Glenbard South students disciplined for 'disturbing' journal

Some Glenbard South High School students were disciplined Monday after officials were notified of a journal that contained content some parents and students found "disturbing," according to the school's principal.

In a message posted Tuesday afternoon on the school's Web site, Principal Terri Hanrahan did not elaborate on the contents of the notebook but did say, "It was determined that there was no immediate threat to the safety of any of our students and staff."

She went on to say that officials "have been contacting parents whose students were in the journal" throughout the day Tuesday.

The notebook has been turned over to a police liaison, who continues to investigate the incident. Preliminary indications are that the journal had nothing illegal in it, Hanrahan said.

Throughout the day, rumors Hanrahan called "grossly exaggerated or untrue" circulated about the journal's contents. She said a parent contacted the media with "information that was inaccurate and highly salacious." However, Hanrahan would not elaborate on the contents of the journal.

When contacted by the Daily Herald earlier in the day, Hanrahan would neither confirm nor deny the existence of the notebook, citing privacy laws and saying it was a student-discipline matter. However, she did confirm there had been an incident and said it was under review. She released the Web site statement about three hours later.

Threats made in the schools are not tolerated and policies are in place to handle them, Glenbard High School District 87 spokeswoman Peg Mannion said in an e mail. A new policy related to bullying, intimidation and harassment was discussed at Monday's board meeting.

"When an incident occurs, we deal with the matter in a comprehensive way, utilizing both teaching strategies and appropriate reinforcement of rules and conduct standards," Mannion said. "There are consequences for when a student violates Board of Education policies. When an incident occurs, we work with the student, their family, school officials and, where appropriate, law enforcement."

DuPage County Sheriff Spokeswoman Dawn Domrose said the incident was reported to the liaison officer Tuesday morning and that the information was under review. She said no further information was available.