Administration moves to crack down on freshman hazing

Just as it has in past years, "freshman hazing" has surfaced as an issue within the student body over the course of spirit week. Principal Phillip Gainous announced this information in a broadcast over the PA system during 7th period on Monday and today, reminding students of the repercussions of participating in such acts.

Ninth grade administrator James Short said that many of the perpetrators have been caught and severely punished.

Short verified that there have been incidents of physical abuse directed toward freshman, as well as sophomores. Short also said that the amount of these incidents as well as their severity have greatly decreased since last year, which he attributes to Gainous's announcements about punishments for hazing. "Gainous has done a good job of sending the message to the upperclassmen of the consequences," he said.

Short also added that juniors and seniors have done a good job of avoiding participation in hazing, and that the problem exists primarily in the lower classes. Short holds both freshmen and sophomores responsible, however. "This issue is definitely not one-sided," he said. "Many freshmen have initiated problems with the sophomores." Sophomore Lucas Farrar agreed. "A lot of freshmen have brought it upon themselves by acting really cocky and trying to prove to the school that they're tough," he said. "Some of them deserve what's coming to them."

Another recurring scenario for the freshmen is hazing among friends. Freshman Nick Loeb is friends with several of the sophomores that chose to pick on him. Loeb said that he was pushed down to the ground and subsequently kicked, but viewed this attack as somewhat of a joke and did not take it too seriously. Loeb stated, "I think people just need to accept freshman hazing as a part of being a high school freshman. Yeah, it sucks, but there's not really anything you can do about it." Circumstances such as Loeb's make it difficult for the administration to crack down on hazing, as many choose not to report incidents because they are friends with the instigators of these attacks.

For some, though, this is not the case. Freshman Otis Banwell did not know any of his attackers when he was cornered by a group of several sophomores during 5a lunch on Monday. "I had no clue who any of them were," said Banwell, "but a sophomore that I'm on the soccer team with told them to go after me. It was only for a couple seconds, but they ran off before I could see who they were."

While Banwell would have liked to see his attackers punished, Farrar believes that the administration takes "freshman hell week" too seriously. "They should just accept it and not take action unless something really bad happens. It's going to happen no matter what they do," Farrar said.

Please stay tuned for more coverage.