Glenbrook North High School

Glenbrook North High School is located in Northbrook, Illinois, a suburb north of Chicago. The school is noted for its academic achievement and in 2003 received national attention over a hazing incident. Glenbrook North High School belongs to Northfield Township High School District 225 along with its sister high school, Glenbrook South High School.

Hazing incident

In May 2003 Glenbrook North High School found itself in one of the biggest challenges it has ever faced. An off-campus, non-school sanctioned event that turned into a major hazing incident created international attention.

Related Topics:
May - 2003 - Hazing

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The event was the annual "powder-puff" girls football game between a group of juniors and seniors. First begun as a fundraiser in 1977, the on-campus game was discontinued in 1980 because it was getting too rowdy. The annual game then went underground. School officials were usually able to break it up when they found out the date and time it was to be played.

Related Topics:
1977 - 1980

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The senior students who organized the 2003 game were able to keep the time and location secret, such a secret that some participants did not know when it would be held until about half an hour before it began. The invited junior female students paid $35 to participate. The fee covered the cost of an athletic jersey to wear and beer provided by some of the parents of senior students. The game took place on Sunday, May 4, 2003 in Chipilly Woods, part of the Cook County Forest Preserve District, at about 11:30 a.m. There was very little, if any, playing of football. The hazing began almost immediately. About 20 junior class participants were sat in the middle of a clearing and forced to be covered in paint, urine, feces, and animal guts. Some were shot with paintball guns, others were kicked and beaten. After it was over, at least five of the participants had injuries requiring medical attention.

Related Topics:
May 4 - Cook County

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Media attention

A student videotaped the incident with a camcorder. The student gave the videotape to Anna Davlantes, a reporter at television station WMAQ in Chicago. Davlantes broke the story the next day and it began to receive international media attention. The news story shocked the community. Northbrook citizens felt outrage and embarrassment as their normally quiet, suburban upper-middle class community was thrust into the media spotlight. Most argued that the incident did not at all reflect on the values of the school and community.

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School reaction

How to respond became a problem for school officials. At first, school officials stated there was little they could do except prohibit the students responsible from attending school functions. Glenbrook North High School Principal Dr. Michael Riggle stated while the school condemned the incident, the students could not be suspended or expelled because it did not involve a school sanctioned activity and it did not occur on school property. After further consultation, school officials found differently in accordance with Illinois state law and school district policy.

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Thirty-one students – twenty-eight females and three males – were suspended from school for 10 days. They were later expelled. Some of the expelled students and their parents filed a federal lawsuit because they would then be unable to graduate from school. The plaintiffs and the school district reached an agreement where the expelled students would have their diplomas mailed to them provided they dropped the lawsuits and did not make any book or movie deals about the incident. The juniors who participated were suspended but it was lifted when they agreed to counseling and also to not make any book or movie deals. Local law enforcement authorities investigated the hazing incident and filed charges against 15 students for assault and battery. Two mothers were charged with providing alcohol for the event. All were convicted and the sentences received were light, ranging from probation to community service.

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A community-wide task force was established after the hazing incident. The task force consisted of 31 community leaders. The final report of the task force was released on November 7, 2003. The report stressed the needs for recognizing and preventing hazing incidents.

Related Topics:
November 7 - 2003

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