Well, now I've heard everything. The mother of one of the former Hillcrest High students has compared her son's situation to that of a 6-year-old recently suspended for kissing a classmate. I am appalled that she would imply that the innocent show of affection by a first-grader is on the same plane with a 16-year-old who entertains himself and his friends by taping classmates to a bench and forcibly exposing his body to them in the manner that has been described in the newspaper. His display was anything but innocent and far from harmless.
No doubt hazing has been going on for years, but that doesn't make it right. It is never right to entertain yourself by intimidating and frightening others. It is never OK to demean others to make yourself feel important. Part of our job as parents is to teach our children to respect others. It is imperative that parents resist the urge to defend our child's behavior when it is wrong and take the opportunity to teach them about compassion and caring.Diane Cahoon
Clinton