Students charged in hazing incident

Three Rye, N.Y., high school students face charges in the alleged hazing of eighth graders in a "Freshman Friday" ritual, police said. Rye High School juniors Sean Pinson and Tristan Scragg, each 17, and Max Myerson, 16, were arrested Saturday, and charged as adults, with assault, hazing and unlawful imprisonment, after allegedly kidnapping several young boys at a local library, driving them to a nearby wildlife conservancy and paddling two with a "large piece of lumber," police said, one requiring medical attention at a hospital. The incident was a part of what is known as "Freshman Friday," an annual ritual that targets the school's incoming freshmen, WABC-TV reported Tuesday. "It's been happening for years. They don't usually do anything about it, the cops," a student told the television station. Edward J. Shine, superintendent of the Rye City School District, said in a statement to parents that "Some have suggested these alleged acts of violence are part of an annual tradition at Rye High School. Let me be clear: just because a small handful of students choose to believe this is the case, does not make it a fact." Shine added school officials are "greatly disturbed" by the allegations. Police said more arrests may be pending in the case.