<p>I've seen the series of articles in local papers and on the web (<a href="http://www.ncaahazing.com%5B/url%5D">www.ncaahazing.com</a>) with photos of the Mary Washington women's basketball team which depict, among other things, the drinking of a yellow foaming substance through beer bongs. Should that yellow foaming substance be beer, the UMW Student Handbook indicates that some corrective measures would be taken:</p>
<p>"The laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia are clear and unambiguous: persons under the age of 21 are not to purchase, consume, or possess any alcoholic beverage; and that persons over 21 have these rights, but are prohibited by law from obtaining alcoholic beverages for the purpose of reselling or providing them to anyone under 21 years of age. The Universitys policy is not to have alcohol at any University-sponsored student functions."</p>
<p>That all seems reasonable, sometimes people make mistakes and some combination of punishment and education are sufficient to pay for that mistake. However, in the case of UMW a vice president met the the implicated "basketball team members who said underclassmen were funneling apple juice in the beer bong."</p>
<p>The beer bong photo on ncaahazing.com clearly show more than a foot of foam in the tubing. It's easy for anyone who cares to find articles on the web that discuss the relationship between hazing in apple juice and foaming in beer. Here's one for example: </p>
<p>The UMW Student Handbook also defines lying as "a deliberate misrepresentation of the truth." However, it doesn't describe the act of believing any story, however implausible, so long as it is convenient. Just as one might believe that the photos depict apple juice, one might also believe that this is a coverup.</p>
<p>Is it possible that problems such as WorldCom, Enron, the failure to "notice" the alleged behavior of Congressman Foley, etc. start when students learn that there are people eager to believe implausible stories so long as they are convenient?</p>