Send a message against hazing

Rules govern all aspects of life. They protect individual rights and facilitate the smooth functioning of society.

Schools have many rules. If they are obeyed by students, staff, coaches and administrators, everything should run smoothly.

Problems crop up, however, when unwritten rules surface.

At Erie High School, wrestling coaches apparently had an unwritten rule that it was OK for them to spray cold water and throw ice at wrestlers while they were undressed and showering after practice.

Nowhere in the Erie School District’s extensive list of written policies can such a rule be found.

However, there is a rule titled “Harassment or Hazing” that states: “Behaviors of this nature are not acceptable or allowed. All known incidents will be dealt with on an individual basis as deemed appropriate by the administration.”

The wrestling coaches’ unwritten rule became public when a senior wrestler brought it up after he was not named a team captain.

The athletic director interviewed the coaches. All three admitted to spraying water and throwing ice, which the A.D. described as horseplay and not harassment.

However, letters of reprimand were written for the trio that warn of dismissal from coaching duties if it happens again.

What about other allegations? The senior wrestler said some wrestlers urinated on others in the shower and put their genitals on teammates’ faces. Coaches saw some of the misconduct, he said.

An internal school investigation found no evidence to support the allegations. An external investigation is under way.

Was all this harassment, hazing or simply horseplay?

Whatever it is, the Erie School Board should come out strongly against it.

Charlie Brown, school board president, said after last week’s closed session: “We had a great discussion, and an investigation is under way.”

School officials must send a stronger message than that.

We’re talking about unequal, possibly intimidating relationships here – between coaches and students, between seniors and freshmen, between big wrestlers and little wrestlers.

The school board and administration should condemn hazing and harassment in all its forms, warn that it will not be tolerated, and make sure the rule is enforced.