The biggest question I see lingering in the Lamar School District's recent finding that three middle school students were guilty of locker-room harassment and sexual assault against three fellow students is the wrist-slapping, 10-day suspension they received.
Not only does such relatively lame punishment send the message that such behavior is not that big a deal in the district's view, but two weeks out of the classroom for behavior as serious as sexual assault serves little enduring purpose other than for adults involved to say they "did something."
Reporter Monica Brich wrote last week that a Lamar student on March 8 reported "being sexually harassed while in the boy's locker room, according to a written determination of responsibility from the district signed June 30. The document states the district was instructed to refrain from investigating the incident because local police and the Arkansas State Police were already investigating.
"On April 5, a Title IX complaint was filed by the student's mother. During the district's investigation, two more complaints were filed regarding some or all of the same perpetrators in similar incidents occurring from the summer through November of 2021.
'Title IX protects people from discrimination based on sex in education programs or activities that receive federal financial assistance, including schools, according to the U.S. Department of Education."
In what feels to me like déjà vu from the similar sexual abuses occurring over two years among middle school basketball players at the Huntsville School District, the Lamar incidents, in at least one instance, appeared to be more severe and was actually captured in a graphic recording.
At Lamar, four students were investigated for three incidents. The district redacted their names from the report, choosing to use numbers.
The district found students one, two and four responsible for the incident in March and for the second victim's allegations in 2021. Student two was also responsible for the third victim's allegations, the news story reads.
Wanda Van Dyke, decision maker for Lamar's Title IX investigation, recommended that each perpetrator be suspended from school for 10 days, provided harassment-related courses upon their return and have a no-contact order with the victims.
Attorney Joey McCutchen of Fort Smith, who with law partners Chip Sexton and Stephen Napurano is representing the victims, said Wednesday he plans to appeal the decision and request the guilty students receive more meaningful, harsher punishments.
Perhaps there's some hope for that since Brittney Schluterman, the Title IX coordinator for the district, wrote in an email that the investigation isn't complete, and both parties had the right to appeal within 10 days.
Although McCutchen agrees with Van Dyke's overall determination that the students were sexually assaulted, he referred to the sentence for the damaging conduct as little more than a vacation from class.
He said he would appeal for a longer punishment, and insist the perpetrators should not be allowed to participate in any sports or activities in which the victims also are involved.
As McCutchen often is fond of saying, "Conduct rewarded is conduct repeated."
"There is nothing more important than the safety of children," he said. "Parents should always feel confident that their children are being kept safe at school. This also begs the question: Where were those responsible for supervising these children when all of this was happening?"
Reasonable question. Surely word had gotten around the school and likely the community what was transpiring. We all know kids are prone to talk, especially when they are being abused.
Brich also wrote that Lamar community members created a Facebook event and planned to protest the weak consequences before the school board. "If Lamar coaches, principals, and administrators won't take action to protect students, it's on the community to take a stand," event organizers said. "If they are going to allow this to continue, then they should have to look us in the eye and own up to it."
The district was asked to clarify the 10-day suspensions in a written determination, but responded that the grievance process under Title IX is still underway and the district could not comment on student matters.
In other words, we'll have to get back to you on that.
The Lamar abuses follow on the heels of the multiple headline-making sexually oriented incidents at Huntsville Junior High that remain under criminal investigation. For me this raises the question of just how much of this has been happening in the locker rooms of athletic teams in school districts statewide.
Perhaps they've only been in these two schools, for which we can all hope. But if I had a son of this age involved in sports anywhere across the state, I believe I'd be asking some pertinent questions at this point.
To reframe a phrase from McCutchen: "Misconduct undetected is misconduct repeated."
Now go out into the world and treat everyone you meet exactly how you want them to treat you.
Mike Masterson is a longtime Arkansas journalist, was editor of three Arkansas dailies and headed the master's journalism program at Ohio State University. Email him at [email protected].