Tired of being grouped in with the few whose behavior shocked people around the globe, hundreds of Glenbrook North High School students gathered Sunday afternoon to show what they say they're really all about.
The first-ever Village Green and Gold Festival, organized and run by the students, was born in response to the bad rap they got a year earlier when a videotaped hazing incident found its way onto television screens worldwide.
"What happened last year set such a bad image for us," said Glenbrook North senior Erica Saltzman, one of the organizers. "That's not what we're about at all."
"These are good kids," said Michael D. Riggle, principal of the north suburban school. "They care about one another. . . . It's a great school with great students."
Those students on Sunday mingled with residents in downtown Northbrook, cooked hamburgers and put on a concert. They also brought a large banner that read "Spartans Band Together" and was signed by hundreds of students.
"By signing it, students are pledging to honor and respect one another," Saltzman said.
That's not what happened last May 4, when 25 to 30 Glenbrook North junior girls were kicked, punched and pelted with excrement by senior girls during a gathering at Chipilly Woods. More than 50 students were disciplined, while 16 teens and two parents were found guilty of battery or alcohol-related charges.
Although the Glenbrook high school district and the community were stung by another hazing incident last month -- this time at Glenbrook South High School, where 11 veteran members of the lacrosse team were accused of paddling 13 newcomers at a party -- many of the residents who attended Sunday's event said they are sticking by their kids.
"A lot of it has been blown out of proportion," said Sharon Procter, who was walking her dog at the park Sunday. "These are good kids, and that's how they should be remembered."
Posted by Ron at May 3, 2004 02:01 PM