High school hazing on The Early Show

[MoxieGrrl]

I don't have time to watch the whole segment (work & all), but this morning on The Early Show, they are showing high school hazing. There was a clip of some girls in yellow jerseys, and it looked like they were whipping other girls that were sitting in mud. If anyone catches this or knows about it, post! I'm interested to see what this was all about.

[Lady Pi Phi]

I only saw a bit of it, I turned it on, shortly after I saw this post. There was a boy (I am assuming from this high school) being interviewed. I believe he was witness to this incident. From what I caught of it, it was senior girls from a highschool (didn't catch the name) who were hazing the junior girls. The seniors were throwing paint, mud, food, whatever they could get their hands on, on these girls. The juniors were also being hit, punched, sat on, etc. Apparently several girls were injured and were taken to the hospital. One girl had her ankle broken.

Frankly, I was appaled and disgusted. The seniors felt justified in this because it was tradition and it had been done to them, and these juniors would be able to do it next year. The school had stated they couldn't do anything about it because it had been done off school property. So, the school can't do anything, but parents, and these girls can press charges, but it doesn't look like that is going to happen.

This whole video reminded me of that scene from dazed and confused where the seniors were hazing the incoming freshmen.

To me it looks like nothing will be done about this inceident, and no one will be punished for it. It's just another news story. But it was clear cut hazing, no question.

[MoxieGrrl]

[Kevin]

I caught that as well.

It took place after a traditional Junior vs. Senior class football game for the girls called the "Powder Puff Bowl".

After the game, the Junior girls are traditionally hazed pretty severely. The mixture being smeared on them includes ingredients such as human feces and fish guts -- probably a bit of their own vomit as well.

As a result of this there were several injuries including a broken ankle.

The school says that since it occured off of school grounds that they can do nothing about it.

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

[The1calledTKE]

On fox news they showed two juniors girls made to beat the crap out of each other. It was on the Imus show.

[ZTAMiami]

Absolutely horrendous! The Today show showed a girl with 15 stitches in her head, a cracked tailbone, partial hearing loss and bruises on her face. They showed a good chunk of the video and one of the senior girls had a bat. They showed girls being punched repeatedly in the face while being held down. One of the girls has a bacterial infection form the HUMAN feces that was poured on them!

You can see a clip here:
http://www.nbc6.net/news/2186530/detail.html

[momoftwo]

This situation occurred in our school district (thankfully NOT the school my kids attend). In the 70's the powder puff game was an official part of the Homecoming festivities at this school. They dropped it when things started getting out of hand but the kids took it off school property. The district generally is very good about handling problems...while there may be limits to what can be done given it was not a school sanctioned event and took place off school property, it will be addressed. The expectation right now is that charges will be filed.

[RedRoseSAI]

It happened at Glenbrook North HS in Northbrook, IL, not too far from where I live. To be honest, I'm not terribly surprised to hear this is going on at GBN.

[Lady Pi Phi]

I hope charges are filed. This kind of behavour is totally uncalled for. I would think the day would have been fun enough if the junior and senior girls had a good competitive game of football.

[hoosier]

"The school had stated they couldn't do anything about it because it had been done off school property."

This surely conflicts with the frequent stories about football players and occasionally cheerleaders "15 players suspended from team after weekend booze party at captain's home."

If the school can punish kids for drinking parties off campus on weekends, surely they can stop this vicious hazing.

[LXAAlum]

Originally posted by hoosier
"The school had stated they couldn't do anything about it because it had been done off school property."

Sounds like CYA speech to me. Everyone had jerseys, and numbers...that could be argued that it was an organized event -whether or not it occurred on campus - similar to many GLO policies that if 3 or more members meet, that is an "organized" event of that GLO chapter.

I wonder what DeltAlum has to say about this....Delt?

[Lady Pi Phi]

Originally posted by LXAAlum
similar to many GLO policies that if 3 or more members meet, that is an "organized" event of that GLO chapter.

Sorry for the thread hijack, but I don't understand this policy. I hang out with my sisters all the time, I would be shocked if I didn't. But so everytime I go out, whether it be to the bar, the movies, etc, I am participating in a Pi Phi event? I mean I have classes with several of my sisters. If we meet to study it's an event? woohoo, Pi Phi psychology study hour. Maybe I should make t-shirts?

[LXAAlum]

Originally posted by Lady Pi Phi
Sorry for the thread hijack, but I don't understand this policy. I hang out with my sisters all the time, I would be shocked if I didn't. But so everytime I go out, whether it be to the bar, the movies, etc, I am participating in a Pi Phi event? I mean I have classes with several of my sisters. If we meet to study it's an event? woohoo, Pi Phi psychology study hour. Maybe I should make t-shirts?

Not ALL GLO's have this policy, but, there are some - all because of risk management issues in the past. LXA even tried to pass that one, but, LXA undergrads killed it in a General Assembly - other GLO's have passed similar policies as mandates, with no undergrad representation for open debate.

[BSUPhiSig'92]

There is video from the event on msnbc.com under the Today Show. They even forced a girl to swallow fecal matter! This supposedly happened after their Powder Puff football game.

For all Illinois Greeks (and potentially others) at Recruitment next year, if you have a PNM from Glenbrook North High School, DON'T GIVE THEM A BID!!!

[sugar and spice]

That is out of control.

I have to admit that my high school also had a hazing day, although I admit it was nothing close to this. It was called "Freshman Trash Day" and it always took place the day before winter break. Mostly it consisted of juniors and seniors taping freshmen to trash cans or lockers, or marking their faces up with permanent markers (mustaches, "Seniors '03," "freshmen suck," that sort of thing). I hear that in the past it was much more violent -- taping freshmen into trash cans and then rolling them down the stairs, beating the freshmen up if they walked through certain hallways, things like that. The school has really cracked down on it, although they haven't been able to get rid of it entirely.

In recent years it's become almost a status thing to get trashed, because mostly the upperclassmen will only trash the freshmen they know, and then only mildly, as a joke, and the freshmen are all excited because it's like a badge that says "I'm friends with a senior!"

I'm sure we weren't the only high school to have some sort of hazing-like tradition like that.

In this (much more disturbing) case, though, couldn't they make the case that these junior girls were going along willingly? I mean, if it's an event that takes place off school property and without the school's consent, it's not like the juniors HAD to be there. They went because they wanted to, and they knew what would happen to them if they did.