Originally posted Sept. 30, 2015
Students learn a lot in high school, much of it having nothing to do with math or science or William Shakespeare. They learn important lessons in life, including difficult ones. “Life isn’t fair” is one of them.
A companion lesson to “life isn’t fair” is that virtually any policy, no matter how carefully written and how much discussion precedes its approval, has a loophole that can be used when someone deems that beneficial.
Greene County High School students are learning both lessons this fall.
Last Friday night’s football game, the fifth of the season, was the first for one particular player. The local sportscaster reported the “standout” basketball player had come out for football late.
According to head football coach and activities director Dean Lansman, the athlete announced his desire to play football the first day of school, Aug. 24. Pre-season practices had started weeks earlier and the annual “pop” scrimmage had been the previous Friday. But, he was allowed to join the team.
What Lansman said he didn’t know at the time was that the athlete on Aug. 24 knew he could possibly be charged with a sexual assault that allegedly occurred in the very early hours of Aug. 23. The athlete had been interviewed by a sheriff’s deputy on Aug. 23 about the complaint made against him, according to a court document. A charge of sexual abuse-third degree, a class D felony, was filed in Greene County district court on Aug. 28 against the 16-year-old basketball player turned football player. He was arrested at the high school Sept. 2.
The school board’s activity eligibility/good conduct policy applies in such situations. The policy lists as a violation “engaging in any act that would be grounds for arrest or citation in the criminal or juvenile court system…regardless of whether the student was cited, arrested, convicted, or adjudicated for the act(s).” (Code No. 504.9A, IV.D)
The policy also lists sanctions. Violators are to be suspended for one-fourth of the contests or performances of the activity or activities in which s/he was participating “during the time of the violation.” The policy goes on to state “If the student is not currently in an activity, h/she will serve their suspension in the next activity in which s/he participates after the violation.” (Underlines added) (Code No. 5049A, V.A.1)
My take on this: An athlete doesn’t want to miss the start of the basketball season, the sport in which he receives statewide recognition, so he plays football, a sport he hasn’t played in recent years. He makes football his “next” activity and serves his suspension in September. That way he’s eligible for the start of the basketball season. The Rams will have their lead scorer eligible to play when the season starts Dec. 1.
I wonder if students at Greene County High School would recognize the quote, “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark,” from Shakespeare’s Hamlet?
Turns out, it makes no difference if the coach knew from the start the cause for the basketball player’s new found interest in football.
School superintendent Tim Christensen is confident school board policy has been followed correctly. He explains that the current policy does not prevent nor discourage a student from going out for an extracurricular activity in which he hasn’t previously participated, nor does it prevent a student from joining an extracurricular activity after it has started.
“GCCSD board policy and procedures are put into place to treat each student the same regardless of the extracurricular activity or the student involved,” Christensen said in a prepared statement on this particular subject. “The student body needs to be able to trust that all students will be afforded the same notice, procedures, and sanctions as outlined in the GCCSD board policy and procedures.”
I hope a Greene County High School student could correctly define “loophole.”
There’s an easy remedy to keep a similar situation from arising again. Students shouldn’t be allowed to join late a sport in which pre-season practices are regulated by the Iowa High School Athletic Association. The IHSAA has pages of regulations about the amount of contact and equipment allowed in the first weeks of football practices. Obviously, the experts think pre-season conditioning practices are important. The school board could justify a policy not allowing a student to join the football team after the pre-season as a matter of safety.
The remedy for a society in which blatant disrespect for women is demonstrated in a high incidence of sexual assault is not easy. According to the Centers for Disease Control, one in five women have been raped sometime in their lifetime. Forty-four percent have experienced some sort of sexual violence, and 32.1 percent have had a noncontact unwanted sexual experience.
Greene County High School students grew up with Character Counts, a program intended to provide a framework in which schools can work toward developing the traits of trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship. Apparently school administrators thought at some point that character development is worthy of time in a busy school day.
Does Character Counts work? Do students learn the lessons?
Could a Greene County High School student write a 100-word essay on which Pillars of Character are violated in the case of sexual assault? A hint – every single one of them.
Could every Greene County High School male student write a 100-word essay on how he’d like his sister to be treated by another male? Could every female student write an essay on what sort of behavior towards her and by her would demonstrate mutual respect in a relationship? Could they then put their words into actions?
Character Counts hadn’t been imagined yet when members of the GCCSD board were in school, but from the hours I’ve spent watching the board, I think they’ve all developed most of those character traits. Most would say those traits are among the reasons they’re serving on the board. I suggest the board boldly set a zero tolerance policy for the total lack of respect that is a chief ingredient in sexual assault.
If student athletes knew with certainty that being charged with a felony sexual assault would result in a full year of ineligibility for any extracurricular activity, it would send a very clear message from the board that that behavior is not acceptable. I think it would make a difference.
At the minimum, the GCCSD board should do another tweak on the eligibility/good conduct policy so that students are able to trust that craftiness in finding loopholes does not trump the intents of the policy, one of which is to set high standards of behavior for those who enjoy the privilege of participation.
