Jerseys and long socks may be the typical uniform for softball players, but on September 12, the three freshmen on the varsity team, Jayla Jarnagin, Laynee Hager, and Emily Willier (11) could be found around the school in their swimsuits. The issue of hazing versus initiation came into question. The line between the two is very fine. Assistant softball coach, Chad Shaw, pointed out, “It’s a blurry line.” Older players on the softball team woke these underclassmen at 5 a.m., forced them to dress in their swimsuits over their pajamas, and took them out to breakfast with no other means of getting ready for the day— no makeup, no hairdos.
Dressed in full attire, the freshmen were taken to school after breakfast. While forcing the freshman softball players to attend school looking so out-of-the-ordinary may seem too harsh to be considered initiation, it doesn’t fall under the hazing umbrella. According to Senate Bill No. 106: Colorado Hazing Law, “‘hazing’ includes but is not limited to: forced and prolonged physical activity; forced consumption of any food, beverage, medication, or controlled substance, whether or not prescribed, in excess of the usual amounts for human consumption or forced consumption of any substance not generally intended for human consumption; prolonged deprivation of sleep, food, or drink.” In other words, hazing is done with the intent to cause damage or harm to the subject. The girls drew much attention at school— including that of an administrator who brought the issue to the school’s counselor, Tara Kaysen. Kaysen brought the girls to Steve Longwell, Athletic Director, who asked the freshmen to change into regular clothes.
Longwell said he asked the girls to change into regular clothes because “The clothing they were wearing would bring unwanted attention to them along with possible unwanted teasing.” The girls however said they saw the incident as good fun. Hager said, “It was really funny and it wasn’t a big deal.” Willier said she “felt like everybody was staring at me. It was awkward, but it was funny.” Jarnagin said, “it was somewhat embarrassing, yet a fun way to be part of the team.” Since Tuesday, April 20, 1999 the issue of hazing has been under close scrutiny, especially in Colorado. On this day, the Columbine Shooting occurred as a result of harsh teasing and hazing of two students at Columbine High School Since this incident, if hazing comes into question in Colorado, it is put to an end immediately. Colorado Senate Bill No. 106 was approved and went into effect in 1999 immediately following the Columbine Shooting. However, before the shooting in 1999, hazing wasn’t a big deal in school according to Kaysen, Longwell, and Shaw. According to Kaysen, her school had an official “Hazing Day” where the senior football players told the freshmen players what to do the entire day. She said that one incident was when a senior put a quarter on the floor and told his chosen freshman he had to push it down the hall with his nose. Other hazing occurrences were boys having to dress as girls, or whenever a senior said air raid, all the freshmen in the vicinity had to drop to the floor and sing the school song. Kaysen said, “The pranks were pretty innocent, but they were still hazing.” For Longwell, every freshman was initiated into the high school during homecoming week. Every senior in the school chose a freshman to tell what to do for the whole week. Shaw’s experience with hazing came in his initiation into high school baseball. Every freshman was forced to jump into a 7- or 8-feet deep irrigation ditch with their whole uniform on. Then they had to practice in their smelly, soaked uniforms. All of these initiation rituals seemed traditional and perfectly acceptable up until 1999. Since the Columbine Shooting, initiation of any kind is deemed unacceptable at schools. While forcing freshman softball players to dress in swimsuits and walk around school not looking their usual standard may seem like good fun, it is not tolerated in high schools anymore, and certainly pushes the line between initiation and hazing.