Alums Discuss PEA’s Changed Sexual Climate

As the Exeter community continues to grapple with the recent revelations of sexual misconduct in the 1970s and 80s, many past and current students have sought to compare the sexual climate that existed at that time to the one that exists on campus today (See previous articles at theexonian.com.)

The discussion surrounding sexual abuse at the Academy has largely taken place online, with many alumni taking to Facebook groups to process the information.

Alumna Alexandra Garcia ’85 described her perception as a student of the sexual climate at Exeter in an email to The Exonian. According to her, as boarders in the 80s, students were isolated from the rest of world, learning about current events only through the radio or newspapers in the library, and only if one was inclined to seek such information. “Most of the information we got on sex pretty much was from pop music, because the newspapers did not talk about teenage sexuality,” she wrote. She emphasized that this problem was not unique to Exeter but rather affected teenagers everywhere.

“I think the ‘hook-up culture’ is much more widespread, and it’s posing new difficulties, especially when it comes to assault.”

In the 70s and 80s, female students were also still being introduced into the Academy community. The first female students, 39 day students, arrived in 1970. The first boarders did not join the student body until seven years later. In 1973, the school held a male to female ratio of 3:1.

Garcia claimed to have learned of Rick Schubart’s sexual relationship with a student who was a senior during Garcia’s prep year through conversation in the buttroom of Amen Hall. “It wasn’t a particularly well-kept secret, but neither was it widely discussed in the dorm as far as I know,” she wrote.

Another alumna who lived in Amen Hall and graduated in 1982, who asked The Exonian to withhold her name from publication, said she “strongly suspected” that a classmate was partaking in sexual relations with a teacher during her senior year. She wrote in an email to The Exonian that because students were aware of the relationship, they assumed that adults were, too, and that they would handle it if they deemed it unacceptable. “At the time, we considered ourselves to be very ‘adult,’” she wrote. “We thought it was not our business to flag an inappropriate relationship between a student and faculty member; ‘clearly’ she knew what she was doing.”

Garcia felt that, at the time, sexual assault was often left unreported unless it was “violent rape at gun[point] or knifepoint,” and that other types of sexual abuse, such as statutory or date rape, were not brought to the attention of the school unless one sustained an injury and needed to visit the Health Center. “All of these were things that happened on campus and elsewhere, just as they do today, but if we did talk about it,  it was… only amongst close friends,” she wrote.

Garcia expressed that the way students dealt with sex mirrored the way they navigated Exeter in general. “Figuratively, you were thrown into the deep end of the pool, and you either sank or figured out how to swim without anything remotely resembling a life preserver,” she wrote.

She added that students were often afraid to report instances of sexual abuse because they had occurred while other rules were being broken. “If there was a formal protocol, I don’t remember what it was,” she wrote. “From the students’ perspective I think it is safe to say that we just viewed every situation in terms of whether it was going to get us kicked out of school or not.”

The Academy currently outlines its policies regarding sexual misconduct and harassment in the E-book. Sexual harassment is defined by the school as “unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors and verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature,” while sexual misconduct is defined as “sexual harassment, sexual assault and unwanted contact of a sexual nature.” An extended definition for both terms can be found in the E-book. Should the Academy receive a complaint of harassment, the policy states that the school will promptly investigate and address the issue. An outside party, typically a lawyer trained in Title IX investigations, would be brought in for the investigation.

When a PEA employee is found to be guilty of sexual misconduct, the E-book says that discipline can range from a warning to job termination. Dean of Students Melissa Mischke said that dealing with sexual misconduct between faculty and students can be more complicated than when it occurs between two students. “A faculty member essentially has a full responsibility to be professional whenever they work with students,” she said. “You’re dealing with an employee who has a fiduciary duty to take care of the students.” Mischke said that actions of sexual misconduct violate Exeter’s Employee Code of Conduct and can result in employment termination.

Upper Claire Dauge-Roth felt that the current PEA teachers seem respectful of the boundaries they have with students and attributed this to the extensive training faculty receive from the school. However, she added that although the sexual climate has changed, new issues plague teenagers as they explore their sexuality. “I think the ‘hook-up culture’ is much more widespread,” she said, “and it’s posing new difficulties, especially when it comes to assault.” Dauge-Roth said that if she knew of an inappropriate relationship between a teacher and student, she would “probably” report it.

In an open letter to Principal Lisa MacFarlane and President of the Trustees Eunice Panetta, Carl Lindemann ’79, who taught religion at PEA in the early 90s, expressed confidence in Exeter’s ability to improve its handling of sexual abuse, citing how the school has worked to overcome other controversial issues in the past including racism, homophobia and religious intolerance. “We have come so far over other seemingly insurmountable obstacles,” he wrote. “We should have every confidence as we confront these difficulties and work to heal the damage they have done to our community.”

Garcia hoped that alumni will participate in the conversations surrounding sexual issues for PEA students.

“We see the current situation as providing an opportunity to not only reflect on our own experiences at the time, but more importantly, to use our collective strength as a body to ensure that today’s students have access to the support and resources you need to feel safe and protected,” she wrote.