Posted on 05/20/2003 10:25:19 AM PDT by freepatriot32
NORTHBROOK, Ill. (May 20) - Thirty-one students accused in a videotaped hazing have been offered a deal to graduate on time if they won't fight expulsion or try to exploit the widely publicized incident with a book or movie deal.
Glenbrook North High School officials say some of the students are considering the offer, which also requires the students to attend counseling and perform community service. School board attorney Lawrence Weiner said they would be expelled but the school would freeze their grades at their previous levels instead of automatically flunking them.
''They'll graduate with their class,'' he said.
School officials have suspended the 31 students over a May 4 flag football game where students were beaten, splattered with paint and hit with mud and feces. In addition, Cook County prosecutors have charged 15 students with misdemeanor battery. The hazing was videotaped and widely shown on television.
The offer came up Monday at the court hearing of Marnie Holz, one of the students suing to overturn her suspension. School officials had notified the 31 students of the offer in writing.
Attorneys for some of the students appealing suspensions, including Holz's attorney, Larry Kaplan, said they would reject the offer. Kaplan said his client is suing for reinstatement and would not sign the deal ''as a matter of principle.''
''For one thing, we believe the school exceeded its clear authority,'' he said. ''We believe Marnie was punished for conduct which the school has accepted and tolerated for 23 years.''
He said the expulsion would cause ''irreparable harm'' despite the school's promise not to release disciplinary records to colleges.
Steven Decker, attorney for two suspended girls - one of them among the 15 charged with battery - said his clients likely would reject the offer. He said the school is ''just trying to save face.''
The school initially said it had suspended 32 students because of the hazing but acknowledged Monday that it had misidentified one of the four boys suspended.
''He was allowed right back in school,'' school district spokeswoman Diane Freeman said. ''He didn't miss a beat.''
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