physical abuse being inflicted on the basis of fees not being paid.
• Swimmers forced to swim 3000 additional yards at the end of a meet,
despite the fact they had a full training week prior.
• Five o’clock in the morning practices after late night meets where boys
do not return home until 9:00 or later.

34. Why we were compelled to
pursue this issue.
• We could not let this go, because it would have sent Joe all
the wrong messages:
• That it is okay for someone to abuse you.
• If you are abused you should be quiet about it.
• That often the people in authority who should protect you,
don’t.
• That the reasons they don’t is because they perceive some
higher mission. They do not understand that when they
fail one child in such a way, they fail all children…they
fail themselves and the institution they represent.

35. Suggested Improvements to Deal
with Hazing at MHS
• Make the process transparent
• Zero tolerance
• Accelerated timeline for dealing hazing
• Education of all staff, administrators, students and
parents as to what constitutes hazing, what to do if
a student is hazed, how to intervene on behalf of
someone being hazed, how to report it. Hazing
can only exist in secrecy.

36. Requested Actions
• While there has been some improvement
regarding communicating hazing concerns to
parents, it is not nearly enough and needs to be
expanded upon. Education is key.
• A recognized expert in the field of hazing needs to
be brought in for an all-school assembly. Mr.
Elliott Hopkins of the National Federation of High
School provides such a service as part of his job.
There would be no cost to the district for his
presentation.

37. Requested Actions (Cont’d)
• By acknowledging and exposing the problem, you
will give support to Joe and every young man who
has been a victim, thereby relieving the stigma of
disloyalty that has been perceived. Coming
forward is not the act of a coward, but required
great courage.
• That the School Board appropriately reprimand
and discipline those in authority who have have
compromised this district and the students by their
actions, and lack thereof,

38. New York Times
Letter of thisthe is being
Content to slide Editor
suppressed until copyright
permission 31, 1908
July has been
obtained from the author.

39. 103 years later… Isn’t it time
things changed? Take this
terrible situation and make it
positive, become a force for
change in this school, this state,
this nation.