Recently, I talked with our high school seniors about a Hill City tradition known as “Freshmen Initiation.” I say “Hill City” tradition, because this tradition of the seniors and the freshmen gathering downtown after the homecoming bon-fire is not, and has never been approved or supported by either the high school or the school district. In fact, I have been made to understand that every attempt has been made to discourage this practice.
I expressed to the seniors that this tradition flat-out frightened me. I explained to them about something called “hazing”, a practice of inflicting either physical or psychological pain onto others as part of an initiation ceremony. I talked to the seniors about research I had done on hazing, and how the national press was filled with stories of small towns, just like Hill City, where initiation ceremonies had grown to include hazing, and, inevitably, something had gone horribly wrong.
The stories always had the same ending: Kids in the hospital, and kids in jail.
My research referred to hazing as a “cycle of violence”, where each senior class had wanted to give the freshmen harsher treatment than they had received during their initiation. As cycle progressed, it wasn’t a matter of IF someone would get seriously hurt, it was only a matter of WHEN.
Finally, I told the senior class that I had spoken with the local police, and that they informed that there is a state law banning hazing, and that local law enforcement would prosecute.
Afterwards, a senior approached me and thanked me for my concern. However, the senior informed me that that when they were a freshmen, the initiation hadn’t been that bad. “All we had to do was drink a gallon of milk and run a mile.”
Drink a gallon of milk and run a mile. Wow. Think about that.
As a father of young children, I just happened to have access to an unopened gallon of milk. After a visit to the bathroom scale, I was surprised to discover that a gallon of milk weighs nine pounds. NINE POUNDS.
Now, what possible point could there be to asking a fourteen year old to consume nine pounds of fluid? I have read a lot of diets and am fairly knowledgeable about good nutrition, but I have yet to come across the “chug-a-gallon-of-milk-and-run-a-mile” fitness plan.
The only reason to make another human being consume nine pounds of cow’s milk and then run a long way is because of the pain and discomfort it inflicts. Asking a freshmen to do this, no matter how voluntary the act may be, is by definition hazing. And hazing is a felony.
Of course, I have been told that our tradition freshmen initiation has continued for so many years because it is so much “fun.” I suppose some people consider it fun to cause others great discomfort and perhaps illness. Some may think it is a real riot to watch someone violently regurgitate their nine pounds of milk all over the street.
But to me, the gallon of milk tradition is a perfect example of the difference between initiation and hazing. Initiation usually involves helping newcomers to a group learn about traditions and expectations, and to help them meet and bond with experienced members. I remember the freshmen initiation I attended at K.U. We listened to some speeches. We watched a slide show. We learned the Rock Chalk chant and the KU fight song. Then, the upperclassman led us in several “lawn games” like egg toss and tug of war. Afterwards, there were refreshments.
I remember the experience as being a lot of fun. And, as a bonus, no one tried to hurt or embarrass me.
While a gallon of milk may seem to be fairly innocent, designed to create a bond between the new and old through the endurance of mild pain and discomfort, this particular tradition has darker implications for me personally. You see, when I was freshmen in high school, I wasn’t very knowledgeable about my body, especially my digestive system. I never associated the occasional bout of intestinal problems with my diet. I, like many young people, consumed whatever looked good without much thought to the consequences.
Only when I matured did I start to connect the dots. I realized that my stomach troubles could indeed be traced to a very common ailment: lactose intolerance.
I shudder to think what a gallon of milk would have done to me as a freshman. Just knowing what pain an ice cream cone can cause me if I don’t take my medicine, it makes me sick to even think about trying to digest nine pounds of lactose. When I was a kid, I was just as eager as the next person to please others, especially the seniors. If I had gone through the Hill City initiation, and I had drunk that gallon of milk, I have no doubt that I would have become very ill, perhaps for a long period of time.
Would I have been blamed for not realizing I had a milk allergy? Would the seniors have laughed at me if I had had to be taken away in an ambulance? In other words, when does it stop being “fun”? Is it worth the risk to find out?
I urged the seniors, and the freshmen who participate in this voluntary activity, to be the first to stand up and do the right thing. I now ask the parents and community members of Hill City to do the same: please help end the practice of “freshmen initiation.”
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