I WILL UPDATE .....
from badjocks
U of Iowa Baseball Initiation Incident FOIA Request, Day 1 - Pictures of freshmen baseball players naked except for ball caps covering their genitals, singing the school fight song. The University of Iowa investigated this incident, said it was their players, it did involve only freshman and it was part of some team event . . . and then concluded it wasn't hazing. Hazing experts disagree. At BadJocks, we have just one question: What criteria did the investigators use to determine whether this was a case of hazing or not? Of course, we started with the school's own stated hazing policy, which reads in part:
No response to that email either, so on Thursday, June 15 at 6 PM ET we faxed our first ever FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) request asking the university to turn over transcripts of all interviews with members of the baseball team, the final report given to the president of the university and, oh yeah, a copy of the pictures themselves. We think you'll find the way this plays out interesting so we plan to keep a daily log of any progress we might make. They'll be a link at the top of the right hand column to a separate page that will have details about this story (see below for now) and the progress of our FOIA request. Stay tuned.
from badjocks
U of Iowa Baseball Initiation Incident FOIA Request, Day 1 - Pictures of freshmen baseball players naked except for ball caps covering their genitals, singing the school fight song. The University of Iowa investigated this incident, said it was their players, it did involve only freshman and it was part of some team event . . . and then concluded it wasn't hazing. Hazing experts disagree. At BadJocks, we have just one question: What criteria did the investigators use to determine whether this was a case of hazing or not? Of course, we started with the school's own stated hazing policy, which reads in part:
Hazing is any intentional or unintentional reckless action or situation – with or without consent – that endangers a student or creates risk of injury, mental or physical discomfort, harassment, embarrassment, and/or ridicule – whether on campus or off campus – for the purpose of initiation into, affiliation with, or as a condition for continued membership in any student organization or team . . .
It sure seemed like singing naked would fall under that definition, so we sent an email to Richard Klatt, Associate Athletic Director, External Affairs at UI with some follow-up questions about their investigation and he promised to pass them along to the appropriate staff. That was Wednesday, June 7. On the 9th I sent a follow-up email to Mr. Klatt asking if there was any progress with my question which was basically this: what criteria did the two investigators use to determine whether this incident was hazing or not? Seems simple enough, doesn't it? We were curious because a source who claimed to have spoken to UI told BadJocks that the school ruled it wasn't hazing because, a) freshman were not forced to participate and some opted out, and b) it was conducted at a "non-traditional" time of year for hazing . . . apparently not right at the beginning of the season--once the team roster is set--as is customary. And, while those points do make for good debate, the written policy does not allow for those exceptions. So did the school ignore its own policy or not? Does the athletic department have a different policy? If they did, that's fine with us, we'd just like to know what's going on in case some members of the lacrosse team decide to spank freshmen with wooden paddles next year (with their consent of course) while singing "Stand By Your Man" at the END of the season. Hazing or not?
No response to that email either, so on Thursday, June 15 at 6 PM ET we faxed our first ever FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) request asking the university to turn over transcripts of all interviews with members of the baseball team, the final report given to the president of the university and, oh yeah, a copy of the pictures themselves. We think you'll find the way this plays out interesting so we plan to keep a daily log of any progress we might make. They'll be a link at the top of the right hand column to a separate page that will have details about this story (see below for now) and the progress of our FOIA request. Stay tuned.
