ARTelevision

'Powder puff' hazing turns ugly

CHICAGO (AP) — A touch football game between suburban Chicago high school girls that turned into a brutal hazing is now the subject of investigation by police and school officials.
Officials at Glenbrook North High School in Northbrook were examining videotapes taken by students who came to a local park Sunday to watch what had become an annual tradition — the "powder puff" football game between junior and senior girls.

Instead, they saw junior girls get beaten, splattered with paint and have mud and feces thrown in their faces. Five girls ended up in the hospital, one with a broken ankle and another who needed 10 stitches in her head.
School officials stressed that the game was not sanctioned and occurred off-campus without their knowledge.
"I guess there was some football involved, but then it was pushing, punching, hitting, putting buckets on heads ... showering people with debris and, according to one report, human excrement," said Northfield Township District 225 Superintendent Dave Hales. "It was hazing. It was deplorable treatment."
Officials say up to 100 students were involved in the incident, which occurred at a park in Northbrook, a well-to-do suburb about 20 miles north of Chicago.
Cook County Forest Preserve District police are investigating whether any criminal acts occurred. Forest Preserve District Police Chief Richard Waszak said students did not have a permit to use an open field in the park.
Northbrook Police Sgt. Tony Matheny said his department received calls about a fight in the park Sunday, but the teenagers ran away before police could talk to them.
Videotapes played on Chicago television stations show girls in yellow jerseys punching, slapping and dumping paint on other girls who are kneeling on the ground. Some spectators hoist cups of beer.
School officials were looking at tapes and photographs to identify students for possible discipline, school spokeswoman Diane Freeman said. Students involved in extracurricular activities and athletics must sign a code of conduct that requires them to behave well both on and off campus.
"There's nothing else we can do," Freeman said. "It's out of our jurisdiction. The courts and the parents will mete out punishment."
Glenbrook North Principal Michael Riggle said alcohol contributed to the violence, but he declined to give details.
The district used to sponsor a powder puff football game during homecoming but discontinued the event in 1977 after it became too rough.

................

The misreporting here is that it was never meant to be a "football game."
That was a ruse. It was a hazing ritual.

Clips of this have been on the news.
If you saw them you know it was worse than the words above can describe.



Stitches are seen in the head of an unidentified Glenbrook North High School student involved in a weekend hazing event.

................

I'm just thinking about our inhumanity.
Do you have a comment on this?

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spectre

Ugh. This happened not far from where I live. This is just sickening. I'd comment further, but I'm finding it very difficult to respond to this because of the amount of disgust that it's causing.

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krwlz

yea i have a comment, how can highschoolers (and girls to boot!) be so brutal...i mean ive been involved in a fair number of fights, but that was 1 on 1, dukin it out, one person wins, and the other slinks away, and keeps his fuckin mouth shut....but to have a bunch of girls purposely subdue, and abuse anither bunch? when did we as americans become so caulous?

phredgreen

jeez... i know that there's some ritual "coming of age" that high schoolers must do as they progress (i was on both sides of the bar back in the day, but it was all innocent enough), but this is beyond some silly prank... it seems like sections of society and groups of people have de-evolved into mobs of unthinking unfeeling degenerates. it makes me ill to know that these ways of thinking have passed down into people so young. it'd be one thing if this was a real fight between people, but for one group to balntantly brutalize another "in good fun" is maddening. i don't even know how situations like these can be prevented, but to encourage people to teach their children (and themselves) to think. truly think about themselves, others, and the world around them. it's the only way to fight madness.

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QuasiMojo

First of all
That laceration on that girlls head does NOT loook a laceration on a girls head. AND I think you know that.

I think girls need to be constantly reinforced the fact that they ARE INDEED the preeminence power....otherwise...

...I don't know What The Fuck.

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guthmund

I was watching the videos of this on the news earlier and it's just so fucking sad.

I know hazing is a 'proud tradition' of many schools. This act can't even be lumped in the same category as hazing. This act was an organized act of violence. They brought the victims, they brought the camera and they had a little beer party to boot. These 'girls' and I use that term loosely, should be punished as far as the law allows and then the school should get their collective asses off the fence and show these 'girls' that there are consequences for their actions. Kick'em off the team, publicly reprimand them for embarassing the school and it's other law abiding members.

Mob mentality? I don't buy it. I've been in several 'questionable' situations and I still managed to tell the difference between right and wrong. And in my book, there is never an instance when kicking the dogshit out a defenseless human being is considered 'right.'

Of course, these 'girls' are going to get off. They're going to get a slap on the wrist for their actions. People will talk of 'Mob mentality,' and 'peer pressure' and whole other truckload of psycho-babble bullshit and in the end these 'girls' who so maliciously beat the shit out a weaker group of girls just for shits and giggles, will be cleared of any wrong doing because it 'really wasn't their fault.'

What a crock. Punish the 'girls' and punish the watchers, who stood around watching this cluster fuck without doing anything to stop it. In fact, any body who wasn't getting their shit kicked is guilty.

The thing that bothers me the most is all the wishy washy talk in this article.
Always concerned with their own ass, eh?
Yeah, I guess the really big audio/visual clue isn't much help in these circumstances.....maybe you should look for a big piece of paper that says "here we beat the shit out of a large group of defenseless girls, five of which we sent to the hospital, and threw paint, mud, excrement, you know the usual, on them....signed...."

Possible discipline??? I think the act merits definate discipline

I think there is plenty to do. This is just a cop-out by the school to prevent them from looking like the bad guys and taking a little of the responsibility

There is much more to say about this, but I guess I've said enough already

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The_Dude

didnt know girls could do this

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krwlz

thinkin of hazing, i mean on track the frshmen got beat on, had to carry all the equiptment etc, in varsity soccer it was the juniors, and we knocked em around for the first week or so, but then it was over...we were all together after that, and no one ever got hurt. i still cant believe that people (GIRLS!!) would take it that far

sixate

Dude, you have to be kidding. Anyone could do that. It's a matter of having some morals, and most people hardly have any. I've said it a million times. The majority of people are mindless fucking sheep. I'm not surprisedby this at all. It goes on everywhere. People value almost nothing other than power.

Gortexfogg

I wonder why these girls were even having a "powder puff" game outside of school (according to the school)? There must have been some existing hatred of the juniors by the seniors to set something up outside of school and get as out of hand as it did. I think it might have been a grudge taken to a very unhealthy level. Then again they just might be out of their minds.

gibber71

And one day they will rule the world.

sngx1275

This wasn't somethign that shoudl be excused. But shit - I bet last year the same shit happened, just this time someone decided to alert the athourities.
These chicks got caught, but does that make them any more guilty than the ones before them.
They need to look at preventing what caused it rather than making however many of those seniors were 18 pay for it the rest of their lives.

JadziaDax

Again, they showed this on my local news, this time without the people or events being blurred out (I guess they got the needed permissions). It was just horrible. They showed some of the girls beating other girls senseless. They forced one girl to eat feces, causing her to have a bacterial infection.

These students are the types I work with all day long, male and female. The girls are actually worse. Violence amongst children is growing in epic proportions, and your local educators are doing all they can. We've instituted group therapy for our girls. Any time we hear any talk of violence, we try to talk them down from it. I don't know how or when this all happened, but something does need to be done at another level. I keep saying it, and I will continue to say it... The parents need to be more involved in their children's lives.

I'm starting to get really upset over this, and I need to walk away.

Dragonlich

Jadzia, when I'm not staring at your tits, I think it's getting better, not worse... I know that it is considered "normal" for people (students) who get into certain exclusive groups to be subjected to some rituals. This has always been around, and it has actually become less violent and degrading over the years.

I remember an incident in the Netherlands a few years ago, where a student was told to empty a bottle of vodka in one go. The next day, he was dead. Since then, many student groups banned hazing rituals altogether, and the ones that did not made sure they weren't dangerous. It takes one such incident to change things, and the incident mentioned in this thread might be the catalyst for change in the US. I doubt the girls will walk away without any legal problems: it's on tape, and the victims were definitely maltreated; there's no way the police can ignore it.

I look at them, er, it this way: In the olde days, it wasn't reported, but everyone knew about it, and it was acceptable. These days, you hear about it on the news, and people like you and me get angry, which means it's *not* acceptable anymore. Slowly but surely, even the most annoying clubs will start to realize that violent or demeaning hazing rituals are not okay and will actually get you prosecuted.

Cynthetiq

very true... the media grabs hold of these things and it becomes the top of everyone's minds for a short period. But it's still there... our lives changed forever.

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GSRIDER

Powder Puff has gone on for as I can remember. I'm not From Illinois but from Minnesota, and when I was in highschool <i>cough *88* cough</i> we had powderpuff football games. And they were AS brutal at the one reported.... none of the fish slapping, pig guts crap but vendettas were settled.

Drunk cheerleaders, jockettes and even stoner girls just raging on eachother on school grounds. The cops usually broke up the event but it would happen again the next year. Hell my younger sister took park... she waited in anticipation for it.

Now I'm not saying it's right, but it is not something new (maybe it's just a upper midwest thing). I agree that this particular incedent was pretty brutal and uncalled for or maybe it's that my view of the world has changed with age.

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rockogre

Parents. Ya gotta have parents.

Children have to have real, give a shit, law abiding, civilized, nurturing, loving, inteligent, parents.

Adult parents. Not buddies, not pals, not one of the guys.

Parents with some values other than who has the biggest SUV at the soccer game.

Parents who actually care if YOUR child gets injured by THEIR child.

Parents who might actually bust your little butt. That might actually take away your car, tv, stereo, concert tickets, checkbook, charge card, etc.

How many parents of the ring leaders do you think will step up and take some responsibility? I bet they all get lawyers for their precious darlings because,

are you ready,

wait for it,

My daughter would never do anything like that.

BULLSHIT! They act like you raise em to act.

(Several members have pointed out that I am highly "opinionated" and they are right. Looking back a half a century makes you want to strangle stupid people on a daily basis. Ignorance and bullshit carry on their merry way.)

/ walks away with Jadzia shaking his head. /

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bender

This was well thought out in advance which makes it even worse.
But as stated above the school has washed its hands and if push comes to shove there may be 1 person who is held accountable for the actions of many.
The on lookers are just as bad as the ones who did this, worse as they cheer on the deplorable actions while not having the guts to ever do something like that on there own as they know that they would have there ass kicked.
I've got far too many questions that can't be answered, or I guess that have been already by rockorge

Troublebot

School's sticking it's head in the sand, police are shuffling their feet. Why? Cause they're rich kids in a upper class community! The school and the cops know that Mommy and Daddy control the taxes in that town and do not want their kids fucked with.

I'll be suprised if any kind of disiplinary action is taken by school or town. I'm also very saddened by how cynical I've become.

When I was alot younger, I was brought into an honor society within the Boy Scouts of America, and we got hazed. Nothing too bad, but there was 24 hours of alot of physical labor in trying conditions and not much time for food, water or sleep.

Years later, it was my turn to guide candidates though their initiation. We were given a stern lecture on hazing and what we could or couldn't do, but I don't think we needed it. Most of us wanted to do ourselves and our organization proud and show these kids what it meant to be part of this society. The guys who were just there to knock little kids around were sent away or watched closely.

I don't know what the hell these kids in Illinois were thinking.

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Cynthetiq

Reminds me of Lord of the Flies.. had they enough time they would have slaughtered someone...

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Stilts

This thing did go way over the top and sounds like it was totally wrong. You can't blame the media for the way that they wrote about it though. The media is supposed to report unbiased facts. From what I read there they reported exactally what happened, and what the different authorities are considering as consequences for the actions. They did their job, it's when they start injecting opinion into their articles that you should be yelling at them. Even if you agreed with them on this issue, what about the next time when they start spouting off an opinion different than yours. People take what the media says as truth, if they are biased it can effect too many people's judgement.

guthmund

After calming down, I realize that maybe my post was a little inflamatory.

Reporting the news is a very heady job I'm sure. Trying to mix 37 different stories into one article is sure to be a time consuming and difficult task.

However, I'm not concerned with how the media reports it's stories. I'm more upset that the school as taken the official position that "our hands are tied there simply isn't anything we can do."

This has nothing to do with how the media reported the story. This is more about the school's position that was reported in the media.

You write of how the news can bias someones opinion of the story. How does language like "...whether any criminal acts occured,"and "for possible discipline" affect someones' thinking.

For someone who hadn't seen the videotape it might influence them to think that this "powderpuff game" just got a little out of hand, you know girls will be girls. I mean, if the police aren't sure of "any criminal acts" how can I be sure? If the school is looking "for possible" disciplinary action then surely it must not be important.

Fact is, it is important.

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krwlz

ogre, i agree witrh you, i guess im opinionated too, and im only 18, but my parents were just that, parents first friends second, and i honestly thank them for that

nefarious

kids get brutal if left by themselves .. without a sense of respect ..

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Lebell

The only thing this tells me is that the potential for great good and great evil are in the hearts of us all.

It's a lesson we all should take heed of.

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Stilts

I didn't see the video myself, anyone got caps of it? Anyhow, if I had, I might have got all fired up too. I can understand their wording though.

If it was not a school sanctioned activity off of school grounds then that's all they can do is investigate to see if there's some way that they can discipline them. Let me tell you what, if my kid was ever in the middle of that I'd lay the smack down on them like no other, however if the school board tried to jump in on it, I would fight them tooth and nail. I'm the parent, they are not, they do not have my permission to do my job off of their property and away from their sponsored activities.

As far as the police investigating for possible criminal acts, were the juniors there of their own free will? I mean were they forced into it, or was it a willing thing and it did get out of hand? The whole thing sounds fucked up to me, but a lot of people do fucked up things that I don't like but I wouldn't have them arrested for it (S&M, Scat, branding, etc etc.). If this is something that happens every year, maybe they willingly subject themselves to it, because they figure that next year they'll be able to dish it out. I don't know, but that would be why the police would have to investigate it I would imagine, figure out exactally who crossed lines and decide what and who can be charged for which particular crimes.

Dragonlich

As far as I see it, the school said that it's out of their hands, meaning they'll leave it up to the police and parents to deal with it. I think that's reasonable: after all, if the acts were criminal, the police will deal with it; if they weren't, the parents will deal with it.

On the other hand, I would have expected the school to take at least *some* action, like suspending the culprits or something. Perhaps they're afraid of angry parents if they take the wrong action, and instead decided to do nothing *yet*?

butthead

I don't know. I was really turned on by the violence I saw in the videos. Really energized. I felt like going out and beating the fuck out of some people.

As disappointed as I am to know that this how I am, I like to abuse others in all sorts of ways, although I'm just beginning to become brutal physically. It feels great. At first it felt bad, but I just had to train myself to not feel guilt. Although at times I just break down and start crying when I think about it.

I also have a history of childhood abuse. Factor this in anyway you want.

This world has been a fucking crazy place for a long time. Violence has been around forever and will never die. Don't be surprised when you see shit like this.

butthead

And btw, I apologize if it seems like I'm attempting to be a troll. If you want to talk to someone from the other side of the wall, here's your chance.

sngx1275

It was said it wasn't school sanctioned, and it wasn't on school grounds: So the school has no responsibility.
Like I said before and some people have said: Its most likely a tradition, the juniors were there on thier own free will plus the peer pressure, but you know what, those seniors were juniors too once.
So it happened to you you do it too when you have the chance, obviously not everyone here thinks that is right, and I bet most of those people haven't been in any situations similar to this.
And like I said before - fix this at the next class, sure one class doesn't get revenge but maybe thats what has to happen.
Don't screw over these 18 year old chicks for the rest of thier life with some assult charges + whatever the hell else someone decides to accuse them with just because they were unfortunate enough to get caught. What makes what they did any more illegal than last years class?

cheerios

sngx1275: "they did it first" is NOT a valid excuse.

JadziaDax

We recently had an incident that didn't happen on school grounds. Over 20 of our regular high school students (as opposed to the students I work with) went to a public area to meet up with an unknown number of students from a neighboring school. It was after school hours, and nowhere near the school grounds. Nine of the students got involved in a fist fight with the students from the other school. The argument to get them suspended from school: The nine girls (yes, they were all girls) had the intent of starting the fight when they met up with the other students, and it was planned DURING school hours.

Honestly, I thought this reasoning was bullshit. It was only an excuse used by the high school Principal to have the girls removed from his building. We ended up with 2 of the girls coming to our school (I'm in the alternative high school).

So, saying the school has no responsibility... The parents can blame whomever or whatever they choose. Since more and more parents these days take little or no responsibility for their children's actions, I wouldn't be surprised if they cause the school to take full if not most of the responsibility. The girls will be reprimanded at school. There is no question about that. They will be brought to court. No doubt there either. But the outcome will be interesting to see.

ARTelevision

May 9, 2003
Parents Probed in Suburban Chicago Hazing
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS


Filed at 3:45 a.m. ET

NORTHBROOK, Ill. (AP) -- A videotaped hazing in which high school girls were pummeled and showered with feces, paint and garbage has humiliated and shocked students and administrators at a suburban Chicago high school that once enjoyed a prestigious reputation.

``It's devastating to our school and to our community,'' said Glenbrook North High Principal Michael Riggle.

Authorities are trying to determine whether parents supplied beer and some of the filth.

``It's annoying and embarrassing, because there are a lot of good people at GBN,'' junior Judd Hack, 17, said Thursday. ``But it shouldn't be covered up either, because this is brutality to another human being by drunken buffoons.''

The melee, videotaped by students and involving as many as 100 teenagers, occurred Sunday during a girls' touch football game in a park in this well-to-do suburb. Seniors had invited juniors for what was described as an initiation into their senior year.

Five girls were hospitalized, including one who broke an ankle and another who suffered a cut that required 10 stitches in her head.

Cook County Forest Preserve District police said Thursday that they probably will file criminal charges. Spokesman Steve Mayberry said he did not know the charges or how many people might be charged.

Two parents might have supplied kegs of beer, said school board member Tom Shaer.

The students apparently arranged the event in secret, taking pains to make sure school administrators -- who suspected the girls were planning something -- did not find out the time and place.

``We have determined the kids had a network of cell phones, pagers, text messages and Internet instant messages to keep each other informed,'' Shaer said.

For years, students at the school of more than 2,000 students have held a ``powder puff'' football game as a rite of passage for incoming seniors.

Shaer said in the past, administrators have been able to find out when and where the event was to take place in time to alert the police.

Zack Blum, a student who videotaped the event, said that hazing in previous years was limited to girls dumping food on other girls.

Rollin Soskin, a lawyer for three girls who were beaten, said there was no indication that this year would be any different.

``They were told no physical pain would be inflicted, no hair cutting, they wouldn't be made to eat anything,'' he said.

Jon Lee, a 17-year-old junior, said he knows three people who were injured.

``I think that whatever the local law enforcement and school officials want to give out as punishment, they deserve it,'' Lee said.

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ARTelevision

Suspended Senior Files Suit Against Glenbrook North H.S.

NBC5, Chicago
May 13, 2003


May 13: Suspended Senior Files Suit Against Glenbrook North H.S.
May 12: Hazing Students Suspended, May Be Expelled
May 12: Northfield Township School Board Takes Action On Hazing
May 8: Did Parents Buy Alcohol For Hazing Event?
May 8: School Officials Saddened By Hazing Incident
May 8: Criminal Charges In Hazing Case Could Come Today
May 7: Hazing Victim Speaks Out, Civil Lawsuits Possible
May 7: Parent Hires Attorney In Connection With H.S. Hazing
May 7: Student: 'To See Girls Doing That To Other Girls...'

GLENVIEW, Ill. -- Marnie Holz, 18, one of dozens of students suspended for 10 days from Glenbrook North High School for an off-campus hazing incident that was caught on tape, filed a lawsuit hours later, claiming she was denied due process.

Holz's attorney, Naomi Valas, asked for a temporary restraining order to keep the school district from enforcing the suspension. Valas said it is unclear if the state school code allows the school to suspend the students. She said Holz has been accepted to the University of Wisconsin but did not know if the suspension puts that in jeopardy.


"You are entitled to an education, so when someone takes that right from you without giving you due process, they have violated (your) due process rights," Valas said.

Glenbrook North H.S. completed processing 32 suspensions in connection with the hazing incident Tuesday morning, according to a Northfield Township High School District 225 news release. Suspended were 28 girls and four boys, the release said.

Announcing the suspensions at a Monday news conference, Principal Mike Riggle said he would recommend that the girls also be expelled.

Riggle said he took the steps after the district's counsel advised him that the school had broader powers to discipline students for the videotaped incident than he had thought.

Riggle and his staff continue to investigate the incident and will continue to cooperate fully with law enforcement officials, the District 225 release said.

The 10-day suspensions are the longest the school can mete out, Riggle said. He said it would be up to the district to decide whether to expel the students, which would bar them from campus and from school-sponsored activities, including prom and graduation ceremonies.

"We have never tolerated actions of this nature within our school or by our students within the community, nor will we now or in the future," Riggle said.

Riggle declined to say how many students were suspended, citing the privacy of educational records. He said only senior girls who participated in the hazing were suspended, not other students who observed it. All those suspended would be recommended for expulsion, he said.

The students have three days to begin the appeals process, he said.

The school's investigation found that the students violated laws on hazing and assault, Riggle said. The investigation also found the students violated the school's hazing policy and the Illinois school code.

Earlier, Riggle had said he had little power to discipline the girls because the event was off campus and not sanctioned by the school.

Authorities have said criminal charges in the videotaped incident are likely.

Junior girls from Glenbrook North were seen on the tape being beaten and showered with mud, feces and garbage by seniors on May 4 at a Cook County Forest Preserve park. Five girls were injured seriously enough to send them to the hospital.

Expulsion from the school would not prevent seniors from graduating. Those seniors who haven't yet earned enough credits to graduate will be sent to "alternative education" to complete their studies, Riggle said.

The school is still deciding what information, if any, to give to colleges where the seniors applied for admission.

The incident is an embarrassment to the school in the well-to-do Chicago suburb of Northbrook. The video has received international attention on television.

Dave Hales, the superintendent overseeing Glenbrook North, called the effects of the videotapes "devastating."

However, he noted that the incident involved a fraction of the school's nearly 2,100 students and that he continued to take pride in the school.

"The number of great things that happen in our school district compared to anything negative is a gazillion to one," Hales said.

Steve Mayberry, a spokesman for the Cook County Forest Preserve Police, said investigators spent the weekend interviewing students and parents. Interviews were continuing Monday, with charges expected sometime this week.

Authorities have been investigating anonymous tips that parents provided kegs of beer for the hazing, which started as a "powder puff" football game. So far, they have no solid leads, said Northbrook Police Deputy Chief Michael Green.
.......................

"The number of great things that happen in our school district compared to anything negative is a gazillion to one,"

That's my fave quote from that one.

Anyway, it's an eye-opener that the first lawsuit to come from this literal mess is from a Hazer!

I'll back the Hazees on this one...

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spectre

And I think that's the most rediculous part of all of this. You have to love the way things work here anymore, where the perpetrators of an abominable act can sue because they feel victimized. It just makes me sick.
This is my favorite quote. It's so rediculous I can't even think of a way to respond.
And so will I.

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Cynthetiq

Hmm... so I guess when I got all those detentions for something I got suspended for in HS, I wasn't given due process and should have sued.. who knew?

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d_p_w_k

umm...I don't want to get far afield here...because I find the actions of all the participants to be repugnant...but to file a suit asking that the school district follow its own rules and procedure does not offend me.

People are guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution (applicable to the states through the 14th Amendment) that the government (and yes, a school board/district is considered a governmental entity) will not take certain actions without due process of law. That just means that if they have rules in place, they have to follow them.

Does that make this girl a "victim?" No. But it doesn't mean that she forfeits those rights.

In the same way that Freedom of Speech even protects speech that sickens us, due process protects those whose actions we find abhorrent.

Cynthetiq

No.. a schoold does not have to "invoke" due process to suspend a student for bad behavior. If it did then the school systems would be doing the same crap that the criminal justice system is bogged down.

here are some parts that make up due process:

Right to a fair and public trial conducted in a competent manner
Right to be present at the trial
Right to an impartial jury
Right to be heard in one's own defense
Laws must be written so that a reasonable person can understand what is criminal behavior
Taxes may only be taken for public purposes
Property may be taken by the government only for public purposes
Owners of taken property must be fairly compensated

what is inconceiveable here is that the children are LEARNING that thier reprehensible actions can lead to NO CONSEQUENCE on their part, and in fact that THEY ARE THE VICTIM. That is ABSURD.

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I don't care if you are black, white, purple, green, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, hippie, cop, bum, admin, user, English, Irish, French, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, indian, cowboy, tall, short, fat, skinny, emo, punk, mod, rocker, straight, gay, lesbian, jock, nerd, geek, Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Independent, driver, pedestrian, or bicyclist, either you're an asshole or you're not.

d_p_w_k

With all due respect, I wholeheartedly disagree.

The government can take no action depriving you of life, liberty or property without "due process of law." (See 5th Amend. U.S. Constit.) A school district sets up guidelines and procedures in order to mete out punishment. They MUST follows those rules, regardless of whether the person being punished deserves the punishment or not.

I disagree with your conclusion.

If the law says you must do AB and C before you punish, and you don't do AB and C, are you suggesting that the person being punished is WRONG for demanding that AB and C be done???

Let's assume a hypothetical...let's assume this Marnie Holz was mistakenly identified...does your opinion change?