Hate crime in a private secondary school

dascmom

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I wonder if anyone with legal knowledge may have an idea of how an 18-year-old high school student who perpetrated a hate crime against another 18-year-old high school student on the property of a private high school in Massachusetts would be punished? In my story the students are both high school post grads (fifth-year students) and one forcefully reveals that the other is transgender. The manner in which it occurs is rough, if not actually violent (no punching or kicking--just a forced reveal of body parts). Would the perpetrator be expelled? If the other student did not want to press charges, would the perpetrator be turned over to the police? Is there any possibility that a private school would punish the perpetrator through in-school means, such as removal of privileges, barring him from contacting the victim?
Thanks in advance for the help. I appreciate it so much.
 

DrDoc

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In the 1960's such an event would be hushed up and handled by the school admin very quietly. The perp would be either ignored or quietly reprimanded and the victim would be publicly expelled. I have no idea how it would be handled today.
 

cornflake

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I wonder if anyone with legal knowledge may have an idea of how an 18-year-old high school student who perpetrated a hate crime against another 18-year-old high school student on the property of a private high school in Massachusetts would be punished? In my story the students are both high school post grads (fifth-year students) and one forcefully reveals that the other is transgender. The manner in which it occurs is rough, if not actually violent (no punching or kicking--just a forced reveal of body parts). Would the perpetrator be expelled? If the other student did not want to press charges, would the perpetrator be turned over to the police? Is there any possibility that a private school would punish the perpetrator through in-school means, such as removal of privileges, barring him from contacting the victim?
Thanks in advance for the help. I appreciate it so much.

I'm confused -- what's a post-grad h.s. student?

A forced reveal of body parts? Like an assault?

You have to have an actual crime for something to be a hate crime.

As for the school, depends on the school. Sure, someone could be punished for tons of things, depends on the school's code of conduct, but ripping someone else's clothes off is probably against the code of conduct of most schools, even if they don't have specific policies about outing people's sexuality or gender identity or etc. (I'm not equating, just giving examples).
 

Roxxsmom

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I wonder if anyone with legal knowledge may have an idea of how an 18-year-old high school student who perpetrated a hate crime against another 18-year-old high school student on the property of a private high school in Massachusetts would be punished? In my story the students are both high school post grads (fifth-year students) and one forcefully reveals that the other is transgender. The manner in which it occurs is rough, if not actually violent (no punching or kicking--just a forced reveal of body parts). Would the perpetrator be expelled? If the other student did not want to press charges, would the perpetrator be turned over to the police? Is there any possibility that a private school would punish the perpetrator through in-school means, such as removal of privileges, barring him from contacting the victim?
Thanks in advance for the help. I appreciate it so much.

What you describe--the forced revealing of body parts--is sexual assault as well as being a hate crime. Schools tend to take this more seriously than they once did (when I was young, kids who "pantsed" other kids got a talking to, maybe, and the victims were told they should stand up for themselves better), though I'm guessing policies and practice can vary greatly, even today.

I don't know anything specifically about private boarding/prep schools in Massachusetts. I didn't know that they have five years instead of just four like most US high schools, for instance. Normal US high schools have students in grade 9-12, aged from age 14 (at beginning of freshman year) to 18 (at end of senior year, or shortly thereafter). I'd have a pretty poor opinion of any school that didn't expel a student who did such a thing. Criminal charges are also a possibility, though some schools handle sexual assault and other crimes between students as an internal matter, and pressing charges would be up to the victim and their family (if the victim is under 18). If the victim is under 18 and the perpetrator isn't, then it's also sexual assault of a minor.

A lot depends on school policies about things like sexual assault, sexual harassment, harassment in general and hateful behavior in general, especially (I'm guessing) with private schools. It also depends on whether or not a school wants to sweep things like this under the carpet and settle the matter "privately." I'm guessing another factor, unfortunately, would be the relative status or importance of the students involved and of their families and standing in the community. If the perpetrator is a legacy, a sports star, or if their parents are big benefactors to the school, or if their family is prominent or powerful, little might be done. If the victim was a legacy or came from an important family and the perpetrator wasn't, however, it might be another matter.

There are a lot of potential variables. It might be worthwhile to google some exclusive New England prep schools and see what their official policies are about sexual harassment, sexual assault, hate crimes and respect for diversity are.
 
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dascmom

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Hi Dr. Doc.
The way I originally wrote it, they do some light discipline techniques, but don't kick him out. My editor suggested I do some research because it seemed too lenient. So here I am, trying to figure it out. Thanks!
 

dascmom

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This is a great answer. I think I will google the boarding schools and see what their policies are as you suggest. I may very likely have the main perpetrator expelled, though, and the other kids who were part of it but did not actually do the assault, disciplined. Thank you so much.
 

dascmom

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Yes- a PG or a post grad is a student doing a fifth year, or a second senior year, although they already graduated high school, to get accepted into a better college. The crime was ripping off another PG's clothes in a public place. I believe it is an assault. I will look at private school codes of conduct to see what it says about this type of thing. I am wondering if you think it would be an automatic suspension. Thanks for the reply.
 

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I think it's easy to concoct a situation where the school hushes things up and the perpetrator gets a slap on the wrist at worst, if that's what your story needs. Colleges and universities aren't terribly good at kicking rapists and sexual assailants out, and when they do manage it, they sometimes get sued by guys who claim that since criminal charges weren't pressed, or they were never convicted in a court of law, the school is denying them their rights. Even when the student code of conduct is very clear on the matter of what constitutes sexual assault, hate speech/crimes etc, and often they're not.

I don't know what a fifth year postgraduate high school student is, though. I googled it, and discovered that it does appear to be a thing. I assume it's time for extra college prep for students who aren't ready for college and their parents have money to pay. Most of those kids would be over 18, though, so are these programs run more like private college settings?
 

cornflake

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Yes- a PG or a post grad is a student doing a fifth year, or a second senior year, although they already graduated high school, to get accepted into a better college. The crime was ripping off another PG's clothes in a public place. I believe it is an assault. I will look at private school codes of conduct to see what it says about this type of thing. I am wondering if you think it would be an automatic suspension. Thanks for the reply.

Ok, I have never heard of that, ever. That's not to say it's not ever happened, but ... I know kids who've been to boarding schools; I went to a good prep school and have known people involved in college admissions and have never heard of repeating a senior year post-graduation to get into a better college. I can't imagine any college would look favourably upon that. Have you run into a school that does this? I'm totally curious as to what one, because never have I ever and if some kid told me they wanted to repeat sr. year after they graduated to improve their college apps, I'd think they'd lost their minds.

Thanks for the link Roxx -- ok, so it reads like it's for kids with significant problems/who were probably at alternative-type schools or in some sort of trouble that prevented them from doing basic prep-level h.s. work and yeah, their parents have money (but not enough to buy into a college). That, I can see. I was reading it from the OP as mainstream kids just hanging around their own h.s. repeating their senior years. For a kid who was too immature, or wasn't able to show college-readiness with their own h.s. career but has made some sort of change, I can sort of see.
 
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Roxxsmom

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Ok, I have never heard of that, ever. That's not to say it's not ever happened, but ... I know kids who've been to boarding schools; I went to a good prep school and have known people involved in college admissions and have never heard of repeating a senior year post-graduation to get into a better college. I can't imagine any college would look favourably upon that. Have you run into a school that does this? I'm totally curious as to what one, because never have I ever and if some kid told me they wanted to repeat sr. year after they graduated to improve their college apps, I'd think they'd lost their minds.

It really is a thing (I googled it).

https://www.boardingschoolreview.com/blog/understanding-the-post-graduate-pg-year

I admit my first thought was, How clever of these schools that charge tens of thousands of dollars a year to parents who are hoping to get their kids into the "right" colleges and in with the "right" crowd. They can collect even more money per student if they keep them for an extra year. Heaven forbid rich kids should go to community college and rub shoulders with the masses, or spend a year working at a cruddy job, if they're not academically or emotionally ready for college.
 

ULTRAGOTHA

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When does this story take place? 2017?
 

Siri Kirpal

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"Hate Crimes" as a criminal category are a comparatively new item. So yeah, we need to know when this is happening.

On the other hand, you're good to go with assault any time (with all the caveats issued above about what schools will and won't always do).

Blessings,

Siri Kirpal
 

cornflake

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It really is a thing (I googled it).

https://www.boardingschoolreview.com/blog/understanding-the-post-graduate-pg-year

I admit my first thought was, How clever of these schools that charge tens of thousands of dollars a year to parents who are hoping to get their kids into the "right" colleges and in with the "right" crowd. They can collect even more money per student if they keep them for an extra year. Heaven forbid rich kids should go to community college and rub shoulders with the masses, or spend a year working at a cruddy job, if they're not academically or emotionally ready for college.

Yeah I edited, and yeah, kind of exactly, because my thought ran just there. That's what cc's are partially for, but I'd wager this is for kids who can't deal with that level of autonomy, as the thing you linked mentions time management or study skills or what have you.

I once met a woman whose 16-year-old was on his third or fourth boarding school, after having been booted from the regular prep schools in his area. She told me she'd TOLD the latest boarding school that they needed to send someone to his room to wake him up, in 15-minute intervals, starting like 45 minutes before he should be up, so he'd get to class. The school, though quite the expensive concern, told her they did not offer that service, and he, like every student, would have to be responsible for getting to class on his own.

The school called her a few weeks later, because, though he'd told her he was getting up, he was not and had missed enough classes he was flunking out. She told me this tale with growing exasperation at the school that didn't LISTEN when she'd TOLD them he needed wake-up calls. So she moved, three states away, into a motel near the school, in order to go, every morning, and knock on his door at 15-minute intervals to wake him up for class. That lasted a month, until he was caught (again) smoking on campus. She could not believe they expelled him for this violation of the rules either, because "so many kids smoke, and what can you do?'

The school offered to let him "study" at home and return to take finals, and they'd give him some credits for the year. She was looking for someplace to send him. If he ever managed to cobble enough credits to graduate, or just got a GED, I can see them trying that if he couldn't get in to a name college.
 

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I was assuming the OP intended a contemporary setting, but yes, time frame would have a definite effect. Even as recently as the 90s or early 2000s, few schools would have supported the right of a transgender student to live as they chose. In such a setting, the victim would very likely receive much of the blame, if not all of it.

And as recently as the 80s (at least), female students who were harassed and assaulted in the halls at school were told "boys just do things like that" and it was down to us not to attract attention with our dress or demeanor. And students of both genders who were bullied were told that they were partially (at least) to blame for not being tougher or for being different.
 

dascmom

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Yes. I don't come out and specify the year, but it is set in the present.
 

dascmom

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I will check out the Mass law on bullying. Thanks.
 

ap123

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You can pretty easily make this what you want/need it to be for your story. PGs tend to only be in the school for the one year, so they/their family often don't have a long history with the administration (and one year of tuition and fees as opposed to four or five). That said, the private schools are very aware of transgender rights these days, and go out of their way to be supportive.

The past couple of years there has been a lot of exposure re sexual assault in these schools, including 20, 30, 40 yr old cases, with newspaper articles and letters being sent by the headmasters/headmistresses.

Police being involved could easily depend on who the PG student is, the $/power behind the family, vs who the transgender student is and the $/power behind their family.

Sometimes PG years are done for academic reasons (boosting GPA/scores to increase the odds of getting into the desired college), often PGs are there to get an additional year for their sport for recruitment purposes, sometimes it's a combination of the two, where student is desired by FancyCollege for a specific sports team, but academics are iffy, so an additional year can make the difference. It can even be for portfolio purposes when looking at an Art college.

There aren't a lot of PG slots, and they are considered separate from the senior class.

I don't have PG experience, but (as mom) I have experience in the private boarding schools, one in MA.
 

dascmom

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Everybody's help is so appreciated. It got my through my stumbling block in my story. Thank you.
 

dascmom

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Thans ap123. This is very helpful! The PG's at this school are trying to get into better schools than the ones they were accepted to right from high school.
 

DrDoc

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All I have to offer are my experiences in a private military high school in the 1960's. At that time, the key thing was the school was a business with a bevy of wealthy graduates in high placed positions. When push came to shove the school would protect its reputation above all else. When I was there a gay guy was publically kicked out, and he and his parents were publicly humiliated when they came THE NEXT DAY to help move his stuff out. That was then.

Cultural evolution is an individual thing, even today. In the present situation, I believe that if the school leadership was not advanced they would AT LEAST consider covering it up and slapping the wrist of the perpetrator. In the end, it's a business decision, not one made on civic morals (except in very rare cases). Who are the graduates (and hence, possible parents of next year's class) and what are their attitudes? (Think Liberty University vs Princeton). If it's a small school and not well known outside a certain clientele, they may opt a different way than a very well known school. Is the town small with low wage reporters (hence young and naive), or is it located in a big town with well paid professional reporters? All these things come into play when the admin makes their business decision. An ethical admin decision does not consider these elements, usually.

FWIW

DrDoc
 
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braveboy

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an obvious answer in today's world....
the school will immediately expel every other student in the school and dedicate all it's assets to the one student. the student will sue the school, the aclu will defend the student, it will be proven
that the student made up the assault, but the judge will decide that the the student would have suffered greatly if it had actually happened and therefore should be awarded a monster sized financial payout from the school and everyone living within five miles of the school. the student will then be awarded PHd's by both Harvard and Yale because the student is just too intelligent and talented to actually have to attend a class anywhere on the planet. the day after the trial the student will be crowned president of the world. and they all lived happily ever after.
 

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I taught at a similar school (in Massachusetts) for several years, and I can assure you that, since the bullied student is not interested in pressing charges, the matter will be handled internally. I've seen multiple similar cases. It is a myth that most of these things are referred to police.

Independent school admin is adept at keeping matters hushed up, and if no one is actually going public with a rape accusation, things will remain internal. This is just how it is. A prep school is a world unto itself, a community that exists independently of its surrounding city/town/even country.

(I used to hate, hate, hate chaperoning dances/events because I would ALWAYS end up sitting up all night dealing with the cocaine/etc. violations, none of which ever went public/to police. I saw major theft incidents hushed up, sexual assault hushed up, and scores of other incidents that nobody outside of the school community ever knew about).

- - - Updated - - -
 
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EmilyEmily

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Oh, and to add to my previous post, (right or wrong) most people don't consider PGs serious students. They are either people who screwed up at another school (academically or discipline-wise), or are paid mercenaries procured to propel a sport team's reputation to even greater heights. That was my perception/the perception of people I knew, anyway.