NU's Soccer Team Under Investigation

Northwestern University’s women’s soccer team is under investigation for an alleged hazing incident. Photos of the alleged hazing appeared Monday on Badjocks.com, an internet site that claims to expose athletes' bad behavior. While the incident is under investigation by school officials, the girls’ soccer team is barred from participating in any activities.

When the story broke earlier this week, my initial reaction was one of surprise and shock. What disturbed me most about the photos is that they are of female athletes. You simply do not expect to see that kind of behavior by young women, especially those attending a top level school such as Northwestern. “Why are they doing this?” I asked. “Where is their common sense? Why don’t they just stand up and say no, or just walk away.”

Even former members of the women's soccer team reportedly were upset by the photos. In a Sun-Times article, former players Gina Napoli and Katie Hertz said such incidents did not occur when they were on the team.

Sometimes team spirit has a stronger hold on a young athlete than personal integrity.

However, as I hear more about the alleged incident from the NU players as well as sports writers and fans, I’ve changed my perspective. I was once a college student, and I remember I did some stupid, crazy stuff too. And I wasn’t a college jock by any means.

Campus parties and social events are part of college life, and often take the pressure off of studying and competition. It's the social life that makes college fun and exciting for many students. Hazing, or initiation rituals, are common on college campuses.

The danger in hazing occurs when students are physically injured. A case in point, 14 members of a fraternity at Southern Arkansas University who were charged with hazing recently settled a lawsuit alleging they beat a pledge so badly that he spent 11 days in a hospital, had to have kidney dialysis and required skin graft surgery. Now that's going too far.

While most hazing incidents do not result in serious injury, it can happen. Fortunately, no one was physically injured in this incident. What will likely receive the most damage is the university’s reputation.