Streakers may face punishment from IU

A week after eight freshmen were arrested near Bill Armstrong Stadium for public indecency, the Office of Student Ethics will look over the case and decide whether to pursue the incident as possible hazing.\nSix of the eight arrested were freshmen on the IU men's cross country team. In fact, they were the only freshmen on the team, raising suspicions about the stunt. \nAccording to the IU Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities and Conduct, hazing is defined as "any conduct which subjects another person, whether physically, mentally, emotionally or psychologically, to anything that may endanger, abuse, degrade or intimidate the person as a condition of association with a group or organization, regardless of the person's consent or lack of consent."\nIU Police Department Lt. Jerry Minger said some of the students involved admitted they derived the idea for the escapade on their own.\nDean of Students Richard McKaig said the admission does not mean the matter will be overlooked.\n"In almost every case," McKaig said, "the initial response is 'We wanted to do this.' Sometimes that's not the case; sometimes it is. We will need to collect all the pieces of the puzzle to find out what happened."\nMcKaig expects to meet with the Office of Student Ethics this week to discuss the incident. \nThe students themselves will also have to meet with the Office of Student Ethics to discuss what reprimands will be handed down. \nAccording to police reports, the students were spotted around 9 p.m. Aug. 27 running along Fee Lane wearing only athletic supporters. An IUPD officer confronted them near the spectator entrance to Bill Armstrong Stadium, but the students ran into the nearby wooded area. The officer followed on foot, and upon the arrival of more officers, the students were found hiding in the wooded area. \nThe students were taken to IUPD headquarters, cited and released. \nMinger said this case was not similar to typical incidents of hazing.\n"Sometimes the information is apparent to you. In this case, it was not something that would be considered dangerous," Minger said, "although it could have risen to the level of hazing."\nMinger said there is no clear-cut way of determining what can be termed as hazing, but the amount of witnesses and offenders will help make any decision easier.\n"This time, we had multiple witnesses and offenders," Minger said. "Most cases are accusations of things that happened before we got there. Then we have to find the witnesses to find out what happened. Each case isn't exactly like the one before it."\nThe members of the cross country team could also face punishments from the athletics department. Both men's cross country coach Robert Chapman and the team members involved were unavailable for comment, but a representative from the athletic department told the Indiana Daily Student the matter was handled internally by the team. \n-- Contact staff writer David Paulen at dpaulen@indiana.edu.