Hazing is nothing new.  Mean girls are nothing new.  Movies about hazing can become cult classics. (Dazed and Confused, anyone?)  Movies about popular girls acting in horrific ways to other girls can make for box office blockbusters.

(Mean Girls, anyone?)  But when these things happen in real life, there is nothing funny or entertaining about it.  This past week seven former Katy ISD cheerleaders were indicted for a hazing incident involving the junior varsity squad.

It was only a tradition — a friendly pre-dawn breakfast hosted by the varsity cheerleaders at Katy's Morton Ranch High School for the girls of the junior varsity squad. This time the "tradition" went horribly wrong.  Rather just taking the girls from their homes in their pajamas to be taken out for the early morning breakfast, these varsity cheerleaders took a detour.  These seven varsity cheerleader girls are accused of blindfolding eleven JV cheerleaders, binding their hands with duct tape and pushing them into a swimming pool. (Granted, it was the shallow end of the pool and after orienting themselves, the girls could stand up.)  However...think about that.  Blindfolded. Hands bound.  Thrown into a pool.  

Their attorneys claimed it was a case of bad judgement on behalf of the 7 varsity cheerleaders. As quoted in Houston Chronicle online, apparently it is also very unfortunate these girls who have been indicted have to go through this during the holidays.

None of the teens or their parents commented Wednesday, but attorneys for two of the girls said their clients are caught in a tough situation and have the full support of their families.

"Do teens sometimes use bad judgment?" asked defense attorney Robert Fickman, who represents Garner, the varsity squad's former mascot.
"Sure they do. We all did. But sometimes bad judgment does not equate to a crime.

"This is probably a case where teenagers used poor judgment. There's
no evidence anyone was harmed or endangered," Fickman said outside the courtroom.

Attorney Jed Silverman, who represents Hayley Davis, said his client just wants to get on with her education and her life.

"It's just very unfortunate for anyone to have to go through this during the holidays," Silverman said outside the courtroom. "She has a
good family behind her 100 percent."

Bad judgement but not a crime. Very unfortunate that these girls have to go through this during the holidays.  I am honestly not sure where my mind goes with this.  

If I were the mother of one of the JV girls thrown into the pool, I would be outraged.  Furious to the point of tears.  If I were the mother of one of the varsity girls who used "poor judgement" in this situation, I would not want the rest of her life ruined over this incident.  If I were the mothers of one of the girls who came forward after going through the hazing and had to go back to school, I would probably want to transfer her because she is now being picked on, talked about and being shunned.  For coming forward for something she felt was unfair and wrong. 

Three persectives.  Three examples of a mother wanting to protect her child.  All of them my personal reaction to what I imagine I would feel if I were the mother to one of these girls.

KHOU TV in Houston, Tx has a good interview with one of the JV cheerleaders who was one of the victims. It is worth listening to the raw video to hear her side of the story.

Blogger Wordjunky who blogs at Sanguine et Purpure also touched on an important point when it comes to this entire incident and the indictments that have followed.

Seriously, this is rather disturbing. Where did high school girls get
the feeling this kind of behavior is acceptable? News reports said this
was the first case in Harris county (Houston) under the Texas
anti-hazing law. The law has been on the books since 1995.  That is another issue; if the law has been avaialble for 13 years why
has it not been used before? Surely there have been other incidents. I
don't think authorities did anyone a favor by not using the tools they
have.

I doubt there have been absolutely no cases of hazing since 1995.  So what does that mean?  Are they using these girls as preventative examples?  Is it a matter of having to do something because someone did come forward and the law is behind her?  Why now?  Why these girls?  And what does this mean for the future of harmless initiations and harmful hazing?

This is not a local story gone wrong.  ABC news shares more details of the story in a video on their website.

Personally, the entire story appalled me on so many levels.  Hazing is wrong.  On any level.  Was this an act that should be treated as a crime or was a just stupid?  Should these cheerleaders have their lives ruined for this or should it have ended with the removal of all of them from the cheerleading squad?  I would love your opinion on this.

Poor judgement or criminal act?  What do you think?

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For more links on this story see:

Fanhouse: Seven High School Cheerleaders Indicted on Hazing Charges, DuctTaping Girl

Non Sequitur: High School Girls In Prison

Between Us Girls:  Hazing - Are Our Kids Going Too Far?

Chron.Com: Former cheerleaders must return to court next month

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 Contributing Editor (Mommy & Family) Jennifer Satterwhite also writes at Mommy Needs Coffee and Parenting as well as the founder of the blog Mommybloggers.