What Cedar Shoals says about sexual assault in Athens
We need to talk about it
Over the last few weeks, countless news sources, local and regional, have been reporting on an incident that was said to have occurred at Cedar Shoals High School in Athens. In early January, a 15-year-old girl was alleged to have been raped on the campus by three boys.
She reported it immediately, but no arrests were made until almost a month later. The suspects were allowed to attend school the entire time.
It wasn’t until the arrests of three boys in early February that news sources began to catch wind of the story, and from there it spread like wildfire. Parents, students and members of the community are outraged this event, and that the violent trauma of a young girl had been treated so callously.
Cedar Shoals High School via Cedar Memorial organization
The preliminary story asked, “how could the scandal at Cedar Shoals happen?” But now, their focus is the aftermath and what this event means for those in charge.
Clarke County superintendent Philip Lanoue, a man named “National Superintendent of the Year” in 2015, has been rocked by this scandal. The day after the news hit the press, Lanoue announced he would be leaving to serve as the superintendent for Fulton County in Atlanta. Since then, he has announced he will turn down the Atlanta position to remain in Athens.
This certainly raises a number of questions, as rumors that Lanoue mishandled the incident spread. Cedar Shoals President Tony Price seems to be bearing the weight of the situation, and has been put on administrative leave for the duration of the internal investigation.
This situation brings to light some larger concerns when it comes to the handling of sexual assault in Athens.
In any college town, the likelihood of sexual assault is high. A recent study by the AAU found as many as 23 percent of women surveyed had experienced some form of unwanted sexual contact, ranging from kissing to touching to rape.
According to UGA’s 2015 Crime Statistics, of the 13 rape cases reported, there were only two arrests – one of which was cleared. This is a step up from 2014, in which there were no arrests from any of the 11 reported rapes.
In 2014, the U.S. Department of Education released a list of 85 schools that would be the subject of federal investigations regarding the mishandling of rape and sexual assault accusations. UGA thankfully didn’t make that list, but that doesn’t mean we get a free pass. It’s widely known the vast majority of sexual assaults go unreported (actually, about 90 percent of them), and I would argue this could be more prominent in conservative environments such as here in the South.
As a woman, and as a student at an institution at which I’m incredibly proud to attend, I want to know I’m safe. If we continue to sweep sexual assault under the rug like the outcome at Cedar Shoals, we continue to allow perpetrators to feel vindicated.
The Cedar Shoals incident provides us a glimpse into the mismanagement of this important issue, and we’d be well suited to use it as a platform for productive discussion. Hopefully, in doing so we can create a safer and more just Athens for students and members of the community in the future.
Check out some of Athens’ and UGA’s resources for domestic and sexual violence, like Project Safe and the Relationship and Sexual Violence Prevention Center.