The Talon 10th Edition
The Talon
Hazings and Fraternities: The Unfortunate Impact of Brutalized Masculinity
Lillee Martin
The Piazza Center and Hazing Prevention Network define hazing as, “…a power-dynamic behavior aimed at screening, fostering bonds, or establishing standing in organizations that risks the health and safety of individuals…” Hazing is a destructive epidemic with worldwide scope of varying severity and frequency, but how will you react when it happens to you? The normalization of peer pressure and enforced involvement in dangerous situations has reached the breach point; the brutal impact and terrifying reality of hazing has collided with Flagstaff like a meteor.
In the early morning of January 31, 2026, Colin Daniel Martinez, a Northern Arizona University student, died of alcohol poisoning at a fraternity party. Before this;
however, the evening prior began with a Delta Tau Delta (a fraternity founded in 1858 at Bethany College in West Virginia—supposedly driven by the values of truth, faith, courage, and power) event. The invite-only dinner was the concluding event of this year’s Spring Rush (an informal Greek Life recruitment period occurring at the beginning of the spring semester) and was orchestrated by three of the frat’s leading members: Carter Eslick, Ryan Creech, and Riley Cass—all of which were later arrested, thanks to Jack’s Law (established in Arizona in 2022). Four pledges, including the victim, were allegedly forced into drinking nearly 3.5 liters of vodka altogether in the time following the dinner. For reference, this equates to around 78-80 shots of vodka; 4-5 consecutive shots alone of any 80-proof alcohol pushes the body’s tolerance limit to the brink in most healthy men under the age of 65, according to the US Family Health Plan. Of the three, Carter Eslick, the pledge master, is the only one to get indicted by a grand jury.
The party seemed to have had a maximum of 30 attendees at its peak; these attendees were allegedly concerned regarding his state at around 3:00am—the students recognizing unconsciousness, a lack of puking, shallow breathing, and gagging as the primary symptoms. It wasn’t until 9:00am the following morning that any authorities were notified of the 18-year-old student’s health status. He died in the time that his emergency went, not unnoticed, but unattended.
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Ron Washington: A Hall of Fame for Laborers
Vincent Armanino
There is a term in baseball to describe someone who spends not just their career, but their lives in and around baseball. Such a person is dubbed a “baseball lifer.” Ron Washington is a person who has earned this moniker and upon the conclusion of his career in baseball should be inducted into the baseball hall of fame. This call for recognition of Washington’s career is not as prominent a position as it might appear. Many people who carry with them the “baseball lifer” label peak as cult heroes in the cities where they spent their time, but rarely receive a plaque in Cooperstown.
Ash Freyer
It is no surprise that schools love to make decisions without asking for the students' opinions. The Flagstaff Unified School District has very recently started to make decisions that heavily impact the students without consulting them or the parents about them first, leading to confusion, and overall resentment against the school board and district. They did not give the students any chance to have their opinions voiced or even give them an option to vote in the things that are changed even though it affects the students more than the people inside of the school board.
Staff Writers Cont.
Vincent Armanino- Guest Writer