opinion
| OPINION COLUMNIST
For a young man like me, Asheville School was a salvation in many ways. Many of the faculties there were surrogate parents and instilled in me the trust and values that I still have with me today. I believed in Asheville School so much that as a student I was instrumental in creating the code of honor that still exists there today. I returned to serve on the faculty and later helped raise money for the school as a member of the alumni association.
With all of this, I wasn’t surprised to learn that there had been sexual abuse at school. I had been linked to three boarding schools in my life, and all of them suffered sexual abuse and subsequent efforts to cover up that abuse. The issue is systemic in boarding school culture, and the historical response has been to turn a blind eye. The school’s response to recent allegations by brave former students like Agnes Hill and others was shocking. From a PR perspective, it was numb. From a moral point of view, it was reprehensible. From the point of view of a former youth worker, that was grossly irresponsible.
May 2021: Asheville School Fundraiser for Suspected Sexual Assault, Petition
For subscribers: Asheville School alumni for assistance when redress is not made for suspected sexual assault
Answer from the school: Asheville School Finds No Flaw in Title IX Investigation of Alleged Sexual Assault; Setback
More: Asheville School Title IX sexual assault investigations had “indelible stains,” says the alumni group
Now the school principals are trying in blind defiance to make the Safe Child Act unconstitutional. Should they achieve a legal victory, it would most likely be binding on all sexual assault survivors who have appealed under the protection of the law. Headmaster Anthony Srgo said that one of the reasons for pursuing this strategy is that “Memories have faded. ”I assure you, Mr. Srgo, that the memories of the survivors will not fade. I seriously doubt they will fade to those who committed the acts or who were aware of them and did nothing. For survivors of such trauma, these memories have been vivid and haunting every day for years. Your life will be reshaped by them. As a survivor of sexual abuse (which occurred prior to my time at Asheville School), I can be sure that you have proven completely ignorant of this matter and by default are a danger to any student who experiences such abuse in the context of school care now or in the future. But that doesn’t seem too bad. Given your current legal strategy, you are posing a threat to hundreds of other North Carolina survivors trying to get their voices heard.
I was one of the alumni who signed the petition asking him to take certain actions from Mr. Sgro and the chairman of the trustee Walter Cox. The petition called for these two men to resign if the conditions set out in it were not met. At this point it is inconceivable to me that the school can progress responsibly with every man in his current position. You and everyone at the school who support you have to leave. These individuals had an opportunity to admit the school’s failure, to say, “We are breaking with the past and responsibly moving into the future for the well-being of young people,” and forging a new legacy for the Asheville School that other boarding schools could follow . Instead, they have chosen to go back in time and try to save their own skin. It is time for drastic reform. Once new leadership is in place, there needs to be a comprehensive approach to training students and faculty on these issues at hand. I can’t say what has happened in the past few years, but I can say that questions about sexual assault and how to safely address it were not a structured part of the curriculum during my time as a student or a teacher. At least comprehensive lectures and workshops should take place throughout the school year. The safety of students must come first.
More: Sexual abuse lawsuits are “unconstitutional,” says Asheville School Ash
More: Third Asheville School complaint of teacher sexual assault, school cover-up
More: 4. Asheville School lawsuit: Alumnus alleges faculty sexual abuse, cover-up
While I would like to praise those who have taken action, many more alumni, alumni parents, and former faculty members need to speak up to have a real impact on reform. I beg those with a moral conscience to stop donating to the school, to discourage parents from sending their children there, to sign all future petitions and to express themselves privately and publicly. I take no pleasure in judging my alma mater in this way. I loved Asheville School and I still believe in its potential. She has proven that she can lead the way in terms of academic excellence. I believe that in time it may come to lead with integrity on this matter too. Unfortunately, it seems that the leadership must be brought to its knees before the school can learn to stand with dignity.
Brooker Battle is a former faculty member of the Asheville School.
source https://collegeeducationnewsllc.com/asheville-school-leadership-must-be-reckoned-with/
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