New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez has unveiled a legislative proposal targeting two significant threats to student safety: hazing and cyberbullying.
The plan introduces penalties for these behaviors, aiming to protect students statewide and address gaps in current laws.
The proposed measures include criminalizing hazing, with penalties ranging from misdemeanors for less severe cases to second-degree felonies if a death occurs.
Colleges and universities would also be required to adopt stricter codes of conduct, form committees to address the problems, and provide hazing prevention training.
This marks the first time New Mexico would have laws directly addressing hazing. AG Torrez said that the state is one of only six in the nation that doesn’t yet have such laws.
Torrez was joined at yesterday’s announcement by Renata Witte, of the New Mexico Parent Teacher Association.
“ Hazing sends the wrong message to our youth about the values of respect, belonging, and leadership," Witte said.
"Our children should feel secure and that they are growing up in a world where the adults around them make a commitment to protect them.”
Torrez paraphrased the proposed legislation’s definition of hazing and bullying as any inappropriate physical or psychological pressure that could be placed on a student.
Recent reports of physical forms of hazing or bullying have emerged from Santa Fe High school and the basketball programs at the University of New Mexico and New Mexico State University.
As for cyberbullying, the legislation seeks to criminalize harmful online behavior that causes fear, affects mental health, or disrupts school activities.
During the press conference, Torrez was asked to respond to criticisms of laws that could lead to very young people being taken into custody, charged, and prosecuted for such acts.
He said he doesn’t take the issue of juvenile prosecution lightly, but argued that such measures would generate the sort of deterrence that make them important to pass into law.
“My role, fundamentally, is about elevating a sense of accountability in society and making sure that our criminal laws reflect the values of our community," Torrez said.
"I think most people in the city of Albuquerque can see for themselves what happens when a system becomes so concerned about the impact of enhanced criminal penalties on a small group of kids will have—to the detriment of the safety of everyone else."
State senator Moe Maestas, of Albuquerque, was also at yesterday's announcement, and said he would be the prime sponsor of the two bills once the 60-day legislative session begins next week.
