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2009/06: Is muck-up day a significant problem in Australian schools?<BR>

2009/06: Is muck-up day a significant problem in Australian schools?

What they said...
'The media is in the business of finding a story, and therefore they keep looking round and round and round until they find something - all you need is one student to make everyone's day'
The principal of St Patricks College, Ballarat, Dr Peter Casey

'If muck-up day behaviour results in students gaining a criminal conviction then they may find that the careers they wished to follow are no longer available to them'
New South Wales Deputy Commissioner David Owens

The issue at a glance
On October 20, 2008, all 250 of Xavier's College's Year 12 students were suspended from the last three days of classes, after a boisterous game on the school oval resulted in one student being taken to hospital with leg fractures.
After their suspension Xavier students then allegedly jumped on cars and frightened residents in the inner-eastern suburb of Kew, causing $5,000 damage to one car.  Xavier College is a highly respected Catholic boys' school located in Kew, a prosperous Melbourne suburb.
The behaviour of the boys involved was widely condemned, including by the Victorian premier, John Brumby, and there were calls for muck-up day to be officially banned.  However, there are those who consider popular and media responses to muck-up day activities are exaggerated.   They claim the day presents no significant problems.

Background
The following information has been taken from the online encyclopedia, Wikipedia's, entry for 'Muck-up day'. The full Wikipedia entry can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muck-up_day

'Muck-up day' is the name given to an unofficial tradition within secondary schools where graduating students perform pranks on their last official day of school. The practice has been banned or phased out within some schools and replaced with more formal leaving activities to prevent students  from committing crimes or vandalising school or other property.
Muck-up Day is an Australian tradition; however, the United Kingdom has adopted the term from television shows like 'Home and Away' and 'Neighbours'. Muck-up day was a common practice in all schools in Australia until the 1980s, which was when principals started banning the practice. Many Australian schools still continue a variation of the tradition, but on a small scale with students' activities carefully regulated. Sometimes schools prank other schools that are considered rivals.
Common pranks have included egging buildings, graffiti, vandalism, trespassing, releasing animals within buildings, moving statues or monuments, starting barbecues in unusual places in unusual attire and using water pistols.

Muck-up day incidents
(The following information was compiled Michelle Stillman, a reporter for The Age.  The full text of this report can be found at http://www.theage.com.au/national/mucking-up-a-timeline-of-endofschool-incidents-in-victoria-20081021-558e.html?page=-1)

October 20, 1999
Portable classrooms were destroyed in a fire at the Northcote Secondary College. Police said a group of 150 teenagers, many not students of the school, were inside the school without permission.

October 21, 1999
An end-of-year "muck-up night" got out of control when one teenager was stabbed and another bashed after a fight broke out between a large group of youths outside the Lalor Secondary College.

October 21, 1999
In Rosanna, 10 VCE students from Viewbank Secondary College were admitted to hospital with first degree chemical burns after a student mistakenly used caustic soda instead of flour for a prank.

October 22, 1999
A teenager died and two of his friends were injured within a minute of driving from an ill-fated VCE celebration. Alcohol is understood to have been a factor in the horror road smash that claimed the life of Langwarrin student Brett Allen, 18. Brett was a back-seat passenger in a VN Holden Commodore that slammed into an embankment after tearing through a T-intersection at Langwarrin.The vehicle's L-plate driver, Ryan Sannen, who turned 18 just 10 days before, and Ryan Corteling, 17, were also injured.

October 24, 2002
Year 12 students at Moreland City College in Coburg smashed windows and sprayed graffiti on seven minibuses in a one-night spree of destruction. The Moreland students attacked the buses in a parking area shared with charity groups. Two of the school's own vehicles were badly damaged and smeared with profanities. Three Yooralla Society buses were vandalised, leaving the charity with a $10,000 repair bill. Every window on one of the specially modified vehicles was smashed.

October 24, 2002
Hampton Park Secondary College calls in security guards after vandals strike three nights in a row, smashing windows and tipping paint on to floors.

October 25, 2002
A group of pranksters hoist a hostage sheep onto a school library roof. The six Bendigo Senior Secondary College students were blasted by the RSPCA for their actions. The sheep was lifted on to the roof with the aid of a harness during recess and tethered to an airconditioning unit. It was rescued by teachers.

October 24, 2003
RSPCA investigates claims that students at a Catholic secondary school stabbed and mutilated a live chicken as part of VCE "muck-up-day" festivities. Parade College, an all-boys' school in Bundoora, was investigated over allegations of animal cruelty.

October 24, 2003
The terrified principal at Werribee Secondary College called police when two carloads of youths arrived at the school with balaclavas over their faces and waving baseball bats. Three police cars were dispatched amid fears students and teachers were under threat.

October 21, 2004
Two Ballarat Grammar School students were charged over a muck-up day break-in at a local high school. Police alleged the 18-year-olds broke into Ballarat High School, stolen property and smashed a vending machine.

October 21, 2004
A year 12 student at Brauer College sprayed fellow students with a water pistol carrying battery fluid residue on muck-up day. The boy told students at the Warrnambool school the water pistol had been filled with battery fluid the night before. Nobody was injured and no property was damaged -- but the youth has been ordered to do community service work at his school as punishment.

October 21, 2004
Police and nine security staff were called to stop students' alcohol-fuelled "muck-up day" rampage at Tarneit's Thomas Carr College, near Hopper's Crossing. While security staff were protecting the school, the students kicked dents into their cars, smashed windows and let down tyres.

October 22, 2004
Rowville Secondary College Year 12 students impersonated their vice-principal to arrange for a $850 finger-food buffet to be delivered to their school. Mini pizzas, quiches, sausage rolls and chinese pastries were on the menu requested by the students. But when the caterer arrived at the school -- after rising at 5am to prepare the feast -- he was met by puzzled school staff with no knowledge of the order.

October 19, 2005
In Oakleigh, a gang of balaclava-clad students invaded schools, trashed grounds and pelted younger children with eggs in a wild end-of-school spree. The youths, including some who did not wear balaclavas, were caught on camera.

October 20, 2005
Commuters were terrified when a group of students dressed as Muslim terrorists carried a fake gun through a Melbourne train station. A group of students on muck-up day were said to be behind the prank. The four students were dressed in long white robes, and black headgear with one carrying what was believed to be a replica gun.

October 20, 2005
A student dressed up for muck-up day triggered a police search after walking down the street in a balaclava and carrying a toy gun. Frightened residents called 000 to report a gunman "on the loose" yesterday morning in Kings Park. Police conducted a frantic search for the so-called armed offender. Schools were also warned of the threat, with some locking gates.

October 24, 2007
Yarra Trams spokesman Colin Tyrus said there were no reports of misbehaviour - other than two gorillas and a Fred Flintstone character who were seen boarding the number 59 tram, and a B1 banana spotted waiting at another tram stop. "We were just hoping that the banana didn't board the same tram as the gorillas," Mr Tyrus said.

October 24, 2007
Police investigate allegations that egg-throwing students from a nearby school descended on Toorak's Loreto Mandeville Hall a week earlier. The students ran into the school grounds at lunch time with their school jumpers tied around their heads, throwing eggs at Mandeville students. One member of the group could face charges of trespass and assault after allegedly abusing a staff member

Internet information
An ABC Lateline report on why Xavier College decided to suspend its entire Year 12 group of students can be found at http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2008/s2397291.htm

On March 17, 2009, The Sydney Morning Herald ran an article on a 23 year-old woman who is suing her school for injuries she received as a Year 7 student which she claims where caused as the result of a Year 12 muck-up day prank.  The full text of this article can be found at http://www.smh.com.au/national/the-water-bomb-that-mucked-up-a-schoolgirls-future-20090316-8zya.html

On October 24, 2008, The Adelaide Advertiser ran a news report in which police praised the majority of senior students for their moderate behaviour.  The full text of this article can be found at http://www.bendigoadvertiser.com.au/news/local/news/general/hats-off-to-muckup-majority/1342018.aspx?src=rss

On September 23, 2008, the New South Wales Bellingen Shire Courier Sun run a report on police warnings to students about their muck-up day behaviour.  The full text of this article can be found at http://bellingen.yourguide.com.au/news/local/news/general/police-warn-school-students-on-muckup-pranks/1279686.aspx

On October 22, 2008, the local newspaper, The Courier, ran an editorial in which it acknowledged youthful exuberance, while criticising the excesses of muck-up day.  The full text of the editorial can be found at  http://www.thecourier.com.au/news/opinion/editorial/general/boys-will-be-boys-but-violence-is-never-acceptable/1341130.aspx

On September 25, 2008, The Penrith Press ran a news report on the local high school's efforts to have a positive end to the school year by encouraging its senior students to give thanks to community members for their support.  The full text of this article can be found at http://penrith-press.whereilive.com.au/news/story/red-roses-give-sweet-twist-to-muck-up-day/

Arguments suggesting muck-up day is not a significant problem in Australian schools
1.  Muck-up day student pranks no longer occur in most schools
It is generally claimed that muck-up day is no longer tolerated in a majority of Victorian schools.
When the Ballarat newspaper, The Courier, contacted Ballarat secondary schools, the one-time Year 12 tradition was described as 'out-of-date', 'irresponsible', and 'inappropriate'.  The various schools spoken to claimed that muck-up day has now been replaced with school assemblies, valedictory dinners, and low-key dress-up days.
Damascus College acting principal Tony Barrett said, 'It's out-of-date and I think the whole community has really moved on from that idea of kids mucking up.'
There was also now 'no such thing as a muck-up day' at Ballarat Secondary College Barkly campus, the campus principal, Sue Mills, stated. Similarly, Mt Clear College principal Linda Flynn said the school had not supported a 'traditional' muck-up day for years. Ballarat Christian College secondary co-ordinator Chris Aiton added, 'We do have end-of-year celebrations but in no way are they considered to be muck-up day.'
Camberwell High School assistant principal Maureen Salter has noted that she met with the principals of nearby schools, including Hawthorn Secondary College, Kew High School and Balwyn High, to  instigate a strict 'no muck-up day' schedule in 2008. Ms Salter said, 'Last year we had a similar policy, perhaps not quite as strict as this year. It's common sense that we're keen for them [senior students] to end happily and positively and that they're ready for the exams that follow.'

2.  Incidents of significant misbehaviour are very few
It has been noted that the number of violent or otherwise unsuitable incidents as part of muck-up day are very few.  
Michelle Green, chief executive of the Association of Independent Schools of Victoria,  has stated in an opinion piece published in The Herald Sun on October 23, 2008, 'We have not researched the number of incidents reported compared with past years but they appear to be less than a few years ago.
Almost all independent schools prepare thoroughly to ensure that the last week of the year is tightly structured with parents and students being well-informed about the program and the school's expectations. Many schools follow the same format each year to establish a tradition and to reduce the opportunity for out-of-hand creativity by students.
Often the year 11 students take part as observers so they know exactly what to expect the next year.
One student commenting on the incidents at the end of 2008 noted, '"The media seem to be the only people making muck up day such a big deal, therefore police want to take drastic action. Yes, [some students at one school] may have stepped over the line, but what about the other schools who celebrate their end of year, responsibly.'
Another student made a similar observation, 'My experience of muck-up day has been quite pleasant. I have vivid memories as an excited Year 7 watching the Year 12s on their last day arrive dressed up in fire trucks and decorated cars. The Year 12s at my school have always been well behaved and consistently follow the school regulations when it comes to 'muck up day'. I don't think final day fun should be banned as Year 12 is a lot of hard work and dedication and I think they should be able to express their happiness with each other by dressing up and having a bit of harmless fun. Students should be allowed to celebrate on the school property in a safe environment that is supervised by teachers. By doing this students are not endangering themselves and the broader community and things will not get out of hand. It should also be made known to the students what the rules are and what is expected of them. It is upsetting that most schools are abiding by their school final day rules, whilst others have ruined the chances for 'muck up day' for the future Year 12s.'

3.  Many schools use the end of year 12 as an opportunity to promote safe and alcohol-responsible behaviour
Many schools use end-of-year student gatherings and assemblies as an opportunity to promote socially responsible behaviour, especially in relation to alcohol consumption.
The documentary, Muck-Up Day, was produced by the TAC in 2000 to highlight the relationship between driver inexperience, speed and road trauma. Students are given the opportunity to watch the documentary at least once, and consider the issues it raises. The responses are written into each student's workbook, and shared later as part of class discussion.
Research has indicated that one of the key reasons behind speeding is that young drivers are simply unaware of the risks associated with such behaviour. This has been highlighted in many casualty crashes, where drivers were over-confident in terms of the capacity of their vehicles to handle certain conditions.
Schools recognise the particular stresses senior students face as they finish their final year.  They also acknowledge that these pressures are being confronted at the same time as these students are given a level of freedom they have not previously experienced.  Thus their last days at school represent an invaluable and final opportunity to educate these students in safe and appropriate behaviour.

4.  Muck-up day misbehaviour is largely a media-created phenomenon
It has been claimed that the media has played a role in effectively promoting 'muck up day' activities through the manner in which it reports them.  It has further been claimed that such media coverage is often exaggerated and that the controlled behaviour of the majority senior students is ignored.
The principal of St Patricks College, Ballarat, Dr Peter Casey, has stated, 'That's where I say the media is in the business of finding a story, and therefore they keep looking round and round and round until they find something - all you need is one student to make everyone's day.
But that's what gets all the publicity. In the case of Xavier - we've got 400 secondary schools in Victoria - one school gets all the attention. And what's happening at all the other schools? We don't know.'
Dr Casey has argued that much of the problem can be attributed to annual media coverage - and that a media blackout would assist in defusing the pressure on students to outdo the students of previous years.
Dr Casey has stated, 'I just think the absence of reporting of muck up day would help the schools with their approach to zero tolerance for inappropriate behavior, because it takes away the pressure from the kids to be seen to be doing something silly.'
The same point has been made at greater length by Michelle Green in an opinion piece published in The Herald Sun on October 23, 2008.  Ms Green, chief executive of the Association of Independent Schools of Victoria, states, 'Some principals and teachers say the media doesn't help because it sets the wrong tone by calling the celebrations "muck-up day", a phrase coined by students but which they say encourages bad behaviour.
Let's pause and count the number of schools around the country, multiplied by the number of students in their final year and divide the number of end-of-year farewells that go wrong.
There are not that many.  Yes, one example of bad behaviour is too much and is distressing for all concerned, particularly innocent bystanders who are frightened by crowds of noisy kids and suffer damage to their property.
But there are many more schools and final year students who have happy and memorable rites of passage.'

5.  Most schools now mark the end of year 12 in more positive ways
A majority of schools now claim that 'muck-up day' has been replaced by a variety of more positive activities.
McCarthy Catholic College, Emu Plains, has indicated that it encouraged its Year 12 students to thank the community as part of a new muck up day tradition.  Instead of doing the usual muck up day activities, Year 12 co-ordinator Grant McKirdy suggested a different approach.
Mr McKirdy stated, 'The traditional muck up day can get out of hand at times, so we're trying to start a new tradition ... the students [are] handing out plastic roses with a message to the community and the school ribbon attached.'  Commuters reacted positively after students at Emu Plains and Penrith stations, Penrith Plaza, Nepean Square, the Lennox Centre and the Penrith Markets, handed them roses as they emerged from morning trains.
Thornbury High School also no longer allows the old style muck-up day. Students instead do supervised activities, including a formal dance and a beach picnic.  Similarly, Bairnsdale Secondary Roweville Secondary College's October 31, 2008 newsletter included an article which stated, 'College principal Jim Rowley has said that his College's students had a 'final day' breakfast cooked by teachers before a motivational speech and special assembly.
With much media attention focussing on incidents of inappropriate student behaviour relating to so-called Year 12 "Muck-Up Day", it is with a great deal of pleasure and pride that I can report that our Year 12 "Celebration Day" was an absolute success. A fantastic morning of fun and entertainment was had by all students and staff who attended, with not one single incident of concern or inappropriate behaviour. Students were served breakfast by their Year 12 Coordinators and Ms McMaster. They dressed up in a wonderful range of fancy dress costumes, participated in games and activities on the giant slide and jumping castle, signed the Year 12 banner, had photo shoots aplenty with each other and their teachers, engaged in a "scavenger hunt" and finished up with a fancy dress parade and awards. The local police, who joined the students for breakfast, commented on how great the morning was and how much the students appeared to be enjoying themselves.'

Arguments suggesting muck up day is a significant problem in Australian schools
1.  There have been numerous incidents of injury and property damage as a result of muck up day pranks
One of the most notable incidents occurred in September, 2005, in New South Wales, when  a car carrying pyjama-clad teenagers to a 'muck up' end-of-term breakfast was involved in a head-on crash that left five people in hospital. One of the students was flown to intensive care with spinal injuries and suspected blood on the brain, after a rescue which involved a helicopter landing on a bridge during the morning rush-hour.
Another incident which occurred in in 1998 saw a Year 7 student at another New South Wales secondary school left with ongoing cognitive problems, headaches and neck pain as a result of a water bomb thrown during a muck-up day prank.  The girl who suffered these injuries is now a 23-year-old woman who is claiming her life opportunities have been significantly impaired and is currently suing the New South Wales Education Deaprtment.
On October 20, 1999, portable classrooms were destroyed in a fire at the Northcote Secondary College. Police said a group of 150 teenagers, many not students of the school, were inside the school without permission.
On October 21, 1999, an end-of-year 'muck-up night' got out of control when one teenager was stabbed and another bashed after a fight broke out between a large group of youths outside the Lalor Secondary College.
On October 22, 1999, a teenager died and two of his friends were injured within a minute of driving from an ill-fated VCE celebration. Alcohol is understood to have been a factor in the horror road smash that claimed the life of a Langwarrin student.
On October 24, 2002,Year 12 students at Moreland City College in Coburg smashed windows and sprayed graffiti on seven minibuses. Three Yooralla Society buses were vandalised, leaving the charity with a $10,000 repair bill.
On October 24, 2003, the RSPCA investigated claims that students at a Catholic secondary school stabbed and mutilated a live chicken as part of VCE 'muck-up-day' festivities.
 
2.  Muck up day sets a bad example for junior students and becomes self-perpetuating
One of the reasons why poor muck-up day behaviour is considered unacceptable is that it sets a poor example for more junior students.  It is claimed that if a school's student leaders behave poor that seems to sanction such behaviour in the eyes of younger students.  It has also been suggested that this behaviour tends to become self-perpetuating. When junior students see their school's Year 12 students behave in this way, they look to imitate this behaviour in their own senior year.
The parent of a junior student has indicated her regret at the poor behaviour of some of the students in her son's Year 12 class.  She stated, 'I am saddened to hear that this special day for sixth year pupils has been ruined by a minority who gave no thought to the consequences of their actions. The pupils' drinking is a step too far and I fully support the actions of the senior coordinator [in sending them home]. The community is proud of this school and its hard working staff and pupils and this unacceptable behaviour sets a very bad example to younger people.'
It has been suggested that the poor behaviour of students in one year encourage junior students to imitate that behaviour and perhaps go one further when they are final year students.
The principal of St Patricks College, Ballarat, Dr Peter Casey, has stated, 'It's absolutely crazy to have one set of standards for six years and all the rules are out the door on the last day.
The way that muck-up day has been heading in lots of places over a long time, especially with the media beat-up on it, is you've got to outdo whatever happened last year.
Ultimately that has lead to a lot of vandalism... kids don't realise - hot sun, eggs, glass don't go well together. It takes forever to get everything clean.'
A similar point has been made by Fred Ackerman of the Principals' Association.  Mr Ackerman stated, 'The catch with this is though, that it can become out of hand. Each year students seem to want to up the ante on the previous year's activities, and to go down in history I suppose as having had the biggest muck up day.'
The principal of Xavier College, Mr McCabe, said some of his pupils could have faced expulsion over police investigations into claims of criminal damage during their muck-up day celebration.
If in fact anyone has been involved in serious damage, then they have, I think, acted in a way (in) which they don't deserve to be considered to be (an) ongoing part of the school community," Mr McCabe said.
Mr McCabe further said students could be forced to sit their final VCE exams.'Whilst it's the end of the year there are all sorts of possibilities that we have in terms of their examinations, where they sit their examinations, their end-of-year references, things of that nature.'  Such punishments could potentially have adverse consequences for students in terms of their exam performance and their career prospects.

3.  Muck-up day is associated with general adolescent misuse of alcohol
It has been claimed that muck-up day is associated with a general adolescent culture of excess and alcohol misuse.  This point has been made by Herald Sun commentator Robyn Riley who has argued, 'Much has been said and written about the muck-up day rabble from Xavier College, but I think much of it has missed the point. First, an observation: It's a sad reflection on the excesses of today's society that we push more and more things to extremes.
Road rage once was limited to sounding the horn. Now people jump out of the car with a tyre lever. And everything at schools seems to be a bigger production these days, like formals and schoolies week which has turned the Gold Coast into a drunken Roman orgy.'
One of the women who witnessed the poor behaviour of groups of Xavier students further observed that this was not the first time Argyle Street residents had had run-ins with Xavier over students' behaviour. She said boys from the school often sat in nearby Victoria Park drinking alcohol after school. 'They often drink down there in big groups, in uniform.'
As part of general concern about alcohol-related behaviour,  Victorian Deputy Commissioner David Owens has also urged students to take particular care when getting behind the wheel of a car.
'Students need to take care when driving and ensure they don't get behind the wheel after consuming alcohol, or allow any of their friends to drive drunk,' Commissioner Owens said.

4.  Muck up day damages the reputations of schools whose students misbehave formatted
It has been noted that muck-up day activities which get out of control do major damage to the reputations of the  schools from which the children come.  
This point has been made in an editorial published in the Ballarat newspaper, The Courier.  The editorial states in relation to the recent Xavier College episode,  'The collective group has done great damage to the school's reputation, damage that will take a long time to repair...In this day and age ... no school can afford to take the risk that someone will be hurt or injured because of the actions of their students.'
There is evidence that the type of behaviour demonstrated at the end of 2008 by Xavier College students may have the capacity seriously to damage a school's reputation internationally.  Xavier College students' uncontrolled prank attracted worldwide attention. British, United States and New Zealand websites were among those which reported the suspension of the entire Year 12 class.
The principal of Xavier College, Mr McCabe, has admitted negative publicity could impact on enrolments. 'It could,' Mr McCabe said. 'But look, I think most people see beyond this. These boys are individually very good. Regrettably, the group mentality on Monday wasn't healthy.'

5. Muck-up day can damage the end-of-year exam preparation of Year 12 students and impact on their future careers
New South Wales Deputy Commissioner David Owens has warned that muck-up actions that got out of control and resulted in police action could not only damage a student's personal reputation, but could potentially affect their future career aspirations.  Many careers, such as those in education or the law, are closed to young people with a criminal record.  If muck-up day behaviour results in students gaining a criminal conviction then they may find that the careers they wished to follow are no longer available to them.
Deputy Commissioner Owens said. 'This is a high price to pay for a few moments of fun. It can also impact on final exam performance and cause great distress to family members and all of those involved in the matter...
It's easy for teenagers to overlook the potential consequences of their actions. If parents take the time to talk to their kids about muck-up day activities and their expectations, it can make a difference.
We're all for students having fun and celebrating the end of their school days but we need them to take a common sense approach and to protect their interests and the interests of other community members...
Enjoy the end of your school days but make sure that any activities you participate in won't be cause for regret later down the track.'
Similarly, Acting Sergeant Rod Phillips of Victoria Police, has stated, 'A muck up day is a muck up day, but if a criminal act occurs it will be investigated by Victoria Police, and if criminal offences are disclosed we will be charging the people appropriately.'
Victorian Senior Sergeant Tim Hardiman has also warned police investigate and prosecute any criminal activity detected during Year 12 celebrations. 'It's important that the kids take into consideration ... the consequences that may mean they may not be able to get a passport or a visa or a work permit during their gap year or at some stage down the track. Any criminal conviction will have consequences for any job application.'

Further implications
There appears to be a significant element of beat-up in the media's treatment of muck-up day activities.  As a number of school principals have  noted, the vast majority of senior secondary students conduct themselves sensibly through their end-of-year activities
That said, it is equally undeniable that there are some dangerous pranks performed by a minority of students.  How this behaviour can be prevented is a difficult problem.  In private schools, where parents have invested large amounts of money to try to secure good exam results for their children, schools would not readily be able to prevent their students sitting their final exams should they misbehave.  Parents have already threatened to sue schools where such a punishment was proposed.
In government schools there punishments that can be imposed may be greater; however, a small number of students in both private and government schools continue to behave foolishly in ways that could risk the safety of others.
Many schools now treat muck-up day student misbehaviour as a criminal activity and warn students that charges may be brought against them should they cause injuries, damage property or trespass.  Schools also arrange alternate farewell activities for their students which are of a far more positive nature than the old muck-up day pranks.
What is to be hoped is that these more positive developments become general.  Schools need to continue to take firm action against students who behave inappropriately and to provide socially acceptable forms of celebration and acknowledgement of the achievements of their senior students.
It would also be desirable if the media adopted a low-key approach to the reporting of such muck-up day pranks as do occur.  Where there is a significant breach of the law then the media has an obligation to report it.  Where the student behaviour is foolish rather than criminal, it would be desirable if it were not given media attention.  Such coverage only encourages students to behave in a way that will attract the public gaze.

Newspaper items used in the compilation of this issue outline
H/SUN, October 23, page 27, comment by Michelle Green, `Civilising kids a bigger picture'.
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,24537850-5000117,00.html

AGE, October 23, page 1, news item by Bridie Smith, `Friend of injured student claims culture of bullying at Xavier'. (Online version also has radio / video interview)
http://www.theage.com.au/national/friend-claims-culture-of-bullying-at-xavier-20081022-56es.html?page=-1

AGE, October 23, page 17, cartoon.

AGE, October 23, page 16 for letters, including, `Xavier not at fault'.
http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/letters/xavier-not-at-fault-20081022-56bf.html?page=-1

H/SUN, October 22, page 19, comment by Xavier principal Chris McCabe, `Our most grievous fault'.
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,24531105-5000117,00.html

H/SUN, October 22,  page 18, editorial, `Hard lesson to be learnt'.
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,24531118-24218,00.html

H/SUN, October 22, page 17, cartoon.

H/SUN, October 22, page 1, photo and headline, `Let's party' (see also pages 4-5 photos, items).
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,,24535163-2862,00.html

AUST, October 22, page 5, comment by Padraic Murphy, `This year's mob lack old derring-do'.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24531285-5017272,00.html

AGE, October 22, page 7, news items by Bridie Smith et al, `Schools dig in for schools' muck-up mayhem / Principals see the need to celebrate - but keep it nice'.
http://www.theage.com.au/national/schools-dig-in-for-students-muckup-mayhem-20081021-55jv.html
http://www.theage.com.au/national/principals-see-need-to-celebrate---but-keep-it-nice-20081021-55jw.html

AGE, October 21, page 1, news item by Bridie Smith, `Xavier suspends whole of year 12'.
http://www.theage.com.au/national/xavier-suspends-whole-of-year-12-20081020-54t3.html

H/SUN, October 27, page 18, comment by Paul Sheahan, `Losing our values'.
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,24555143-5000117,00.html

AGE, October 25, Insight section, page 8, editorial, `Under the muck-up flows a murkier undercurrent'.
http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/editorial/under-the-muckup-flows-a-murkier-undercurrent-20081024-588c.html

H/SUN, October 24, page 11, news item by Emily Power, `Teachers blamed for bullying culture'.
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,24543621-2862,00.html

AGE, October 24, page 1, news item by Bridie Smith, `Alcohol drives unruly pupils: bishop'.
http://www.theage.com.au/national/alcohol-drives-unruly-pupils-bishop-20081023-57gl.html

AGE, October 24, page 14, Leunig cartoon'.