In the wake of last year's hazing scandal at New Mexico State University, the athletics department is rolling out new measures to ensure students are aware of the consequences of inappropriate behavior and have the resources to deal with such incidents.
Since last year's incident — Aggie players Duece Benjamin and Shak Odunewu came forward with the hazing allegations that included sexual assault and settled a lawsuit against the university in June for $8 million dollars — athletics director Mario Moccia said the department has had to check off 20 action items to prevent future hazing.
"We had executives from the athletic department attend a national hazing summit. We have a brand-new coach who has got a stellar reputation, we've got 13 brand new players, so I don't know what more you can do than that," Moccia told KFOX 14.
The university underwent three reviews after the hazing incident. One of those was conducted by Lightfoot Law Firm, which found the hazing incident to be an isolated case within the basketball team.
“They came in here, they interviewed 90 people, they interviewed student athletes, multiple student athletes from all sports,” Moccia said.
Posters have now been put up in all locker rooms which display information about how students can report any type of misconduct and which departments are available for resources.
New Mexico is only one of six states that does not have hazing laws or criminalizes the act. Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham said in April she will be pushing to implement such laws in the state in the next legislative session which starts in January.
