I remember my first Freshman Friday like it was yesterday. When I saw those enormous seniors lurking in the hallways looking for their next prey, pinning down a freshman and writing that “F” with a big black Sharpie, I ran the complete opposite direction through the no standing zone, which for a freshman is an impossible feat. You'd think no standing meant no standing, but as we all know… Ah, those were the days.

Now you can all understand how pumped I was for this year's Freshman Friday. I had my 24 pack of Sharpies all ready to go. I was even going to be courteous and let the freshmen have their pick of what color they wanted their “F”. However, this year's Freshman Friday was different, unlike anything ever seen before at Walter Johnson. Seniors were waiting at the doors with smiles, multicolored joyful lei's in their hands, and enough bright, cheery, happy, Teletubby love and sunshine to spread around. Yay for freshmen!

What in the name of senior pride was going on here?! The seniors have a reputation to uphold. I mean, come on! The freshmen were expecting “F's” and here we are giving them Hawaiian flower necklaces! Were they getting off a plane to some tropical island? We should have thrown in a ukulele, some piña coladas, and grass skirts. While we were at it maybe we should have fanned them off with giant palm tree leaves while they were sat on beach chairs enjoying the cool island breeze.

Seniors, I hope you were embarrassed because I, for one, sure was. As the class of '06, we were supposed to initiate the freshman into WJ, make our mark, and at least outdo the class of '05. When we were freshmen, we were victimized. We sang to the varsity football teams' cash and prizes, barked liked seals, sang "I'm a Little Tea Pot" until it echoed in our brains, had sketches of, ah hem, male genitalia drawn on our faces, and felt the wrath of the so called "face-paint.” We had served 3 years of imprisonment as underclassmen! We had an obligation to the past senior classes, and it was our right, our duty, our privilege to tag the newbies.

According to the administration this was not going to be our year for vengeance. The ritual was over in their eyes, and they had tolerated it long enough. There had been too many complaints, concerns, and Fear of F's going too Far.

We seniors assured the administration that we weren't going to let it get physical or aggressive. In no way were the “F's” meant to be malicious or violent and we certainly were not going to let it get out of control. It's not like we were harming the freshmen in any way. Well, at least not physically.

Nevertheless, there is no way we could have made sure it wouldn't have gotten too out of control. So “F's” on the forehead are nothing but a washable mark, but pinning the freshmen to the wall to write the “Fs” or screaming in their faces telling them to sing sounds like assault to me. It may not seem like we're doing something bad now, but think about it from a freshman perspective. Having some big jock come up to you and pin you down doesn't sound like my cup of tea.

What really got me was when freshman Sam Wolfand said, "To tell you the truth I hope our year is more creative than lei's and stickers” for his senior year. Was this kid actually asking to be hazed? Maybe he would have enjoyed being stripped naked and stuffed in a locker by the football team. I wanted justice to be served, I wanted to put him in his place, but the more I thought about it, the dumber it seemed.

The freshmen say they don't care. But I honestly do not believe them. I'm sure they are going to say they hate it. Right… If I were a freshman I would lie, too. I'm not going to admit to any senior or teacher that I'm scared or intimidated about having an “F” written on my forehead. I don't want to be seen as a baby. Freshman Haylay Lindly said, "I don't really care at all. Well, it's a little weird but I don't care as much as some other people do. I'm not like ‘o my god, I got hazed.’ I'm not going to cry". I sense some hesitation there. Sure the freshmen say it feels cool and maybe you thought that it was cool at the time, but did you get F-ed by someone you know?

Senior class president Anna Silberman said, "I remember [Dr. Garran] telling us about an instance, when we were meeting about this issue, about a kid with disabilities. A special needs kid was targeted last year and was hazed and he couldn't take it and couldn't understand why it was happening and he really felt victimized and I think there's always that potential that someone will take it too far".

Even our own "Swanky" (as he called himself) P.E. teacher Butch Worden, known as being a humorous relief from our strict teachers said, "Hazing is actually a way that someone can force their power over another individual and I don't think that's right. There are other ways.” You know if he's not for it, something's up.

Some might argue that there is little difference between the F's on the forehead and making Jews wear the yellow stars during WWII. It seems pretty extreme but we are picking out a small population to pick on and discriminate against by forcing them to wear a symbol to identify who they are. Maybe an “F” doesn't carry the exact same connotations, but I'd say it's pretty close. I = never thought there could be a connection between the WJ tradition and the Holocaust, but being Jewish, that really made me think.

So, yes, this year may have been an embarrassment to hazing, but is it really such a big deal? Seniors we can’t get the freshmen in school anymore but, administration advert your eyes, we still have the football games. I myself have already bought gallons of green paint to make our '06 mark. Freshmen still know who rule the school and I doubt they will dare tread on our territory. Freshman Erica Dinges said, "I think like maybe if all the seniors and juniors went around and gave freshmen hugs, that'd be fine.” Umm…don’t hold your breath, Erica.