Reply to St. Stephens St. Agnes -- Hazing on Boys' Lacrosse

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Anyone who tries to call a shaved head "hazing" is diminishing true "hazing" which is really risky and demeaning. [/quote]

First, read the literature -- head shaving is a classic form of hazing.  Not the worst thing on the list of typical hazing practices by any means, but squarely within the definition.

Second, read the literature or some of the prior posts with respect to escalation.

The third point is the most important one, I would argue, with respect to a head shaving ritual going on at a high school.  Taking the SSSAS example, this is not a club lacrosse team.  This is a school team, and the culture/rituals for any school organization should be looked at within the lens of whether they fit within the broader educational mission of the school.  A hockey or football or lacrosse team that shaves its heads is saying "our most important identity is not as a student at X High School, but as a member of the hockey/football/lacrosse team."  Every minute of every day, whether in class, assembly, the lunchroom, that shaved head says: "I'm a lacrosse player."  (And the close corollary to that is "and you're not.")  Pride in a team is great, but identity as an athlete should not overwhelm the identity as student, classmate, scholar, friend.

If I were the folks at SSSAS, I would ask the coach to put a stop to this not under any anti-hazing rationale, but because it may bring lacrosse players closer together but it doesn't do the same for the whole student body, and it sends a message that team identity is the most important thing of all.

But . . . I'm not there.  So, I give my two cents on DCUM instead.

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