This one has me speechless.
Alcohol was not involved and it was planned and scheduled!
So - it’s not just fraternities and athletes, is it?
What a disgusting event.
Disgusting. Gap year anyone? He was to be class of '18 and was arrested a year ago. I wonder what he’s been up to for the last year.
http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2014/9/3/owen-labrie-sexual-assault/
If this is a tradition at the school, it is terrible. And if this young man raped this girl, it is horrible. It sounds a little complicated to me though. If “Senior Salute” (which is completely unacceptable) is something that is “known” on campus, and the girl agreed to meet up with the guy as a “hook up” with a “senior salute invitation,” what did she think she was meeting for? It says just to kiss and make out. Was she naive? She agreed to the arrangement. Now, obviously, if she said no to his advances, it is rape. But she agreed to meet for a Senior Salute rendezvous. That murks it up a bit into a he said, she said situation. Nonetheless, if she didn’t want to go through with it and he did anyway, that is rape.
That about sums it up.
Boy was 18. Girl was 15. His “invite” alone leads me to believe he INTENDED to engage in intercourse with a minor, according to the Senior Salute tradition. Wondering if this isn’t a statutory crime in that state even if the girl said “yes” to the invite. And, in that state, can a 15 year old “consent” to sex with an adult?
That may be why he’s saying they didn’t have sex as opposed to saying that it was consensual.
Well, in some states it’s not a crime if the people in question are teenagers who are close in age and if the act was consensual. No idea what law is in NH in this case. Still, it’s an appalling tradition.
It appears that in New Hampshire the age of the accused doesn’t matter; if the victim is under 16 it’s unlawful.
The misogynist prep school culture does not disappear when those boys arrive at Ivy colleges. They have even more freedom to use liquor and drugs to exploit young women: in final clubs, social societies and fraternities. In one example at Harvard a few years back, a final club had to stop hosting parties for a year after it was sued by wealthy parents of a victim of sexual assault. The incident never reached the news as final club alumni and members, as well as Harvard and the victim’s family, kept it quiet.
Since the clubs at Harvard are “private” the college can only suggest they adhere to underage drinking laws. Oddly, the local police seem to ignore them until local residents call with noise complaints.
I don’t understand why this is considered to be a problem at prep schools. This happens at public high schools as well.
It’s just that victims are realizing that it wasn’t just “unfortunate” and something to “move on from”. They have to manifest their rights, even if it is uncomfortable. And just maybe some rapes will be prevented.
I went to an Ivy League school and had no feeling of misogyny. I was almost raped, but it was due to heavy drinking on my part and not “the campus culture” or “the frat culture”, more one guy who was stupid but luckily not really really stupid.
I’m reserving judgment until all of the facts are in. Remember the Duke lacrosse players.
That said, if this is what goes on at St. Paul’s, that’s pretty horrible.
A culture of misogyny.
http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2006/01/st-pauls-school200601
Ugh! This is really horrible. No means no. We need to make sure our daughters AND sons understand this.
^That’s not what I get out of that article at all.
While “no” means “no,” we don’t have all the facts here. One thing that is reported is that the girl accepted the boy’s invitation (after first turning it down) for a meet-up for “Senior Salute.” Now, did she know what Senior Salute at that school means? If so, she said yes to the arrangement. We don’t really know for sure what happened in person and right now we just have reports of each one’s account, that differ.
But, @soozievt, even assuming the girl said yes to the arrangement and gave her full consent, the question remains whether she was able to do so legally in that state, being only 15 years old (and the boy was an adult at 18). I don’t know the answer to that question, perhaps you or someone else knows.
And even if it was legal in that state for this 18-year-old boy to engage in consensual interactions with this 15-year-old girl, the “ick” factor is still pretty big for me. There appears to be no dispute that the “Senior Salute” is a real thing at this school, and that’s just about the most disgusting thing I’ve heard this year.
I understand that based on the laws, sex with someone under 16 may not be legal.
I also posted earlier on the thread that the Senior Salute “tradition” is terrible.