Jake was a victim of a brutal hazing incident that occurred at St. Amant High School, in St. Amant, Louisiana, in the football locker room. A day that should have left him with many happy memories was shattered by mental and physical pain. The physical pain has long vanished, but the mental pain of that day and days to follow will last a lifetime.

In nearly all cases of reported hazing incidents the victim and the family suffer not only the trauma of the incident itself, but become victimized over and over by their own community. In the case of the Savoy family as well as many others, families are shocked by the brutal attack subjected upon there children, but in most cases are also tremendously shocked by the reactions of some members of their own communities.

Because of the reactions of some community members, the Savoy family has been forced to endure public abuse in many forms, as do so many other families in this position. Through her experiences she has gained the insight, the strength and desires to make a difference. As quoted by Karen, “It is time society realizes the need for change in our cultural thinking of this being acceptable behavior, or excusing such abuse subjected to a child as, “Boys will be Boys”. I do not believe that changing our moral values because of athletics or any organizations within our schools is the answer. I cannot change what happened to my son, and he is one of the lucky ones. He walked away with his life. Some are not as fortunate. I have made a commitment to work on the insurance of the well being of everyone’s children and grandchildren in our school systems throughout our nation.”

“If we stand together and become one, our voice will not only get louder but we will be less likely to be ignored. Our voice will be heard.” Through this desire to make this much-needed change, along with co-founder, Ann Rasmussen, this non-profit national organization MASH (Mothers Against School Hazing) was created.”

First founded in the Ascension Parish and Baton Rouge area, the purpose of MASH, Inc., Mothers Against School Hazing, is to eliminate hazing, bullying, and/or any abusive acts to our children. Our goals are to increase awareness, to educate, and to work to find alternatives to hazing, bullying and abusive acts inflicted on our children. We must change our cultural thinking by instilling in students all over the nation that this is not acceptable behavior… in any form. We as parents have a responsibility to instill in our children that exact concept. We must encourage our children to report such abuse. The community has a responsibility to support the victim that has so bravely reported such abuse. We must change our cultural thinking. For you cannot argue with the fact that the abuse of a child in any form is wrong. It is the responsibility of coaches, faculty and administrators of the school system to implement and enforce strict rules and policies, to enable our children a safe and happy environment with positive role models. This can be achieved by not accepting this as acceptable behavior. The federal and state legislators have the responsibility of implementing strict hazing laws, and local, state, and federal law enforcement along with schools need to see that they are enforced and not dismissed as mere traditions.

The Executive Board of MASH is working diligently to establish this organization to carry out its mission to eliminate hazing, bullying and/or abusive acts towards our children by education, communication and legislation. MASH will prove to be a valuable resource to students, parents, teachers and administrators. The MASH organization will not lose sight of their mission to help victims and to prevent others from being victims to this inappropriate behavior.

Please join MASH in its pledge to change our cultural thinking in order to create healthy, happy and productive adults.