Let me be very clear, if a student says they were raped, even if they don't press charges, the school is legally bound to conduct an investigation. (Which we didn't do.) If they had investigated and had found that it was likely that the rape occurred, they would have had to protect the student, including banning her rapist from football games, prom, and graduation if necessary. Every student has the right to a safe school environment, and being exposed to your rapist is not safe.
But don't worry, it gets better.
Our school sent out an email titled "Letter to MVLA community in support of our students." It included this quote:
We want to reassure you that the schools in the Mountain View Los Altos High School District are and always will be safe places for our students and their families. Every student - and their families - is welcome on our campuses and in our schools.Bolding theirs.
Just to be clear, while our school is under a Title IX investigation for a rape case they clearly didn't handle well and MVHS is dealing with cases of nudes being shared without students' consent, they want to reassure us that MVLA schools "are and always will be safe places for our students." Thank you, Superintendent Jeff Harding, MVHS principal Dave Grissom, LAHS principal Wynne Satterwhite, and Director of Adult Education Bill Pierce for lying through your teeth in a hollow message of "support" for your students, ensuring that we know that every reassurance you give must be checked, double checked, and triple checked to see what news story you're responding to. Truly, I'm sure that saving face was that important.
On an unrelated note, does anyone have ideas for a protest? I need slogans for signs.
I definitely agree with you Miranda, its absolutely disturbing, not only what happened to this girl but the way the school handled this situation. I cannot imagine how difficult it must have been for her to have to have this fear of running into this guy every time she was on campus. That is the opposite of a "safe place for students". My heart goes out to her and her family.
ReplyDeleteI love how you did more than just read the article. This shows you clearly know what you are talking about. I agree with all of the statements that you have made. Rape is a situation that not all are familiar with, but when it does occur, something has to be done about it. I did get the chance to read the article that you are talking about, and I think that overall it does give light to the fact that there was a huge injustice to the victim.
ReplyDeleteThanks! I'd actually heard a bit about the rape case before that article, so I was interested in it beyond just keeping track of what was going on in the school. Plus the school is kind of good at ignoring issues, so I was suspicious of their response from the beginning.
DeleteI agree with you, Miranda. I also wanted to discuss the assembly about consent that we had before homecoming this year. In the assembly, a video was played that used tea as a metaphor for sex. (It basically was saying that if a person doesn't want a "cup of tea" don't give it to them). I like this video, but I don't think it was the most appropriate way to talk about consent as a school. I personally don't believe that sex should be a taboo topic hidden behind metaphors. Students need to have open, honest discussions in school about consent without embarrassment. The fact that so many people feel uncomfortable even saying the medically correct words for their genitals is proof that we aren't there yet. What do you think?
ReplyDeleteDefinitely! Sex and relationship education in general needs to be way more blunt. However, I think that metaphor can be a good way for people to grasp the idea initially. Then, once they've gotten this foothold, you should switch to more literal conversations.
Delete(Tbh the fact that our sex and relationship education often stops at "use a condom and the pill because you'll get pregnant or DIE" is pretty bad. Talk about sexuality, gender identity, recognizing the signs of abuse, consent, and rape culture maybe? Also cover the laws. A lot of people don't realize that SENDING NUDES IS ILLEGAL IF YOU'RE UNDER 18.)
Continuing, because I love to go on a good tangent, the MVHS Dropbox thing could have been mitigated or even prevented enntirely. If students had known how illegal it was, if people had been taught about consent, if people had been taught that nudes get out, even if your partner doesn't share them...
DeleteOur sex education definitely isn't keeping up from the times, from the fact that it mainly assumes that you're having penis-in-vagina sex (haha, no) to its lack of full explanations of the risks of online dating and sexting. (Not necessarily bad things, but inherently carrying a component of risk.)
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ReplyDeletethank you for this post miranda. this has been a problem for all too long and its been kept under wraps (creds to administration!). i have a lot to say about this issue but i'll try and bite my tongue until my senior project! something that i would love to get y'all's opinion on... i found some of ms. woolfolk's comments on the announcements today sort of frustrating. she made a point to let everyone know that these consent workshops are not simply a 'knee jerk' reaction because of recent issues. this is what offended me the most. administration was fully aware of the events that occurred but are only now deciding to do something about it because they are getting called out for their actions (or lack thereof!). they are covering their asses because that's what's most important to them. its clear the administration's priorities are in the wrong place and i can't believe that they still think the most important part of all of this is their reputation.
ReplyDeleteTbh that's the most frustrating thing about this whole thing. The rape occurred off campus, so there's not nearly as much the school could have done to prevent it as an off campus assault. But then treating the victim so badly and trying to pretend there isn't a problem...
DeleteIt's kind of scary. And useless. And annoying as all get out.
Sorry, it's not letting me edit my comment. I meant that there's not as much they could have done to prevent it as an ON campus assault. Oops!
DeleteThank you Miranda for posting this i totally agree. Our school doesn't know how to handle any bad situation and i know that its not their fault that the event happened as it did not happen on school the least they could do it try to help the family that was effected and make sure they felt safe while they were in school.
ReplyDelete