Alleged Hazer Fighting Suspension

Teenage girls caught on videotape brutally hazing their classmates were suspended from their suburban high school for 10 days and could be barred from prom and graduation.

In addition to the suspensions, which began Monday, officials are recommending the girls be expelled from Glenbrook North High School.

"We have never tolerated actions of this nature within our school or by our students within the community, nor will we now or in the future," said the school's principal, Michael Riggle.

The students have three days to begin the appeals process.

Within hours of Monday's disciplinary decision, one of the students filed a lawsuit in Cook County Circuit Court seeking a temporary restraining order to keep the school from suspending her, according to her attorney.

"You are entitled to an education so when someone takes that right from you without giving you due process, they have violated (your) due process rights," said Naomi Valas, an attorney representing 18-year-old Marnie Holz. Holz declined to comment on the lawsuit.

Senior girls from the school beat their junior classmates and showered them with mud, feces and garbage on May 4 at a Cook County park. Five girls were injured seriously enough that they needed to go to the hospital.

Although the hazing took place off campus, Riggle said the school district's lawyer advised him that the school had broader powers to discipline students than he had thought.

The 10-day suspensions are the longest the school can give, Riggle said. The district will decide whether to expel the students, which would bar them from the prom and graduation ceremonies.

Expulsion from the school would not prevent seniors from graduating. Those seniors who have not yet earned enough credits to graduate will be sent to "alternative education" to complete their studies, Riggle said.

Video of the incident has been shown on national television, to the embarrassment of the affluent Chicago suburb of Northbrook.

Dave Hales, the superintendent overseeing Glenbrook North, called the effects of the videotapes "devastating." However, he noted that the incident involved just a fraction of the school's nearly 2,100 students.

The principal would not say how many students were suspended, citing the privacy of educational records. He said only senior girls who participated in the hazing were suspended, not other students who watched.

The school found that the students violated laws on hazing and assault. The investigation also found the students violated the school's hazing policy and the Illinois school code.

Authorities have said criminal charges are likely. Steve Mayberry, a spokesman for the Cook County Forest Preserve Police, said investigators spent the weekend interviewing students and parents. Interviews continued Monday, with charges expected sometime this week.

Authorities have been investigating anonymous tips that parents provided kegs of beer for the hazing, which started as a "powder puff" football game. So far, they have no solid leads, Northbrook police said.