My column in this coming Sunday's Dallas Morning News [UPDATE: Here's the column.] will concern school bullying in light of the situation at Sunnyvale Middle School, which I blogged about earlier this week (here's one of the News's stories about the simulated gang rape of multiple smaller boys by older athletes). I've been talking to people out there this week. The thing I couldn't get clear on, and still am not clear on, is how in the world something like this can go on for most of a school year, and nobody in authority in the school know a thing about it?
Take, for example, the coaches. Most of the assaults on the younger boys took place in a locker room, 20 feet from the coaches' offices. The mother of one of the victims told me her son said the kids being attacked would scream bloody murder; the boy didn't know how the coaches couldn't hear them. The superintendent of the school district told me today that the locker rooms were loud. The superintendent also faxed me a copy of the non-personnel part of the private independent investigator's report the school district commissioned. The investigator was not impressed that five or more coaches are on payroll, but none were supervising the locker rooms. And the superintendent admitted to me that the initial investigation by the school's former principal understated the severity of the situation.
I don't know enough to say where the buck stopped in that school. But at some level, adults failed to protect these kids. At the end of our conversation today, I told the superintendent that I know there never has been a golden age of teenage boy behavior, but the idea of simulating anal gang rape is just off-the-charts bizarre. One mom told me she and her husband moved their family to Sunnyvale, which is an upscale community, to escape the rough environment in a more downscale suburb's schools. And look what those sicko athletes did to her kid!
The superintendent said he's about the same age as I am (I'm 41), and that if I haven't spent much time around teenagers since my high school and middle school years, I'd be shocked by the ideas and behavior that are normal now, but that weren't as recently as the 1980s, when we were in school. I should make it clear that he wasn't trying to blame anybody else for what happened in the school with this bullying, but was saying (as I heard him) that the restraints that used to be in place in this culture until almost yesterday are badly frayed.
I believe him.
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Update from last post;
I am dismayed to learn that there was a meeting of the Sunnyvale school board last night, in regards to "reassigning" the coach to younger boys. This coach failed to protect the former boys from abuse (sexual assault)in the locker room, and now he has been reassigned! My younger grandson will be in his class!
There are a lot of parents who are furious about this and are behind the scenes getting together sending out e-mails in order to persuade the board to reverse their decision.
I would like to take this a step further and call for the resignation of the entire School Board. Their insensitivity to the victims goes beyond anything I have ever seen!
I attend Sunnyvale Middle School and am going to into the ninth grade. I have witnessed all of what has happened. I completely disagree with the Dallas News stories. Nothing of the sort of "rape" happened or couldn't of even been possible. They had all their clothes on at all times. The anal cavity was NOT penetrated. All that went on that was merely a bullying incident. Yes, similar things to this "sexual assault" happened but not even close to what they are saying happened. It seems they are saying its all one-sided when it's not. They are just getting the victims side of the story rather than the people around what has happened. Most of the things said in the Dallas Morning News was completely different from what I have witnessed. They were not even close to screaming or crying for help. They laughed as all their other friends were laughing at them. They did not cry for help or scream "bloody murder"
I attend Sunnyvale Middle School and am going to into the ninth grade. I have witnessed all of what has happened. I completely disagree with the Dallas News stories. Nothing of the sort of "rape" happened or couldn't of even been possible. They had all their clothes on at all times. The anal cavity was NOT penetrated. All that went on that was merely a bullying incident. Yes, similar things to this "sexual assault" happened but not even close to what they are saying happened. It seems they are saying its all one-sided when it's not. They are just getting the victims side of the story rather than the people around what has happened. Most of the things said in the Dallas Morning News was completely different from what I have witnessed. They were not even close to screaming or crying for help. They laughed as all their other friends were laughing at them. They did not cry for help or scream "bloody murder". We watched it happen. We meaning as, other 8th graders stood their just watching. We did not make a human wall or whatever. Please take in consideration the real story and what I have posted.
Thank you.
It is the coaches job, but when it came to light, the Student Code of Conduct, which every student had to sign, was NOT followed. So the upper level leadership of this school is to blame as well. And look at all the comments of the school board president, laughable. He has made Sunnyvale a joke. He insists all extra activities for those students stopped as soon as it came to light, April, however it is a known fact that one of the perpetrators was allowed to go on the 8th grade field trip to Six Flags in MAY!! AND!! Caused trouble that day too, making the bus late back to the school. Ask him about that one. The whole leadership needs to go... superintendent and school board president.
This is to the "unknown" that is saying the Dallas Morning News is lying and exaggerating the story......
If you are so sure of what went down and you are standing behind these bullies... WHY DIDN'T YOU POST YOUR NAME??? WHAT ARE YOU AFRAID OF??? Maybe you were one of the ones bullying... If you are saying these kids are lying, then walk in their shoes for one day. If a person is humiliated then they would not be laughing at the pain they are enduring. Take a step back and analyze the situation that has happened. Be true to yourself and to the victims.
As for the so called "leaders", "coaches", and "teachers", your job is to protect you should be ashamed of yourselves!!!! I am APPALLED at such behavior for I had these coaches and teachers at one point in my life!!!!!!! I THINK SUNNYVALE NEEDS A WHOLE NEW STAFF!! PERIOD. AND AS FOR THE KIDS I BELIEVE THEY SHOULD BE PROSECUTED!!!!
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