To the editor:

I’m appalled by the response of the USD 497 administration and the public in general to the hazing incidents at our high schools. To write off the incidents that happened across town in the name of youthful fun and games is ludicrous.

But, my friends and I just finished four weeks of intensive training at work and we need to let go. So I guess the Lawrence Police will turn the other way when we wander downtown and smash the tail lights of the parked cars. Shopkeepers won’t mind if we shoot paint balls at their customers and write obscenities on their buildings. Then, we will punch people we hardly know for the fun of it. Maybe we will grab some shoppers and take them to Tonganoxie to walk home for kicks.

To those seniors who perpetrated these acts of “hazing” and their parents: Be thankful one of my children was not among your victims. You would be facing formal charges of kidnapping, assault with the intent to bodily harm, criminal damage to property and civil lawsuits. You could enjoy the hospitality of the Douglas County Jail while your parents arranged bond for you. USD 497 would also be a subject of a civil lawsuit.

Wake up and realize that these acts were far more than just pranks. They were criminal acts that deserve punishment, much more that a simple suspension for two days.

Ken Meyer,
Lawrence