In a question-and-answer forum following Principal Jacqueline McEvoy’s State of the School Address yesterday, half a dozen parents expressed anger and disapproval about the Paly administration’s investigation and punishment of students involved in freshman hazing incidents on Freshman Friday.

In response to the Freshman Friday hazing incidents on Aug. 29, which involved upperclassmen throwing water balloons and eggs at underclassmen as well as paddling and paint balling, the Paly administration has suspended at least 10 students in its investigation of perpetrators at the event.

At the end of her address, McEvoy spoke about the Freshman Friday incidents and responded to comments and questions from the audience. The parents who spoke about Freshman Friday incidents during the question-and-answer session criticized the administration’s wave of suspensions, calling it a “cycle of fear.”

During her address, McEvoy condemned the actions of perpetrators, saying, “Freshman Friday is not a tradition. It’s a bad practice and there’s a difference — a big difference. How students act at school and outside of school is important.”

McEvoy explained to parents that she had never heard of Freshman Friday before this year’s incidents, and therefore could not plan or execute anticipatory efforts to prevent freshman hazing incidents this year.

During the question-and-answer period, some parents expressed skepticism after hearing McEvoy’s statement. Those who spoke to reporters after the address declined to give their names, fearing repercussions from the administration in relation to specific claims or criticisms.

“We just find it hard to believe that the administration had no idea about [Freshman Friday] and was caught off guard,” one parent said. “Given that this has happened historically and given that the administration was aware that this existed, [the administration should have] anticipated that there might be problems.”

Despite McEvoy’s assurances that the administration did not know about Freshman Friday, parents who spoke after the address persisted in their claim that precautionary actions should have been taken ahead of time.

“We would have liked to see some kind of communication about the event,” another parent said. “At the very least, a warning to alert parents and their children about Freshman Friday.”

Furthermore, parents present at the meeting said that punishments were awarded unfairly.

“I would have liked to see more educative punishments, like a workshop about ethics, rather than suspensions,” one parent said. “Fear is not the best method of learning.”

“We want more appropriate consequences for the students, whether they were involved or not,” the parent continued. “There are many parents with suspended children of all grades who are concerned with the administration’s heavy-handed policies and how they have addressed this issue. We don’t like how the discipline was handled.”

In addition, some parents expressed concern about further investigation with students who were not involved in the incidents.

“Students are terrified that the suspensions are going to continue,” one parent said. “Kids are scared of getting suspended — how long will this investigation and [these] rolling suspensions continue?”

A group of parents met prior to the State of the School Address to discuss the events of Freshman Friday, and summarized their opinions in a statement which was read during the meeting. Parents who contributed to the statement did so anonymously, to avoid possible repercussions from the administration. At least five parents attending the address expressed sentiments similar to the opinions described in the statement. The statement can be found here: http://voice.paly.net/view_story.php?id=7047.

In response, McEvoy informed parents that the administration did not intend to actively pursue students involved in the incidents.

“We have continued to have students willingly come forward,” McEvoy said. “I don’t know what information I’ll have tomorrow morning or next week.”

Although some parents disapproved of the administration’s investigation and punishment of perpetrators, many agreed with McEvoy that the incidents on Freshman Friday were regrettable and dangerous.

One parent described a situation concerning a freshman who was “severely impacted” by his experience, and wanted to transfer to a different school as a result.

McEvoy also emphasized her intolerance towards any acts of hazing and violence among students.

“I made it clear that hazing in any way shape or form will not be tolerated,” McEvoy said. “My compassion for the students who participated in the hazing is pretty limited. This is serious physical assault. I was surprised by the level of brutality.”

At the meeting, freshman football coach Stu Pederson agreed with McEvoy’s statement condemning acts of hazing, and said that the administration’s choice of punishment was justified.

“The students who participate in hazing have a penalty to pay because they made a choice when they decided to haze,” Pederson said. “There are consequences for everything in life. If you rob a bank, there are consequences.”

Pederson has observed many instances of hazing within his team in the past, and said he does not condone violence towards underclassmen.

“Enjoying your senior year doesn’t mean becoming a bully and beating up a freshman,” Pederson said.

McEvoy described incidents involving water balloons, eggs, and paddling, though she declined to discuss specific incidents, citing confidentiality.

“What I found most disturbing was the initial lack of empathy,” McEvoy said. “The freshmen were scared to walk home, and some of them rightfully so.”

McEvoy said she plans to increase communication between the administration and parents about Freshman Friday, and hopes that with open discussions and clear communication, the Freshman Friday problem will be resolved in the future.

“I don’t want to be in this situation again, and I don’t think the students do,” McEvoy said. “We need to welcome the freshmen with open arms and make them feel emotionally and physically safe on this campus.”

McEvoy also plans to increase parent involvement in her efforts to improve the student environment at Paly.

“I am going to be calling on parents to step up so we can set up activities and programs to make Paly more welcoming,” McEvoy said. “We have a lot of work to do in getting the word out for next year, in how we welcome people and how we make consequences. I think it’s really sad that we have to do that, but we will.”