Cornell cancels lacrosse season because of beer 'hazing'

[cawacko]

Not when they're unsafe.

Really? That's your response to what I wrote above?

 

[Mott the Hoople]

I hesitate to throw the baby out with the bathwater on issues like this. Hazing like this may be a bit inappropriate, but lessons learned in team sports - not all of which are learned on the field - can be valuable ones that really carry over into the real world in tangible ways.

There's nothing wrong with the sports. It's the anacronistic frat boy mentality that needs to go. Not the sports. The University did the right thing. This type of unsafe behavior should not be tolerated. Young people have died in far to many occasions because of these stupid ass greek traditions. Time for them to go the way of the passenger pidgeon and the DoDo Bird.

 

[tekkychick]

One of the reasons I picked my undergrad school was because it didn't have any sororities at that time. Unfortunately, my sophomore year they got two but anyone who wanted to join could; basically split those who wanted to join between the two. Junior year they started the whole rejecting people they didn't like who wanted to join.

We had a lot of fraternities given the number of students. Definitely saw the bad side of greek life.

but back to the op - it's one thing for kids to go to a party and drink themselves sick. It's another thing for it to be an organized activity, forced upon them by a team that is representing the school. That's why canceling the season makes sense in this case.

 

[Mott the Hoople]

aw shucks......did you really mean to move the goal posts?.....we are talking about whether schools should have underaged drinking, not whether they should have athletics and bands....actually, I think many universities have in fact gotten rid of greeks......or at least clamped down on their most stupid activities....

The Greek boys were pariah on my campus when I went to college. I never had any in my classes cause I was a science major and studying that hard interfered with the Frat boys drinking and socialising.

 

[Mott the Hoople]

1) This was a lacrosse team. It had nothing to do with the Greek system.

2) After all the incidents that have happened in the Greek system across the country you think this event is a 'wake up' call? Come on now.

3) Did you get rejected from a fraternity or did a sorority girl turn you down? Why so much bitterness towards the Greek system?

#1. Bullshit that it didn't have anything to do with the Greek system. Where do you think these ideas come from?
#2. Absolutely it is. It shows that there can be serious consequences to stupid and dangerous behaviors.
#3. Turned down by a Frat? Why the hell would I need to join one? I have talent and ability. Frats are predicated on the value of "It's not what you know it's who you blow." and since I do have talent and ability that's a value I certainly don't share.

 

[Cancel 2020.1]

The Greek boys were pariah on my campus when I went to college. I never had any in my classes cause I was a science major and studying that hard interfered with the Frat boys drinking and socialising.

Don't generalize too much on that. I couldn't stand the greek system when I was in college either, but I had a ton of friends that were in it, and they were good people. And some of them were actually pretty smart.

 

[Mott the Hoople]

I think the forcing people to drink until they puke is stupid. Making the freshman have drinking races I don't have a problem with.

We were talking sports here but from a fraternity perspective when I was a pledge I never got physically hazed. I did get mentally f'd with and I actually thought that was pretty cool (in retrospect). Any idiot can say 'hey rookie or hey pledge drink this beer'.

WTF? What the hell is the point of a drinking race? That's just a plain stupid comment Wacko to rationilize stupid unsafe and illegal behavior.

Let me ask you this. If I were to coerece your 18 year old son or daughter into a drinking race and you found out about it, what would you do? You'd call the law and have my ass prosecuted and don't tell me you wouldn't.

I know if someone did that to my 18 year old it's exactly what I would do. Those kids who did the hazing got lucky. They only have to give up playing Lacross. Their asses should have been expelled and prosecuted and they should have served a significant time in jail and have to carry the burden of a criminal record because that is what their behavior is. Criminal.

 

[Mott the Hoople]

Hell lacrosse players get concussions. We could cancel the sport for that reason alone, forget forcing players to drink until they puke.

Agreed. If the number of concusions are excessive and impacting the health and long term quality of life of the students who participate in it, in other workds it is intrinclly unsafe, then it should be canceled. What's wrong with that? Don't you believe in safety?

 

[Mott the Hoople]

Dude, I was talking about sports, band and fraternities. Not just fraternities. You have a serious hard on for Greek life.

I do. There's no place in academia for those assholes. They're a relic of the 19th century. They promote the wrong values our young people should be learning. That social status is more important than character, talent or ability.

 

[Cancel 2020.1]

Agreed. If the number of concusions are excessive and impacting the health and long term quality of life of the students who participate in it, in other workds it is intrinclly unsafe, then it should be canceled. What's wrong with that? Don't you believe in safety?

There is a difference between believing in safety & freedom of choice. People who play lacrosse know what they're getting into. There are risks inherent in all contact sports - but no way should they be cancelled.

A school near me banned running during recess. That's not the direction I'd like to see the country going in.

 

[Mott the Hoople]

Really? That's your response to what I wrote above?

Yes. When those organization promote practices and tradition that are not safe they have crossed a line. Is that so hard to understand?

 

[cawacko]

WTF? What the hell is the point of a drinking race? That's just a plain stupid comment Wacko to rationilize stupid unsafe and illegal behavior.

Let me ask you this. If I were to coerece your 18 year old son or daughter into a drinking race and you found out about it, what would you do? You'd call the law and have my ass prosecuted and don't tell me you wouldn't.

I know if someone did that to my 18 year old it's exactly what I would do. Those kids who did the hazing got lucky. They only have to give up playing Lacross. Their asses should have been expelled and prosecuted and they should have served a significant time in jail and have to carry the burden of a criminal record because that is what their behavior is. Criminal.

If my 18 year old son played on a college sports team and joined in a drinking contest you really think I would try to have his teammates arrested? I'm honestly not sure if you are serious here or not.

 

[cawacko]

There is a difference between believing in safety & freedom of choice. People who play lacrosse know what they're getting into. There are risks inherent in all contact sports - but no way should they be cancelled.

A school near me banned running during recess. That's not the direction I'd like to see the country going in.

Thank you.

 

[Mott the Hoople]

Don't generalize too much on that. I couldn't stand the greek system when I was in college either, but I had a ton of friends that were in it, and they were good people. And some of them were actually pretty smart.

You do have a good point. My biggest opposition to Frats is that they teach anacronisitc values that I don't share and if you think about it, really don't belong in a modern university setting.

 

[cawacko]

I do. There's no place in academia for those assholes. They're a relic of the 19th century. They promote the wrong values our young people should be learning. That social status is more important than character, talent or ability.

You have a really interesting view of Greek life.

 

[zappasguitar]

If we cancelled the season of every college athletic team that had underage drinking there wouldn't be college athletics. There wouldn't be college bands. There wouldn't be a Greek system.

Should we cancel the athletic season of any team that has a player caught doing pot because weed is illegal right?

So much for "personal responsibility".

Maybe if a few teams have their season ruined because they BROKE the rules by allowing underage drinking, which is (clearly against the law), then maybe it will finally teach the pampered jocks that the rules do indeed apply to them.

 

[zappasguitar]

It's too bad they had to cancel the whole season - I would think they could identify who organized it & suspend them, instead of punishing everyone.

Still, I hate hearing about hazing that involved drinking (or any kind of hazing). When a kid is 18 & drinking & trying to fit in, he'll do just about anything, and people do die from drinking too much. Really, it's just a stupid way of initiating people into an organization.

Not only is it stupid, it also highlights the decided lack of originality in the people who came up with these sad little hazing rituals.

Can't think of anything other than just making the other guy drink til he pukes?

Well, no one ever said jocks were the sharpest knives in the drawer.

 

[tekkychick]

If my 18 year old son played on a college sports team and joined in a drinking contest you really think I would try to have his teammates arrested? I'm honestly not sure if you are serious here or not.

If your 18 yr old son played on a sports team; and he was told to stay on the team he had to participate in a hazing ritual which involved getting him drunk until he threw up; how would you feel?

Take it one step further - he's in the hospital with alcohol poisoning.

Would you sue the team? or the university? Or would you say that there was no pressure put on your son, he did it himself, oh well?

Most parents would sue - again, the team represents the university; the team made them do the ritual. This wasn't a bunch of 18yr old teammates getting together and deciding to get drunk; it was an organized team event.

I don't know why you don't see why that is a problem.

 

[cawacko]

There is a difference between believing in safety & freedom of choice. People who play lacrosse know what they're getting into. There are risks inherent in all contact sports - but no way should they be cancelled.

A school near me banned running during recess. That's not the direction I'd like to see the country going in.

I'm not saying that's the cause for obesity in this country but it surely doesn't help it. If a kid is sitting still for an hour in the classroom they need to go run off steam at recess or P.E. That's what children (young kids) do. That's just crazy.

 

[cawacko]

If your 18 yr old son played on a sports team; and he was told to stay on the team he had to participate in a hazing ritual which involved getting him drunk until he threw up; how would you feel?

Take it one step further - he's in the hospital with alcohol poisoning.

Would you sue the team? or the university? Or would you say that there was no pressure put on your son, he did it himself, oh well?

Most parents would sue - again, the team represents the university; the team made them do the ritual. This wasn't a bunch of 18yr old teammates getting together and deciding to get drunk; it was an organized team event.

I don't know why you don't see why that is a problem.

There was nothing here that said the kids had to do this to be on the team. This wasn't sponsored by the coaches or the University. The kids did this on their own. You would probably receive a lot of cr*p if you didn't participate but no one is forced to.

This was a party hosted by players on the team. That's not a formal team event. That's teammates getting together on their own.

I don't want my kid winding up in the hospital nor do I want my kid winding up an alcoholic but I'm also not going to be so naïve to think that he would never drink or ever drink to much and have to puke.