High school hazing on The Early Show - Page 2

FuzzieAlum · #1 05-07-2003, 01:14 PM

"Willingness" doesn't matter. Any Greek pledge being hazed is "willing" - he or she can walk away or quit just about any time. I think it's safe to say that most hazing is activities most of us don't enjoy doing on a regular basis (yum, eating feces!). The willingness to participate (on the part of the hazees) comes from the desire for acceptance. In the case of a GLO, the price of unwillingness is losing your membership; here it would be social ostracization.

In sum, if willing participation in hazing were legally considered a defense, almost no hazing would be prosecutable. Compare it to being mugged. "Well, you chose to give Mr. Thief your wallet when he threatened you, didn't you? You didn't fight back or try to take his gun? You just handed over your money? So what are you complaining about?" The idea is that true willingness is not possible in the face of coercion.

Peaches-n-Cream · #2 05-07-2003, 01:20 PM

I saw that video and interview this morning. It was disgusting. These girls were covered in paint, garbage, food, and feces.

They were being hit and kicked by the seniors. I saw a girl get covered with some type of large rectangular plastic container and then the container was kicked and hit. I guess that these girls put up with this type of crap because they desperately want to fit in.

It's BS that the school can't do anything about this type of behavior. If student athletes test positive for drugs or alcohol, they are suspended from teams and sometimes from school regardless of whether or not the drugs and alcohol are consumed on campus. I hope that this is a wake up call to all schools that this type of behavior is unacceptable and criminal. These girls will need to be punished as an example to others.

LXAAlum · #3 05-07-2003, 01:27 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Cream
I guess that these girls put up with this type of crap because they desperately want to fit in.

That's what shocked me. They're JUNIORS. They desperately want to "fit in" with the seniors? They'll be gone soon - this occurred at homecoming which is what - October? These girls allowed this abuse to happen so that they could feel accepted for a whole five or six MONTHS? Wow.

The hardest part is trying to have them realize how much "fitting in" will really matter in one year - when those that ABUSED these girls are gone...

Of course, in a year, these girls will have some sense of "entitlement" that it is now their turn to turn their wrath on the new crop of juniors. Tradition. Crap.

adduncan · #4 05-07-2003, 01:48 PM

As someone who spent an unfortunate amount of time being bullied while in grade school, I can't tell you the rage I felt reading this. (Haven't seen the video but I read the descriptions while eating lunch. Big mistake.)

If I were the parent of one of the juniors, my daughter would be in therapy PDQ and my lawyer would be after the parents of the seniors, post haste. Throw the book at 'em and don't miss. Ditto the school for the reasons posted above: if this were a case of drug use, you bet your bippy the school would be involved before any tape hit any news media.

If I were the parent of one of the seniors, my daughter would be in INPATIENT therapy, and encouraging the other parents of seniors to do the same. It might head off the inevitable lawsuit that *will* be filed by someone, now that the tape is national news.

"Tradition" by itself is not an excuse for bullying. I'm not buying the "tradition" line of BS. This isn't even bullying, they've crossed the line into sadism. If sadistic beatings are done in the name of "tradition", then it's a bad one. A lawsuit would be doing the school and the girls a favor--stop the abuse before someone gets killed.

Going back to my turkey croissant.....
Adrienne (PNAM-2003)

momoftwo · #5 05-07-2003, 02:12 PM

I'm fairly confident that there will be consequences for the kids who were involved. It just happened over the weekend. The school district has tapes, and a fair number of still photos. (What's up with these kids that watched this happen???) At the other high school in the district, the one my kids attend, students who participate in inappropriate activity off school grounds are prohibited from participating in extra-curricular activities. GBN probably has the same policy.

So, since it wasn't at school, they won't be suspended, but (just guessing here), they may be prevented from attending prom and/or commencement. The district has a strong zero tolerance policy in regard to drugs/alcohol. If kids have drugs, drug paraphanalia, or alcohol at school or school activities they are out, period, for at least a semester. It's not a climate that ignores inappropriate behavior.

Kids in our area have t-shirts made up for everything, so you can't take the jerseys as signs that it was a school-sponsored activity. Apparently the juniors spent $35 each to participate in this nonsense!

There are many incredible, talented kids in our district. And a lot of kids who are upset by their reputations being tarnished by the actions of a group of their classmates. I'm glad that through the luck of our picking the right side of the district dividing line to live on, my Senior daughter won't have to live with this baggage when she goes through rush next year!

CarolinaCutie · #6 05-07-2003, 03:34 PM

They paid to get this done to them? What the heck?

And not that I am condoning ANY of this reprehensible behavior... but if you are going to do something terrible like this, why would you allow it to be videotaped?

I can't believe this... if I were a parent in the area, I'd be transferring my kids to momoftwo's childrens' school PDQ.

LXAAlum · #7 05-07-2003, 03:40 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by momoftwo
Kids in our area have t-shirts made up for everything, so you can't take the jerseys as signs that it was a school-sponsored activity. Apparently the juniors spent $35 each to participate in this nonsense!

Having shirts made, and paying some sort of fee indicates organization of some sort. I'm making a parallel argument - how many times have a group of individuals wearing GLO letters gotten in trouble, that leads to the chapter itself under investigation? It's "guilt by extension" I guess.

Besides, with all the PR whirlwind this is generating, I can't see how the school CAN'T get involved in one way or the other with this incident...the public outrage can't be ignored - hopefully that's the silver lining to put a stop to this nonsense.

This really only happened LAST WEEK?

Think about that - these juniors wanted to be "accepted" by the seniors - who, if Chicago schools are anything like here in northern Colorado, are already holding commencements!

To go through all that for a few WEEKS of acceptance is absolutely mind-boggling!

My philosophy - if you force me to do disgusting things for acceptance, I prefer to be an outcast.

radioZTA · #8 05-07-2003, 03:48 PM

The report that I saw on ABCNews.com had one senior guy at the school quoted as saying "Many of the kids at the game were drinking drinking alcohol, and that seemed to make the game uglier and more violent than it had been in past years."

I'd bet money that since hazing and alcohol are involved, some newsperson somewhere will bring up fraternities and sororities even though they're completely irrelevant to this event.

Peaches-n-Cream · #9 05-07-2003, 03:57 PM

They might regard going through this hazing as a badge of honor of some sort. This type of behavior has probably occurred for several years and been accepted as a rite of passage. I think that it is really sad.

texas*princess · #10 05-07-2003, 04:21 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by ktsnake
Senior girls returning to class the next day complained that they were worried about charges being filed against them.

they should be scared.. and in my opinion they *should* get charges filed!!!

If it is "tradition" that this happens, and they *know* it happens after the puff football game, WHY DO THEY SHOW UP IN THE FIRST PLACE????

Are they tricked into going to these off-campus games or what??

AZ-AlphaXi · #11 05-07-2003, 05:11 PM

Here's the link to the article in USA Today

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/...o-hazing_x.htm

I think this is terrible and wonder what these women (no not women - girls) will be like when they reach college...

LeslieAGD · #12 05-07-2003, 07:17 PM

I saw this story on the news.

ladyj39 · #13 05-07-2003, 07:26 PM

High school hazing injures 5 girls
MSNBC staff and wire reports

A "powderpuff" touch football game that was an annual hazing tradition at a suburban Chicago high school turned into a muddy brawl that left five teen-age girls injured, authorities said.

OFFICIALS AT GLENBROOK North High School and police were reviewing videotapes and photographs of the incident on Sunday in an effort to identify participants. Police indicated criminal charges could be filed.
Officials at the 2,100-student high school told the Chicago Tribune that the fracas occurred off campus, during what they said was an annual hazing ritual in which seniors would square off with juniors -- all of them female students -- for a touch football game.

The younger girls, who were charged $35 to $40 apiece and provided with jerseys, said they were expecting some form of mild hazing during the contest, but instead were hit and spattered with pig intestines, fish guts, blood and smelly trash, four girls who said they attended the game told the Tribune, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"It was supposed to be a friendly initiation into our senior year," one 17-year-old told the newspaper, saying she required stitches after being "hit over the head with a bat or a bucket."

School Superintendent Dave Hales also told the newspaper that one report said "human excrement" also was thrown at the juniors. Principal Michael Riggle said that alcohol contributed to the violence.

In addition to the girl who required stitches, one girl suffered a broken ankle in the incident. Three others were treated for bumps and bruises, school officials said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Link to article

texas*princess · #14 05-07-2003, 07:44 PM

This is so frustrating on both sides....

the girls who were actually engaging in hazing, and the girls who "expected to be mildly hazed" but paid to go and get hazed anyway.

i just don't understand why they would go knowing there would be bad stuff going on?

if no one would have shown up, maybe the 'tradition' wouldn't have carried over ?

at my high school, the band had a *somewhat* similiar situation. There was always an off-campus football game between the band seniors and the band sophomores (game was for males only, and at my district, freshmen were in junior high at the time) It went on for about 4 years and became somewhat of a tradition. Nothing in the articles happened at my school, just a regular football game that was on the rough side, considering no one was wearing all the protective gear. No one from my sophomore class showed up because everyone knew how rough the seniors were planning on playing (and they didn't want to end up on crutches or with broken bones).. and since then the football games have stopped. So why can't these girls wisen up and just not go if they knew what was going to happen?!

VirtuousErudite · #15 05-07-2003, 09:09 PM

At my high school there was hazing in the band. Nothing like this, on the final day of band camp the senior members would shoot the freshmen with water guns and pelt them with oatmeal. The freshman knew what to expect, they wore clothes they didn't mind getting dirty, and often freshman parents would stand on the side and make sure it didn't get out of hand. It wasn't viscious it was a "tradition" that was an option for the freshman. No one left crying. I think that these girls probably didn't expect it to go this far. No one in their right mind would go to have feces smeared in their faces knowing that would happen. Just my take on it.