Oregon Public Broadcasting

Portland’s Grant High School has come under intense public scrutiny. The Portland Police Department announced earlier this week that its sex crimes unit is looking into allegations of hazing among male athletes.

The police statement said authorities believe the incidents involved allegations that "go beyond simple hazing," but offered no other details.

The school's principal, Vivian Orlen informed parents that the investigation was centered on an assault among Grant JV basketball players. 

OPB education reporter Rob Manning talked with Orlen Thursday to find out more.

Rob Manning: What can you tell us about what actually happened on January 12th, the incident that we’ve heard so much about?

Rob Manning / OPB

Grant High School Principal Vivian Orlen

Vivian Orlen: So following a JV boys’ basketball game there were a group of young men who as they were getting themselves dressed after the game got involved in an altercation. And it was a total of six students, four of whom took responsibility for their involvement in the altercation, and two of whom have been identified as victims in the incident.

Following that incident none of the players shared with their coaches, or any adults in the school, what had transpired in the locker room. One of the young men went home that evening, was clearly kind of a little out of sorts, mom and dad were really kind of puzzled by sort of his behavior and ultimately the next morning shared with a parent that he had been attacked in the locker room.

Parent came to the school, parent met with vice principal, vice principal immediately began to do an investigation. And that investigation lasted that entire Friday. He got to five out of the six students by the end of the day. There was then a three-day weekend.

By Tuesday of the following week, students’ families received both phone calls and letters from the school that four of the students were receiving a suspension from the school and that because more information had surfaced in the midst of the student interviews, there were suspensions pending possible expulsion from the school.

There were hearings, there was a real concern that the two young men who were victims wanted to make sure that both they were OK, being here at school, that their counselors were aware of the incident, that their immediate teachers knew of the incident and that all eyes were on those young men to make sure that they were safe.

There were hearings that I officiated.  As a result of those hearings, having those young men go through a process, which they are entitled to go through, three young men have since been reinstated to the school, and one young man at this point has been expelled from the school for the academic school year.

The young men who were reinstated had to go through a reinstatement process to the school, and each one expressed a desire to have some coming together with their former teammates.

As we speak there is a mediation going on across those young men who I believe have a desire to co-exist peacefully here at Grant.

Rob Manning: Is that a face-to-face meeting between the victims and the three students who have been reinstated who were responsible?

Vivian Orlen: Uh-huh. It’s being mediated by the vice principal, what we refer to as our restorative justice coordinator, and all parties have agreed that they think that that will -- is a beneficial process.