UC Davis faces another hazing scandal. Chancellor May must do more to change the culture
UC Davis is an essential institution in the Sacramento region. So when it stumbles, a regional community takes note. This has been the case over the last week since the entire UC Davis baseball team was suspended and the coaching staff was placed on administrative leave.
When that story first broke, there were no details, and the lack of clarity, transparency and communication made this story bigger than it might have been.
The mystery behind such a drastic action, suspending an entire Division I baseball team for unknown reasons, made this a national story. It didn’t need to be this way, especially for a university that dissolved its marching band two years ago after a Sacramento Bee investigation uncovered a culture of hazing, binge drinking and sexual misconduct.
UC Davis suddenly has another hazing scandal on its hands. Chancellor Gary May confirmed it in an online message to the campus community, finally shedding some light on this bizarre story.
“Let me be clear that whenever there are credible allegations of misconduct of any kind, the university will take appropriate steps to review those claims,” May wrote. “The university has a posture of zero tolerance with respect to hazing. Our student’s health and well-being is our No. 1 priority.”
May’s comments were welcome, but he could do more and should do more. Otherwise, these are just empty words.
We understand that May and his campus community have to be careful. They have to honor an investigative process while also protecting the anonymity of students who may have been victimized.
This situation cannot be taken lightly, and it won’t be resolved easily. Students may have been physically or sexually abused. Victims may have suffered for a prolonged period of time. Coaches may or may not have known.
There is much left to be answered. But we do know this: Affected members of the UC Davis community are also in the dark. Prior to May’s statement, an unidentified father of a UC Davis baseball player told The Bee that “no one knows anything, even my son who’s on the team. … It’s a bad look for the school, and as a parent, I’m really concerned.”
There were several troubling comments made by this father, who trusted UC Davis to look after his son as he played baseball. But the most troubling was this: He wanted to keep his son’s name out of the story because he feared retaliation.
Retaliation from who? Why is a father of a UC Davis baseball player fearful of someone on the UC Davis campus?
This is why May’s delayed response is so disappointing. This is more than a public relations disaster for UCD. This is a statement about a culture of fear on campus and within a baseball program. This is a university where hazing supposedly keeps occurring, despite investigations and penalties and public apologies.
This is where Chancellor May could and should speak publicly — to the UCD father who is afraid for his son — and to others who may also be afraid to speak or come forward.
As we said at the outset, the Sacramento region takes pride in this school. The scandal on the baseball team will only diminish UCD’s standing if its leaders allow that to happen.
The comparisons between the marching band scandal and now, with the baseball program, are disturbing: A culture of abuse, protected by secrecy, that harms people in plain sight while the victims are afraid to speak out.
It’s why Chancellor May needs to speak out. Anything less is circling the wagons.
This story was originally published July 21, 2021 at 6:00 AM.