4/21/99
Editors, news directors:
Richard Hazler, chairman of the Ohio University College of Education's Counseling and Higher Education Department and one of the nation's top experts on peer-to-peer abuse and violence, is available for interviews on the Littleton, Colo., shootings.
Hazler is the author of two books dealing with peer-to-peer abuse and violence, "Helping in the Hallways" and "Breaking the Cycle of Violence." Hazler can talk about characteristics of bullies, victims and peer abusers and dangerous situations that contribute to peer abuse. He presented the paper "Characteristics of Individuals Involved in Peer-on-Peer Abuse" April 16 at the American Counseling Association World Conference in San Diego.
Quotes from Hazler on the Littleton, Colo., shootings:
"These kids felt left out and not a part of the rest of the system. It's the isolation issue that is key. If you are isolated, you are more likely to expand on your anger or frustration and there is a loss of a sense of reality. They lost a sense of people as being other people and saw them as objects or enemies.
"In the long run, the boys look like victims because they are outcasts. They also had some bullying behaviors, but they never got the benefits of a bully. If you are a bully, you can make people do things but they couldn't get people to do anything."