<p>I can't tell you with precision what occurred. However, I know that some really vile things were done to this kid. That I am comfortable with. And I also know that if such things happened to my kid, I would sure as I am sitting here, find the meanest pit bull of an attorney that I could.</p>
<p>Look, disgusting behaviour occurs, at boarding schools, public schools, and lots of other places. I'm not trying to defend what is wrong. I would be BS if my kid was molested. I try not to make assumptions however, about cases where I don't know all the details. It is however, the lawyers job to win the case and make money for himself. Just pointing it out. Not all in life is black and white.</p>
<p>And no, $40 + does not guarantee your child's safety. Not anywhere.</p>
<p>Like Sadie said, you can't turn something that is grey into something that is black. Even if you mix a bunch of black paint with grey paint, it will never be black. Grey is always grey.</p>
<p>Not 40k, not 50k, not 1m, can give you safety. In so many years one incident happens, doesn't mean the school is bad now.</p>
<p>Yes you are so right. The 40k does not guarantee anything. And that is why there are gung ho attorneys to turn to.</p>
<p>We live in a very litigious society. Just something to think about.</p>
<p>I just wanted to reply to PAC's question on page one about locks on doors. I don't know about Groton, but at Exeter each room has a lock that only the roommates have the key for. They also have a zero tolerance policy to hazing. I don't know if that means kids will be expelled but they have dorm meetings about it and all the kids are aware that it is not acceptable behavior.</p>
<p>The one thing that is only vaguely related to hazing that surprised my daughter (and me) was the upper classmen's reluctance to befriend a "Prep." She really hated that during her first term as she wasn't used to it, and wasn't expecting it. She wanted to be able to be friends with kids of all grade levels and was not experiencing that due to the attitudes towards preps. It seems to have settled down a bit now and I know she has friends who are older but that is something I thought incoming preps should be aware of.</p>
<p>At SPS there doesn't seem to be much concern about socializing between grades - perhaps because there is vertical housing so all grades are mixed in the dorms. Naturally, upperclassmen are more established in their social circles and less likely to seek new friendships at times. However, I think the social mixing between grades - whether friendships or romantic - is much more than would be found at a typical public school. </p>
<p>At any of these BS you can find unsavory stories from their past.</p>
<p>"....meanest pit bull of an attorney." I am sorry, but this attitude is almost as bad as the crime itself. I am with Sadie2.</p>
<p>And if, heaven forbid, it should happen to one you love, you would select a meek attorney????</p>
<p>Look at it percent wide, out of thousands and thousands of students Groton (an amazing school) has graduated, we look at four or five *******s who chose to be cruel to a person. That is an incredibly small percent... I am with keylyme here.</p>
<p>Now, when it comes to the attorney-- The rich and connected will certainly win.</p>
<p>If a full-ride FA low-income student were assaulted on campus, and a 6th gen were to undergo the same torture-- That 6th gen would certainly be better treated.</p>
<p>But that's the norm in society, and is to be expected.</p>
<p>Look, I don't like overzealous trial attorneys either. But it is indisputable that there exist circumstances under which an aggressive trial attorney can protect the interests of an unjustly aggrieved party against powerful ,influential and formidable interests. Under such circumstances they do serve to move the cause of justice forward. The case under discussion is an illustration of this principle.</p>
<p>hmm...it's strange b/c when do searches for "hazing" or "scandal" for quaker affiliated schools e.g., westtown, george, sidwell, I am at a loss to find anything and I'm wondering why.</p>
<p>Have any Presidents come from those schools?</p>
<p>most certainly not #43...ahahaha!</p>
<p>no, no presidents have come from these schools...but some have been inclined to send their children in recent years.</p>
<p>What a strange question. Are you trying to make a point that Quaker schools don't produce Presidents?</p>
<p>It was a random as the original Quaker statement.</p>
<p>Maybe it's just as random as Nyleco's statement, but hers was sincere (she is a parent choosing between acceptances, some of which are Quaker schools) and I don't know what yours was.</p>
<p>Nixon didn't go to Quaker HS, but he did attend a Quaker college which he selected over scholarships to Harvard and Yale.</p>
<p>As the time to commit gets closer, we're all getting more edgy, aren't we? I think that parents must decide which school environment they're most comfortable sending their child into. The answers will be different for every parent. There aren't any "right" answers, because everyone has a different spot at which they draw the line.</p>
<p>Every school runs the risk of a scandal. For me, it's the school's reaction to a scandal, and the measures they take in its aftermath, which can make a difference. I wouldn't have a qualm about sending my children to Groton. I would not send my children to Milton. Different parents interpret scandals differently.</p>
<p>I would be very hesitant to file a civil suit against a school. Yes, maybe an aggressive lawyer could win in court, or gain a settlement, which could be a balm for hurt feelings. It would come at a huge cost, however, which is the fact that court proceedings are a matter of public record. In the long term, especially in the internet age, having your child's name attached to an old scandal does your child no favors, even if your child was the innocent victim.</p>
<p>Periwinkle, well said.</p>