From the Chicago Sun-Times:
From Saskatchewan to suburban London, the story of hazing at a high school in a Chicago suburb has passed into the world's consciousness through TV, radio and print.
CNN and the BBC are on the story, with CNN's Paula Zahn devoting a segment to it Wednesday night. "The O'Reilly Factor" and Oprah want a piece. "Inside Edition" is hunting down guests.
The videotaped beatings of a group of Glenbrook North High School girls at the hands of seniors in a "powderpuff football" game have flashed across cable channels and network newscasts.
The school's semi-secret rite of passage has suddenly become a flashpoint for discussion of teen cruelty.
The video, taken Sunday at the Chipilly Woods near the Northbrook school, shows a group of girls, all juniors, huddled in a circle. They cower against blows from senior girls who endured similar treatment last spring. One or two flee, only to be tracked down and beaten. A bat is swung. A can. Punches are thrown.
All of this happens while a crowd of teens watches from the sidelines.
In the days since, the girls have come forward, some limping, with bruises and broken bones. Details of the hazing tradition--its "rules," the form girls are expected to sign, the understanding that violence is involved--have trickled out.
On Wednesday, the Cook County Forest Preserve police said they will bring charges by the end of the week.
Meanwhile, the world is joining the Chicago area in asking: How could girls from well-heeled suburbs turn into attackers?
And why did the Glenbrook North girls submit themselves to such cruelty, even if they didn't realize powderpuff football could turn so violent?
Principal Mike Riggle said Wednesday he has made it a point to be "open with our stance on this, instead of rejecting interviews. I think that has probably caused us to be more exposed."
Any punishments, he said, would be "possible actions on students through extracurricular activities," such as barring them from sports or club games.
Whether students are punished, Riggle said, damage has been done to the school.
"We were a school that enjoyed a great reputation," he said, "and I think it's been tarnished."
Students feel it, too. "I think it's awful," said senior Jamie Glickstein. "Now, everyone's going to look at our school and think of this."
Participants explained the game along these lines: Enduring such ordeals creates a bond and gives status to those who survive.
"That's the apology given, anyway," said Bernard Beck, a Northwestern University sociologist. "Once you have that, you're given essentially a legitimate justification for being cruel, almost to the point where you're required to be cruel, even if you didn't want to be."
There are people willing to endure fear to feel part of a dominant group. "It's a ritualized way to mark a rite of passage," said Bradley Pechter, a psychiatrist at Northwestern.
There are people willing to endure fear to feel part of a dominant group. "It's a ritualized way to mark a rite of passage," said Bradley Pechter, a psychiatrist at Northwestern. Re-read this. Again. "To feel part of a dominant group." Really? Remember, these seniors that abused the juniors will be GONE in a week. Why bother?
|