AG and lawmaker introduce anti-hazing and cyberbullying legislation

Hazing and cyberbullying in schools, including universities and colleges, would be a crime under legislation proposed for the 60-day session that starts Tuesday.

Sen. Antonio “Moe” Maestas, D-Albuquerque, and Attorney General Raúl Torrez at a Thursday news conference announced two Senate bills on the issue, which have been proposed in the Legislature previously, but failed to become law.

“It’s far past time for New Mexico to move on these issues,” Torrez said, noting that the state is one of six that does not have anti-hazing or cyberbullying laws. “I think every citizen has an expectation that we move on that.”

He said the proposed legislation comes not just as a result of the New Mexico Department of Justice’s report into hazing and sexual assault cases against the New Mexico State University men’s basketball program but also instances of hazing and cyberbullying at K-12 schools.

Torrez’s December report found that three NMSU basketball players “engaged in a months-long scheme of sexualized hazing targeting” at least four teammates and two student-managers and university leadership did not do enough to prevent the incidents, according to the NMDOJ. The AG’s report recommended the university implement multiple reforms, including mandatory training and a “leadership commitment.” Earlier this month, New Mexico State Athletic Director Mario Moccia was fired by the university’s president, who cited Torrez’s report as the prime reason for the decision.

NMSU spokesperson Amanda Bradford said on Friday that the university believes the proposed legislation “aligns with the work that’s already underway” by the institution.

“We look forward to opportunities where we can work collaboratively with the attorney general and the Legislature on this effort,” Bradford said.

During Thursday’s news conference, a reporter mentioned a recent news report involving Santa Fe High School, in which head football coach Andrew Martinez resigned amid a criminal investigation into three of his players, who are accused of hazing another player in a locker room.

Though she did not mention those allegations, Renata Witte, vice president of legislation and advocacy for the New Mexico Parent Teacher Association, said during the news conference that “every child deserves to feel safe” in the extracurricular activities they participate in, and hazing “should not be considered a rite of passage.”

The proposed hazing legislation would make it a misdemeanor for anyone to participate in the act in connection with a student’s recruitment, initiation or affiliation with a student organization, including athletic teams. A misdemeanor could also be applied to any administrator, faculty member, coach, employee, independent contractor or volunteer who fails to report suspected hazing. Hazing that results in significant physical or psychological harm, great physical harm or death would be a felony.

Under the proposed cyberbullying legislation, felony charges could be applied to anyone who engages in cyberbullying and causes psychological and physical harm, or death. Cyberbullying that does not result in psychological or physical harm would be a misdemeanor.

“In the digital age, (cyberbullying) has become an epidemic. It’s no longer confined to playgrounds and classrooms, like old-school bullying. It follows students home, invading the very spaces where they should feel secure,” Maestas said during the news conference.

Eighth Judicial District Attorney Marcus J. Montoya told reporters that his office “does not currently have any tools in our toolkit to address” hazing and cyberbullying and he supports the proposed legislation.

Ellen Bernstein, president of the Albuquerque Teachers Federation, said in an interview on Friday that generally speaking, the union is against any form of hazing or cyberbullying. But she could not take a position on the bills until she has a chance to talk to Albuquerque Public School teachers.