Hazing ‘traditions’ and sexual assault plagued UCLA summer camp job, students say
Two UCLA students told CBS2 News on Monday they had taken part in a ‘hazing’ ritual at the camp last summer.
Logan Moore, a senior, and his friend Tyler Williams both said they wanted to take part in an initiation into the brotherhood of the Black Reggae Hmong culture at the camp. But both said they did not choose to take part.
“I was really afraid of it. A lot of people had already been initiated and people they knew, they knew what it was,” Moore said.
Both said they were “shocked and disappointed” when they found out the camp would not accept their applications.
“I think that it’s a shame that the university would take such a risk by accepting a group that will not be able to do anything,” Williams said.
In an email to CBS2 News, UCLA officials said that while no crimes occurred, the university would not allow students to engage in behavior at the camp that would compromise other students’ safety or well-being.
“Our university values the safety and well being of everyone on our campus and in our community,” a UCLA official said in the email.
“We are unable to comment on the details of this case or the potential criminal charges, nor do we want to speculate on any potential motivations.”
Campers who took part in the initiation were sent to counselors, who were told not to talk to them about the hazing, according to news reports.
“It was just a nightmare that I didn’t even want to be a part of,” Moore said about the initiation. “I’ve never seen people treated like that before.”
Williams said he wanted to go to the camp to “take part of the brotherhood,” but he decided to decline his acceptance because of the threats he said he received.
“They were threatening to go to the school and get people to go to jail,” he said.
The Black Reggae Hmong culture is a secretive sect found in Honduras that follows a strict code of conduct and ritual, according to the New York
