PEA Responds To Multiple Cases of Sexual Misconduct

Following the ban of former history instructor Rick Schubart and former art instructor Steve Lewis from the Exeter campus for their involvement in past sexual misconduct cases, the PEA community has continued to grapple with the culture of sexual misconduct at boarding schools. Responses have largely been rooted in shock and many members of the community have taken to social media to try and reconcile their feelings.

In a letter sent to the larger Exeter community, not including current students, on April 16, Principal Lisa MacFarlane and President of the Trustees Eunice Panetta shared the future steps the school will be taking. The Academy has hired national law firm Holland and Knight to investigate any allegations of sexual misconduct received by the school following March 30 and to review the school’s current policies and procedures. The Trustees have hired Diana Lloyd of the Choate, Hall & Stewart law firm to lead a review of Exeter’s handling of the Schubart case. In addition, the school is working towards partnering with victims’ assistance organizations to address the needs of victims and their loved ones.

“Schools and organizations are doing more than ever, yet we must redouble our efforts.”

Members of the alumni community created Processing PEA, a group of more than 900 members, as a space for former Exonians to work through their reactions to the recent news of sexual misconduct on campus. Currently, membership to the group is limited to alumni, but the group has discussed admitting current students, parents or faculty members. At first, the discussion focused on the specific cases pertaining to Schubart and Lewis (See “Community Reacts to Sexual Misconduct,” “Academy Responds to Emerging Sexual Misconduct Reports,” “Steven Lewis Fired, Barred from Campus.”) However, Processing PEA has widened into a forum for reflection on the overall environment of the Academy, specifically its sexual culture in the past.

For the most part, active members of the group have written about their personal experiences. Some members said on the page that they knew of or experienced inappropriate relationships, or sometimes even sexual assault, while they were students, whether between students or between a faculty member and a student. Despite requests to many members of the group, The Exonian was not able to receive permission to print any details of these accounts. Other posts have described Processing PEA as an online Harkess table, and many members of the group expressed their gratitude to the administrators of the group for organizing it.

In addition to discussions within the community, the sexual misconduct at PEA and other  prep schools has been covered in several national media outlets such as The New York Times. In its article, “Prep Schools Wrestle with Sex Abuse Accusations Against Teachers,” an exposé on sexual abuse in the boarding school community, The Times quoted Director of the Crimes Against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire David Finkelhor. Finklehor ’64 said in an email to The Exonian that he thought sexual abuse would be less prevalent at boarding school due to being distanced from typical risk factors, but he emphasized that he knew of no studies concerning his theory. Finkelhor listed parental maltreatment, social isolation, poor self-esteem and high crime neighborhoods as some of these risks. “While students live together and have close ties with faculty at boarding schools… I am inclined to think that [sexual misconduct] is no more prevalent and maybe less prevalent at boarding school,” he wrote.

Similarly, the letter from The Association of Boarding Schools (TABS), which The Exonian gained access to through the Processing PEA Facebook group, updated the boarding school community on media coverage concerning sexual misconduct at boarding schools and said that educators’ sexual abuse of children was not one unique to boarding schools. Rather, the letter, which was authored by TABS Executive Director Peter W. Upham, said sexual abuse was endemic to any situation in which an adult is in a position of power over a child. 0“The sexual violation of children is a national, even international, cancer. Any school, camp, adventure-based program, scout troop or youth group is potentially vulnerable,” it said. Upham also wrote that approximately 9.6 percent of students in the United States will experience some form of sexual misconduct at the hands of an educator.

TABS’ letter further stressed the responsibility that school administrators have in addressing sexual misconduct. “In any case, every educator and school leader has a responsibility within the scope of his or her powers to reduce abuse and to thwart would-be abusers ... Schools and organizations are doing more than ever, yet we must redouble our efforts,” wrote Upham.

Finkelhor said that continuing those efforts should include setting clear rules, educating staff and students about boundaries and encouraging bystanders to intervene when something is concerning to them. He also listed some areas of concern for schools. “Poorly articulated rules and standards, low morale and poor supervision, bullying and harassment and lax hiring practices [are all conducive to sexual abuse],” he said. PEA’s recent efforts to stimulate conversation and awareness surrounding sexual assault include the creation of a reporting hotline, supervised conversations within dorms, advisory groups and other organizations and bringing “SLUT: The Play” to campus.

Principal Lisa MacFarlane continues to encourage members of the community to come forward to the administration with concerns about sexual misconduct.