The Ravens’ women’s varsity soccer team will be allowed to play the rest of their regular season games this year after the university announced that the team’s suspension had been lifted.
In a statement released on Sept. 21, the university said, “after further investigation, Carleton University has concluded that the women’s soccer team engaged in rookie hazing activities involving serious alcohol abuse. The team has acknowledged this to be the case and has accepted responsibility for it. The university has concluded that the two-game suspension already served by the team was an appropriate penalty and the team will resume regular play [Sept. 23] against the University of Ottawa.”
The statement went on to say that any further disciplinary action would be dealt with internally.
As a result of the hazing ritual, one first-year student on the team had to be taken by ambulance to the hospital after consuming an excessive amount of alcohol.
“I was disappointed and saddened to hear about it, but the girls certainly learned a lot from all this,” said Jennifer Brenning, director of recreation and athletics.
The suspension caused the team to miss their scheduled games against University of Toronto and Ryerson University last weekend. Instead, the team stayed in Ottawa and spent their weekend volunteering at a soup kitchen.
“[The team has] taken ownership of their actions,” Brenning said.
This incident was regarded as a serious breach of the university and athletic department’s code of conduct.
In fact, the code of conduct expressly forbids any “participation in any form of hazing, or any initiation rite which would be considered demeaning, humiliating or disrespectful as measured by the standard of the reasonable person.”
The code then goes on to make it very clear that passive participation – such as merely watching – also constitutes a breach.
All of Carleton’s varsity athletes are required to sign this code when they start their varsity career.
With a two-game suspension and some community service behind them, the team can now look forward and concentrate on getting their season back on track.