Michelle Yuster

 

Professor Matto

 

LGS: Art & Craft of Writing

 

December 2009

 

 

Letter to a Friend

 

Dear Frank,

 

As of late, I’ve become a pseudo-expert on a slew of interesting topics all relating to kids. What initially sparked my interested was learning that a six year old boy was accused of sexual harassment after a teacher witnessed him kiss a girl on the hand. Also, after reading an article by the Times about twenty-five middle school students being arrested for having a food fight. The topics merged in my mind. How could they accuse a mere child for sexual harassment? Why would they arrest middle school students for something that has existed for as long as there have been cafeterias in schools? Why are actions which were once thought average being criminalized? This is when my research began.

Apparently, in the 1980’s, the term “superpredator” arose due to a rise of juvenile crimes. The only way they thought that it could be stopped was to enforce a zero tolerance approach in schools. Although the crimes were declining rapidly between 1993 and 2000, the lovely media was, as usual, perpetuating nonsense. This caused new federal mandates on school safety to pass and schools to tighten their leash.

Then, on the side of sexual harassment, with the help of the Ninth Annual Review of Gender and Sexuality Law, I learned that my preliminary thought that elementary schools could never have any sexual suggestiveness was wrong. There was a case where a kindergartener, Gabrielle, was sexually harassed, by a fifth or sixth grader, to the point of enduring psychological issues. Conversely, the court found that Gabrielle's psychological problems and fear of school were not substantial enough to amount to a denial of educational opportunity, the harassment was not "severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive," and there was no teacher’s observation that would constitute actual notice.

I took all of this to first be appalled at how such a thing could happen to a child, but then to confusion. Isn’t a kiss on the hand always considered innocent? The child was not furthering his actions in a way to constitute the girl to feel uncomfortable. Did the teacher nearly suspend him due to a greater cause of scholastic and self preservation?

When I came to that last point, I just got both relieved and annoyed. First relieved because I had no idea how I would combine these two topics, but then annoyed because this meant that I would have to find an additional source that would prove my theory true. Really, I needed it to be proven true because my initial conception on the sexual harassment laws was wrong.

Finally, I came upon the ed.gov website which had a guide which focused entirely on sexual harassment. To my delight, an excerpt from the guide clearly states my point, “It is also important that schools not overreact to behavior that does not rise to the level of sexual harassment. As the Department stated in the 1997 guidance, a kiss on the cheek by a first grader does not constitute sexual harassment. School personnel should consider the age and maturity of students in responding to allegations of sexual harassment.”

Also, I had to find something that would give my allegations basis and not have me sound like a conspiracy theorist, et voila:

 

“In Gebser and Davis, the Supreme Court addressed for the first time the appropriate standards for determining when a school district is liable under Title IX for money damages in a private lawsuit brought by or on behalf of a student who has been sexually harassed.”

 

Schools understand that they are liable for money damages. So ideally, they will do anything in their power to avoid a private lawsuit. Even if it means that they are going against that same exact guide, they’d rather kill the reputation of a student than their own.

 

Love,

Michelle