Is This Really Bullying?

So many times on this blog I've blasted schools and districts for what is, IMNSHO, inappropriate disciplinary action against students.  Some of those stories involved conduct that was off-campus, others involved conduct that was either on-campus or at a school-sanctioned event.

This story involves on-campus behavior and unproven allegations of sexual assault:

Aela Mansmann was careful not to name any names. "There's a rapist in our school and you know who it is," she wrote on yellow sticky notes, leaving them on bathroom walls at her coastal Maine high school. The 15-year-old felt that administrators hadn't been doing enough to respond to allegations of sexual assault, and she hoped her small act of protest would start a conversation.

Instead, her school suspended her, saying that the anonymous notes amounted to bullying...

Though school officials say they are merely abiding by their own anti-bullying policies, Mansmann and her parents have argued that the suspension is a violation of the teenager's right to free speech. The students who gathered outside the high school on Monday agreed, questioning how a note that didn't include any names or identifying details could be considered bullying. Holding signs that read "I choose to believe survivors" and "Rape culture has got to go," they said they wanted Mansmann and two other students who were suspended for helping to post the sticky notes to have their records expunged.

There's no such thing as "rape culture" in the United States; if you want to know what a true rape culture is, ask the Swedes. As for believing "survivors", how does one know if the person in question is, in fact, a survivor, and not a liar? The difference is quite important.

But I expect teenagers to carry stupid signs.  They hear one side of an issue, are told it's the only side, and their penchant for drama kicks into overdrive.  Hopefully they grow out of it.

I'm not convinced that Mansmann's conduct rises to the level of bullying.  One could argue that her conduct is akin to littering, but we don't usually suspend students for littering (in California we don't suspend students for anything short of murder).

The public high school, which has roughly 600 students and is located just south of Portland, Maine, conducted seven investigations into allegations of sexual harassment or assault during the previous school year, the paper reported. In four of those cases, officials concluded that it was "more likely than not" that a violation of Title IX occurred, and took action. But in recent months, some students have said that they feel administrators brushed their concerns under the rug.

On Sept. 16, she and several other students decorated two girls' bathrooms with handwritten sticky notes, warning of a rapist on campus. Mansmann has said that the intention was to draw attention to several different incidents where students were allegedly sexual assaulted, though it's not clear if the notes were intended to call out one specific perpetrator. (Officials deny that there is a rapist enrolled at the school.)

Maybe the school officials know more than the girl does?  It's possible.

Cape Elizabeth Schools define bullying broadly, noting that it can include a range of behaviors such as "creating an intimidating or hostile educational environment" and "interfering with the student's academic performance." A Friday statement from the school district said that officials "have never disciplined a student for advocating for their peers or their views on cultural, social and political matters," but are legally obligated to take action "when a student's speech bullies another student [ ...] even if that same student has also spoken out on a matter of public concern."

Though barred from commenting on Mansmann's case due to privacy laws, school officials "are confident that the matter was exhaustively investigated and that we took the action that law and policy required," the statement concluded.

This is a very interesting situation.  I haven't yet made up my mind which side, if either, is in the right.  It's entirely possible they've both screwed up.

Update, 10/16/19:  Since "everyone" knows who the girl is accusing, I'm leaning more towards the bullying angle. After all, what if the boy in question is innocent?  He's being slandered.  The ACLU doesn't see it that way, though:

The Maine chapter of the ACLU filed a motion in federal court Sunday asking for a temporary restraining order against the district.

The high school has agreed to delay Mansmann's suspension until a hearing on Oct. 21.

For those who don't agree, what if the sticky notes were referring to a particular slut.

Again, interesting legalities here.

Update, 10/29/19:  The story continues :

A Maine school district ran into skepticism from a federal judge about its decision to suspend a female student who posted a note about an unidentified “rapist” at her high school.

Aela Mansmann “has shown a fair likelihood of success on the merits” of her First Amendment lawsuit, U.S. District Judge Lance Walker wrote in an order last week, issuing a preliminary injunction...

That means the Cape Elizabeth School District can’t suspend the 15-year-old, identified in the suit as “A.M.,” for the duration of her lawsuit against the district, superintendent and Cape Elizabeth High School leaders.

The school charged Mansmann (above) with “bullying” because it construed her message, posted in a girls’ bathroom, as an attack on a specific student who was a subject of “rapist” rumors. His family said he missed eight days of school out of fear of the rumors.

This post was originally published on October 8th but I've bumped it to today because of the updates.