30 days of Raps about Principal Mark Cerutti

Bad behavior at rowdy rally bans two students from Homecoming
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Oct 9 2003 12:00AM

Food fight, lewd poem lowlights of annual school assembly

By Susan Nord
Staff Writer

A pep rally held last Thursday at Brookfield Central High School spiraled into a contest of one-upsmanship that led to disciplinary action against two students.

"Not the best moment for Brookfield Central High School," Principal Mark Cerutti said.

He emphasized that the vast majority of students were well-behaved at the assembly.

The pep rally, in which various athletic teams are introduced and the Homecoming Court is presented, had pockets of bad behavior from the beginning. Several boys believed to be in the senior class, turned their backs as one of the school's administrators spoke at the pep assembly. Later, the same boys were seen teasing an underclassman from across the gym. The underclassman was eventually escorted out of the assembly.

Members of the boys volleyball team read a lewd poem that ended with the word "masturbate." Cerutti said he did not hear the entire poem, but walked in toward the end of the reading.

"Appropriate and comprehensive disciplinary action was taken," Cerutti said, referring to the disciplined students.

He would not reveal the two students who were disciplined, however, two members of the boys volleyball team were suspended from three matches for unspecified reasons.

The two boys were banned from further participation in Homecoming activities last weekend. Cerutti would not say if the boys were suspended from school.

Another incident that occurred during the nearly two-hour assembly included a pie-eating contest among the Homecoming Court that devolved into a food fight, resulting in whipped cream being spilled on the gym floor.

"We are responding to specific incidents, and the leadership team will be examining the week of Homecoming activities," Cerutti, who is in his first year as principal at Central, said.

Students said that the assembly was not out of the ordinary and that it could be a case of students reacting to Cerutti's tougher style.

"Because Cerutti has been more strict than usual with the Homecoming events. People were a little more resistant to what he was doing, like the seniors standing up and turning around, that's not (what normally goes on)," junior Michelle Hoelker said.

Junior Amanda Hansen said that the boys who were disciplined should have only received detention.

"They were just words to me," Hansen said.

She said that the lewd poem was more of a joke than anything.

Junior Megan Hourihan agreed.

"I thought it was hilarious, but it could have been in a different place," Hourihan said.

Senior Tim Urbashich said the assembly was just a littler crazier than the ones he has attended in previous years.

"We always pull stuff at assemblies," Urbashich said. "We didn't get out of line with it."

Before the Homecoming assembly misbehavior, Cerutti said the faculty and student leadership were planning to meet and will discuss all assemblies, who is involved and what the assemblies are meant to achieve.

©Brookfield News 2003

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