Author: Hank Nuwer

Story update: Illinois

I don’t usually say in hindsight I told you so, but this case is so costly for students and the school alike that I just want to state that the tradition should have been banned by a written policy long ago.  Deerfield stands as a cautionary tale for all school administrators and athletic directors who know that one of these inane traditions continues.  I would have you research the toilet paper incident in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the early 1990s when some Huron girls in a car racing from a toilet papering ended up in a pond and drowned, unable to get out.  I’m with the administration on this one, but I do understand the frustration of parents if this was an annual affair well known to either Deerfield coaches or administrators. If they did NOT know about it, they were not asking the simple questions every administrator and coach and athletic director OUGHT to ask about team “traditions” and so-called team building or bonding. Hank Nuwer

www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-deerfield-hazing-nzone-26-feb26,0,2728591.story
chicagotribune.com
Deerfield parents dispute hazing, fight swimmers’ suspension

By Emily S. Achenbaum

Tribune reporter

February 26, 2009
Click here to find out more!

A parent of a swimmer on Deerfield High School’s boys swim team wants the school to reinstate his son and a dozen other senior swimmers, who were suspended from the team after a hazing complaint, he says.

School officials have declined to discuss the swim team case, citing student privacy, and the reason for the suspensions remains unclear.

All the students involved have appealed, said Marjie Sandlow, a Township High School District 113 Board member, at a board meeting Monday. An independent company has been hired to handle the appeal process, she said.

“I think the bottom line is, we’re interested in student safety, and I think if there has been any kind of a question or practice … in the eyes of our school it was considered hazing,” Sandlow said. “Even a simple hazing can lead to more serious consequences for students today.”

Steve Brew, parent of one of the seniors, said the team held a dinner Feb. 6 honoring the seniors. Annual tradition holds that after the dinner, freshman swimmers toilet-paper seniors’ homes, and seniors attempt to “capture” the freshmen, whom they then drive around town, Brew said.

“It’s essentially a game,” he said. “Some refer to it as team building.”

But someone complained this year and called it hazing, Brew said. Within days, the school district had interviewed every team member and decided to suspend all the seniors from future swim meets, he said.

The incident “completely met the definition of hazing,” said board member Helene Herbstman.

School district spokeswoman Carol Votsmier said only that there had been an “incident,” and that the students involved had been disciplined.

Deerfield Police Deputy Chief Rick Wilk said his department received no complaints about senior night, and as a courtesy, parents let police know in advance that kids would be toilet-papering houses that night, Wilk said. He said the department hasn’t been told of any wrongdoing.

Freelance writer Brian Cox contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2009, Chicago Tribune

Opinion from the moderator: for years and years, colleges covered up hazing incidents by using the euphemism horseplay.  Now Willard Local Schools administrators are using the same term and refusing to release the specifics of the case. This is totally unacceptable and I hope concerned parents will press the school board for an investigation to see if a suspension of a coach or administrator is warranted here. When details are clear, this incident may indeed turn out to be horseplay. For now, I for one am not buying the argument and I hope the News Journal will investigate and release specific details of the incident.In particular, this should be pressed if veteran members of the team “horseplayed” rookie members.
Here is the News Journal story:

Willard wrestling incident investigated; no charges filed

By TERRICHA BRADLEY • News Journal • February 26, 2009

WILLARD — Willard Local Schools administrators are calling an incident involving the high school wrestling team “reckless horseplay that went too far.”

Superintendent Dennis Doughty confirmed an incident occurred in late January involving several members of the wrestling team.

“Officer (Brian) Slone, who works at the school was immediately involved and the police did an investigation,” Doughty said. “The police are a big deterrent for kids.”

Willard High School Principal Jeff Ritz said the incident didn’t involve hazing. He said the students were “dealt with accordingly and severely disciplined.” No details of the discipline were divulged.

Huron County Childrens Services was also contacted.

Athletic director Michael Lillo and wrestling coach Todd Fox declined comment.

No charges have been filed.

According to a police call sheet, Ritz called the station Feb. 2 during the investigation. He said numerous students, including athletes, were being questioned.

“We dealt with three separate students and (are currently) investigating other students,” Ritz said. “We figured out they were messing around with each other. What they did was unacceptable and horseplay that went too far.”

Uncharacteristically, Willard had competitors in just 10 of 14 weight classes at last week’s Division II Shelby sectional tournament. Two other weight classes were filled with inexperienced freshmen.

The Flashes finished eighth, scoring 79 points. Only Jeff Goines, runner-up at 145 pounds, made the finals. Kyle Niedermeier was a third-place finisher at 103 and Ben Petrie was fourth at 171. The wrestling season is over for Willard, except for those four individuals that advanced to this week’s Fostoria district tournament.

Two Aggie Corps Members Arrested on Charges of Hazing
Reporter: Ashlea Sigman with video below
http://www.kbtx.com/home/headlines/40330687.html
Two cadets have been arrested and charged with hazing in connection with an incident that allegedly happened last semester.

An Aggie sophomore claims he was hazed last fall, when he joined the corps. The student is no longer part of the corps, after he says hazing left him with internal injuries.

Sophomore cadet David Blackerby and junior cadet Philip McCaslin have been arrested and charged with hazing.

The first-year-cadet says the incident started in Gainer hall, during an outfit activity session when Blackerby, a squad leader, and McCaslin, a platoon sergeant, removed him the rest of his company and escorted him to Spence Park.

There the cadet say he was asked to perform seven different physical exercises for nearly two hours. According to A&M University Police, the exercises in Spence Park violated corps policy.

The Corps allows corrective physical exercise for minor offenses, but those exercises are limited to push -ups, sit-ups, and flutter kicks. They must also be administered in the hallway of corps dorms, or on the corps quad.

The freshman cadet told police he tolerated the exercise, but sought medical attention two days later and learned he’d received an internal injury which required invasive medical procedures.

Neither Blackerby or McCaslin dispute the incident in Spence Park, but say the freshman was being disciplined for not following Corps standards and conduct.

“The Corps policy on hazing is we don’t support it and it gets punished severely,” said Junior Corps Member Bryce Delin.

The father of the student who made the allegations said his son was never formally reprimanded, and was in the top physical performing group in his outfit. He also said his son may join the Corps again, and that the misconduct of a few is not an indication of how the program is run.

Both Blackerby and McCaslin are out of jail on a $2,000 bond. Texas A&M would not say whether the two had been punished, but did release the following statement:

“It would be inappropriate to comment on the recent alleged hazing incident until the criminal investigation is complete. Any allegations of hazing are very disturbing to us. Understand that hazing in any form by students or student organizations is strictly prohibited by state law and university policy and will not be tolerated on the Texas A&M campus. It also is important to note that we take any allegations of hazing extremely seriously and have strict policies in place to deal swiftly with alleged violators, while allowing for due process. University policy requires that individuals accused of hazing to be notified of the charges in writing, given an opportunity to review the allegations, to view all information that supports the charges and the right to

Posted By BRUCE HEIDMAN, THE SUDBURY STAR
Posted 1 hour ago

A so-called Sudbury Wolves hazing incident that apparently took place three years ago “has been addressed,” Wolves head coach/GM Mike Foligno said Wednesday.

“It was brought to our attention and we handled it and made everyone involved understand the importance of behaving properly,” Foligno said.

In a story that focused on former Windsor Spitfires coach Moe Mantha, The Globe and Mail reported Saturday the Wolves were involved in what it called a hazing incident three years ago, shortly after the infamous Akim Aliu-Steve Downie incident in Windsor.

The Globe reported several rookies were taken to the middle of Long Lake in a boat and told to jump in the water, with one player who refused being pushed into the lake with his clothes on.

The players were told to swim under the boat, the Globe said, then were swatted on the buttocks with wooden spoons, spatulas and a butcher knife wrapped in newspaper.

The story said the incident took place at Foligno’s home while he was not there.

Foligno disputes the information in the Globe article where it pertains to his hockey club.

“It did not take place after the Aliu incident (in Windsor) and there was no knife involved,” he said.

Foligno was surprised at the interest the short Globe and Mail mention brought.

“It’s not what was talked about in the paper and it was blown out of proportion,” he said. “It’s a non-issue. It was handled and all parties involved were spoken to, concerned parents, too.”

The OHL has a zero tolerance policy for hazing, and Foligno said he will not put up with hazing on his team.