CHICAGO
Northwestern University has punished its men’s swim team and students who perform as the school’s mascot for hazing, said a school spokesman, just days after the school suspended its women’s soccer team amid similar allegations.
The swim team’s hazing incident occurred in September and involved underage drinking, swimming in Lake Michigan when the beaches were closed and “additional inappropriate behavior,” said Mike Wolf, Northwestern’s assistant athletic director for media services.
On Monday, Northwestern announced it had suspended its women’s soccer team from all athletic activities after pictures of alleged hazing incidents ended up on the Internet.
All members of the men’s swim team were placed on disciplinary probation, required to perform a community service project and attend educational sessions on hazing after the Division of Student Affairs investigated and determined there had been a violation of Northwestern’s anti-hazing policy.
“Additional disciplinary action was taken against several members of the team, but federal law prohibits universities from releasing information about specific actions taken in regard to individual students,” Wolf said in a statement.
The athletic department also canceled a training trip to Hawaii and several members of the team were prohibited from swimming in one or more meets, Wolf said.
In October, students who perform as “Willie the Wildcat,” the school’s mascot, staged a fake kidnapping of new students who were candidates to fill the role, Wolf said.
