Parents of freshman students interested in a Dallas high school's Big Sis Lil' Sis program that is accused of hazing were told the event in question was "in no way meant to be hazing."
The letter was sent home to the parents of girls who wanted to participate in the program at Woodrow Wilson High School in Dallas, a mentoring program that links freshman girls with junior girls.
A ninth-grade student who attended an event early Friday morning said several of the freshmen participants were forced to wear their bras around their neck, simulate sex acts on vegetables and pole dance on street poles, all while blindfolded.
The letter sent to parents describes the event as a "welcoming breakfast/'kidnapping.'" The note also said the underclassmen and upperclassmen "will get to know each other better by playing games and doing other fun activities."
It also assured parents the event was "approved by the faculty" and would have "parental supervision nearby."
But several parents and students said parents were not around for the whole event.
Students said they saw the flashes of cameras and know pictures of the events were taken.
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One freshman girl said she was blindfolded and shoved into a car when she was picked up at 3 a.m. Friday. The girl did not want to be identified to avoid retaliation at school.
"They made us all take off our bras and put them around our neck," she said. "Another one of my friends, they made her pole dance on a street corner, blindfolded."
A source close to the investigation said the Dallas Independent School District's Office of Professional Responsibility is involved in the investigation. It is checking to see if any DISD faculty members were involved in or had knowledge of the incidents described by students.
Several concerned parents met Tuesday night to discuss what happened, but a location and who called the meeting wasn't given.
DISD officials said the investigation is ongoing and have not discussed possible punishment.
According to the DISD Student Code of Conduct, hazing is a first-level offense. On page 10, the code said the consequences include scrubbing desks in classrooms to suspension from school.
But hazing is also against state law. The law says hazing even includes physical activity such as "sleep deprivation."
The letter about Friday's event told parents that it involved picking up the freshmen in "the wee hours of the morning," taking them to do activities with junior girls, eating a breakfast prepared by parents of the junior girls and then attending school.
The failure to report hazing is a Class B misdemeanor. Engaging in hazing or soliciting, encouraging, directing, aiding or attempting to aid someone else in hazing is also a Class B misdemeanor if no one suffers bodily harm.
And according to Texas law, consenting to hazing is not a defense against prosecuting it.
