Of all the schools to end up in a scandal… Northwestern University finds itself getting some unwanted attention with the news of hazing at the school which lead to the firing of coach Pat Fitzgerald. Northwestern No!!!
So what’s the deal with this? Hazing went overboard, kids got screwed up in the head, and now they’re pressing charges; does that sum it up? I’ve never played sports in college; I’ve never joined a fraternity either. The tradition of hazing is one that exists, I imagine, in lots of places, especially when it comes to fraternities and sports in college. Does that make it right? I’m sure some of it DOES go overboard; I’m sure kids do get hurt. How do we fix this? Is a strict no-hazing policy in order? I don’t know the answer to that. Maybe start with no sexually or racially charged hazing? I don’t know.
I do know that mental health is one of those topics that is more prevalent today then when I was a kid. Mental health? What the hell is that? Nobody really talked about that back then, nor did they think feeling bad inside was due to mental health issues. Shit, who doesn’t have “mental health” issues… I hear they have schools now that allow kids to take a “mental health” day; you’re kidding me right? Some say we’re raising a soft generation… not sure I agree with that 100%, but… come on; there’s stuff that every kid goes through, and has to figure it out. Somehow we got through our childhood; we didn’t get the front to back playbook. Hopefully, you’ve receive the best guidance possible from your parents to give yourself a fighting chance; that’s no guarantee either though. Kids will do stupid shit; not making excuses, just saying the truth. There are levels of this “stupid shit”… we seem to enter new levels almost on a daily basis in today’s world, levels that are NOT acceptable, and must be met with the appropriate punishment, even if they are kids. Kids can still pull a trigger unfortunately…
But yeah, hazing… has it been taken to a whole new level nowadays, or are kids today just more sensitive to it? Maybe a bit of both. You shouldn’t NOT play sports or join a fraternity just because you want to avoid hazing. You shouldn’t be forced to do some of that shit; I’m sure it can get pretty stupid. Again, levels of “stupid”… Those lines between levels seem to be blurred nowadays; what’s right and what’s wrong should be easy to see, but that concept is different in everyone’s heads. It’s amazing what some people think is OK nowadays… I feel like I’ve headed down a completely different path here.
But no, it’s all related I think. From what I could tell, prior to this, Fitzgerald seemed like a solid individual; now, he must take the fall for this happening on his watch. Did he know about it? I’m sure he knew of it, if not all the details. Would he think that everything that occurred was OK? Probably not. Some of it, sure, but not all of it. When all of this is said and done, will justice be served? What is justice in this scenario? Making sure this doesn’t happen going forward? Will the kids hurt by this be OK now? Again, not sure of the “levels” here… I’m sure there were wrong things that happened; how wrong? I guess I should read more about it to make that call. Part of it does feel like an oversensitivity that seems prevalent across the board today. Part of it probably did cross the line. How do we decide what is what? Really crazy that of all the universities across the country that this comes out here… at Northwestern; I never would have guessed that though. Then I think… would I be OK if my kid was hazed? I think we have a lot more questions than answers, but I definitely wouldn’t want kids going overboard with MY kid… what’s overboard though? I thought Northwestern was a “smart” school…
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