Wow, just looked at the complaint linked in post #1636. I expected that the girl’s parents would be suing the school for negligence but I had no idea of how much the school had facilitated sexual assault and bullying. The rector’s wife was propositioned for senior salute and they did nothing? The girl is victimized by organized bullying and they did nothing?
When will things like this ever stop?
@greenwitch, how did you read that complaint? Scribd app?
I didn’t do anything special. I looked at it as part of the article, on my desktop computer.
Interesting piece from the New York Times about another family whose D was raped:
This piece came out yesterday by Boston Globe’s Spotlight team. Seemed relevant to this thread. What appalls me in this incident is Exeter’s administration’s responses and process when the girl came forward about her assault. I assume under state law that this is a mandatory reporting incident. At least with the Labrie case, the school took the correct action of reporting the incident to the police.
The other thing that floors me is the “penance” of baking and delivering bread weekly. What?! How could any adult consider/conceive this as a good idea and proper punishment?!
^^^^ Wow. Just wow. Thanks for posting the link, @doschicos
“But in the October meeting with the deans, Michaella felt uneasy about whether the school could adequately protect her. Near the end of the conversation, Cosgrove tried to reassure the students: “The good news is you don’t have to report this to the police because there was no penetration,” he said, according to Michaella’s recollection”
Thank you for the post. Very disturbing.
I wonder if Ikpeazu will be attending Penn in the fall.
I really object to Exeter not removing Chudi from his positions as a dorm proctor and Senior Class Leader. Clearly after admitting to the allegations he was not in a position to be setting an example for anyone. On a small boarding school campus news travels very quickly - I am going to bet all students knew what was going on. Allowing him to continue to hold those positions sends a horrible message to the entire student body, especially to young women.
While it is hard to believe that Exeter went along with the bread baking “penance”, I can’t get too worked up over that as it was Michaella that originally proposed it and thought it was a “good idea”. The fact that it did not rebuild the friendship is no surprise.
What really got me though was Rev. Thompson’s Facebook post of “I love Rick Schubart” right after the Globe published their article on the history of that whole mess. That sentiment should have somehow been placed in the context of Schubart’s misdeeds. Otherwise it just comes off as unfettered support for a faculty member who admitted to having a sexual relationship with at least 2 students. Again, what a horrible message to a community for which he is supposed to be a “spiritual leader.” It’s not surprising that Michaella’s case turned into a debacle since it was Thompson who brokered the original “bread baking” deal. After the Schubart comment I am convinced he should not be handling these matters.
" I can’t get too worked up over that as it was Michaella that originally proposed it and thought it was a “good idea”"
But, the whole process is flawed. As an adult in an administrative duty and one with an in loco parentis responsibility as well as legal responsibilities, you don’t leave a 17 year old victim in the role of deciding the punishment, especially on the spot as it seems to be in this case. It’s just so wrong on so many levels.
Yes. Especially with a religious leader who is going to be silently pressuring everyone to forgive and get along. I can’t believe they didn’t inform BOTH sets of parents.
Or not so silently pressuring as it appears in this case.
I cannot imagine the pain these young women and their families have suffered. Each time I read one of these stories, I say a prayer of gratitude that my children have not suffered in this way. These adults should be protecting the students. During their high school years, my kids needed a lot of support and guidance.
I sometimes think I dodged a bullet not sending my kids to boarding school. I went to a private school and boarded my last year. I loved it, but there were some terrible things that happened there too. One of my classmates slept with a stableboy and was expelled. Since she was a sophomore at the time, she was probably too young to consent, but none of us thought of it that way then.
@doschicos while I agree that his “punishment” was insufficient it appears that Rev. Thompson was looking for an easy way out. Unfortunately Michaella gave it to him with the “bread” suggestion. It is unclear to me exactly what transpired between the students. I was assuming there was a typo in the article and they meant “skirt” not “shirt” or was it that he was simultaneously groping her in both places?
Later in the article it mentions having both her breasts and bottom touched under her clothing, @HarvestMoon1, so it could be either.
She may have brought up the bread, but don’t you agree that she shouldn’t even be placed in that situation to be asked? Let’s take a 17 year old who was inappropriately touched, get her together with the guy who did it, and “on the spot” ask her what penance he should serve? Really?! The whole thing boggles my mind.
And why “penance”? Is Exeter a Catholic school? Why not punishment? Do they have difficulty using that word?
Yes, this whole matter was mishandled from the start in that normal procedures were ignored. Harassment is considered a “major offense” at Exeter and the protocols are quite clear when it is brought to the attention of a faculty member. The incident has to be reported to the student’s advisor and then to a dean for presentation to the Disciplinary Committee. The Disciplinary Committee investigates and hears from both students and then votes on a sanction. Sanctions can range from restrictions to probation to expulsion/withdrawal.
Once Rev. Thompson was made aware of the allegation he had certain responsibilities under the school’s own policies that apparently he chose to ignore. So yes you are correct in that Michaella should never have been asked the question - at that point in time it was a matter for the Disciplinary Committee to decide.
Just a clarifying point - I went back and read the article again and apparently she did eventually report the matter to a dean. He asked her to speak to an investigator and although she initially declined to do so, she eventually did meet with an investigator. Chudi was then found guilty of sexual harassment and sexual misconduct. Not clear by who and the Disciplinary Committee is never mentioned. Not sure if the investigation was after the “bread deal” was reached.
It is a very poorly written article as the timeline is very hard to follow.
Is Rev. Thompson still on staff?
The whole thing was incredibly poorly handled, start to finish. It seems like no administrator did the right thing (except for Michaella’s advisor, who reportedly came with her for part of the meeting that devolved into the “monkey bread solution”).
I hope that at the very least, Exeter will pay for counseling for Michaella. It sounds like she had a very rough go of it. I hope she’ll be OK.