Blowing the whistle

[hoosier]

TO: Arthur Scheuber, VP, Marquette Univ., Milwaukee, WI

Scheuber, Mr. Arthur (Art), Vice President
art.scheuber@marquette.edu

Debbie Swanson, Director Recreational Sports
debbie.swanson@marquette.edu

Andrew J. Thon, S.J. , Vice President for Student Affairs
andrew.thon@marquette.edu

Alex Hermanny , MUSG President
musg.president@mu.edu

John Connors, Chr., Student Organizations
John.Connors@mu.edu

william.ashenmacher@mu.edu

ryan.nilsson@mu.edu

gstanley@journalsentinel.com

mtwohey@journalsentinel.com

trosiak@journalsentinel.com
info@stophazing.org
----------------------------------------
For many years, I've been part of the effort to stop hazing on campuses, and I'm sure you also detest hazing.

Hazing is always hidden, of course, but someone has posted on the Webshots photo sharing site some terrible pictures of hazing on the Marquette club lacrosse team. No student deserves to be treated like this.
No teammate benefits from parading indoors and out in a mini-thong in front of girls and non-team members.

(Link removed by moderator)

I hope that you will take appropriate action to stop this conduct.

The website is likely to disappear as soon as my email arrives, so I am sending three pictures attached, and will send more pictures in two addl. emails.

I hope you'll let me know what action is taken.


====================
Marquette replies:

On Wednesday, November 9, 2005, at 10:03 AM, Thon, Andrew wrote:

I am responding to your e-mail below regarding the incident involving the Club Lacrosse team at Marquette University._ While I would have appreciated if you would have initially contacted me before you distributed your e-mail and the attached pictures to many others, I will provide you and those you copied with an update on the incident which we were well aware of.

The University took immediate action once the incident was brought to our attention._ As a result of a student conduct hearing and following the procedures in our Student Handbook, Club Lacrosse was suspended as a recognized student organization until fall 2006 for violation of the university's alcohol and hazing policies.

Marquette University specifically prohibits_hazing_and reserves_the right to further investigate an incident and explore_additional sanctions_if new_information emerges.


(Rev.) Andrew J. Thon, S.J.
Vice President for Student Affairs
Marquette University
-----------------------

Part 2:

A further clarification for you._ The website you referred to in your initial e-mail (community.webshots.com) is not a Club Sports website nor is it affiliated with Marquette University in any way._ As you well know, with digital camera pictures, students can send these to any website they choose._ In this case the student who took the pictures either forwarded them to_ "webshots" - which has pictures from many colleges and university, or another student to whom the picture-taker sent the pictures decided to forward the pictures to "webshots."
_
We are continuing our investigation;_ and any individual students found responsible for violating our alcohol and/or hazing policies would_be sanctioned.
_
Fr. Thon

-------------------
Another question:

You and Marquette have done exactly the right thing regarding this team, except removing them from the Club Sports website - where I was able to verify that it was a Marquette bunch and the team picture showed some of the hazers and hazees.

A question: were any of the individual hazers disciplined?

Best wishes to you and MU.

[hoosier]

Party comes back to haunt lacrosse team


Student Affairs cracks down on alleged hazing



By John Borneman and Phil Caruso

Tribune Staff



The men's club lacrosse team has had its spring 2006 season canceled, its official club status denied until next fall and is being accused of engaging in hazing rituals.

The team held a party at a private residence in early October that was attended by a majority of the team and other students. Photos taken at the party were posted by a team member on WebShots.com, a public photo-sharing site. The photos show at least some team members performing keg stands and drinking from a beer bong. Some of the team members were photographed wearing nothing but thong underwear.

As a result of that party, the university became aware of the lacrosse team's actions and accused them of violating university alcohol and hazing policies, according Vice President of Student Affairs Andy Thon.

"Following procedures in the student handbook for violations of club regulations, (the university) held a student conduct hearing," Thon said.

The university's decision to suspend the lacrosse team was based on the club's violation of university alcohol and hazing policies, Thon said.

For the past few weeks, the team has been locked in an investigation that has led to the cancellation of their spring season.

As a result of the hearing, the lacrosse team will not be recognized as an official student organization until fall 2006, according to a university press release.

The team members received e-mails on Oct. 24 confirming that their season was canceled, according to Kyle Swatkowski, a lacrosse player and freshman in the College of Business Administration.

Team member Will Vial, a freshman in the College of Arts & Sciences who posted the pictures, said he did not think any consequences would result from his actions.

The photos are no longer posted online.

"It was just a fun team gathering," Vial said, "we were just having a great time and wanted to remember it."

Swatkowski said the party was just that — a party, not hazing.

"It wasn't hazing. In hazing you're told to do certain things," he said. "It was like 'hey, do you want to do this?' not 'you have to do this or you're off the team.'"

"It was not malicious in any way," Vial said. "There were no ringleaders and no segregation of classes."

The Marquette student organization handbook states that hazing, as defined by the university, can involve "any action or activity which does not contribute to the positive development of a person; or which inflicts or intends to cause mental or physical harm." Marquette alumnus xxxxxxx e-mailed copies of the pictures to Marquette Tribune staff members and other people on campus. xxxxxxx said he has made it his mission to campaign against hazing as a result of his own experiences with hazing incidents.

"I'm just an alumnus who was hazed as a fraternity pledge, and in turn hazed the guys who followed me," xxxxxxx said. "As I grew older, I realized that the most active hazers were the immature chapter members."

xxxxxxx said he has sent pictures showing similar incidents at other universities to their officials in the last week. These universities include Principia College in St. Louis and Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Va.

"I'm planning to document more sports hazing and contact more campuses," he said.

According to xxxxxxx, the only way to put an end to hazing is to avoid giving teams the typical "slap on the wrist."

He cited the examples of McGill University in Canada, which canceled its football team's season, and the University of Vermont, which eliminated its hockey season five years ago, as proper penalties for hazing.

"Marquette should terminate the lacrosse club," he said.

This article was published in The Marquette Tribune on Thursday, November 10, 2005.

[GeekyPenguin]

I didn't even know Marquette HAD a club lacrosse team.

http://www.marquettetribune.org/285893538311887.bsp

There's a link to the article if anybody wants to read it.

hoosier, when did you graduate?

[Senusret I]

What a GREAT article!!!!!!!

[DeltAlum]

To all it may concern.

I deleted the thread that "illustrated" this topic. I don't think that GC is the place to show hazing pictures that have nothing to do with the Greek System.

I also edited the link out of a post in this thread.

Same reasoning.

[InHocYall]

Most lacrosse have been doing this stuff since high school. Relax on the whistleblowing, way to ruin everyone's fun and trying to make yourself into a hero. This guy just swoops through webshots of parties he wasn't and had no idea of the conditions than screws over teams and fraternities thinking he's a crusader for all that is good and right. Unless there is something very dangerous occurring relax, and trust these Adults to do what they think is right.

[RACooper]

Careful now... hooiser was a big fan of your sig. - but now slamming him and his crusade against all hazing might sour his opinion of you...

[GeekyPenguin]

Originally posted by GeekyPenguin
I didn't even know Marquette HAD a club lacrosse team.

http://www.marquettetribune.org/285893538311887.bsp

There's a link to the article if anybody wants to read it.

hoosier, when did you graduate?

hoosier, when did you graduate from MU? My mom is DH '75, and I'm Arts '05. My mentor at law school is Law '76.