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Monrovia School Board Member Wants Lighter Punishment For Cheerleaders Caught Hazing Girls

MONROVIA (CBSLA.com) — A Monrovia school board member wants to reduce the punishment of 10 varsity cheerleaders and a mascot who were caught hazing younger girls.

Monrovia Unified School Board Member Rob Hammond is heeding the protests of parents who believe their daughters, who were caught hazing younger girls at a cheerleading camp over the summer, are being punished too harshly by being kept from senior activities like prom and homecoming, KNX 1070's John Brooks reports.

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"Not one parent thought that their child deserved a get-out-of-jail-free card," Hammond said. "It cannot be that the end of school is the end of the punishment."

Ten Wildcat cheerleaders admitted to getting too wild at summer camp when they were caught tossing mattresses over balconies and messing with the personal items of younger students on the cheerleading squad. The girls found to be responsible for the hazing were all dropped from the cheer team and suspended the first two days of school.

But the principal's decision to keep the girls from attending senior year activities like pro and homecoming is going too far, Hammond said. Hammond wants Principal Darvin Jackson to meet with parents to discuss the open-ended portion of the girls' penalty.

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"The punishment is too severe," Hammond said. "I wanted the parents to be able to get a meeting with the superintendent, the principal and the parents, all together. This has never happened. And I can't understand why."

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