Prestigious Boarding School Sued for Bullying

Prestigious Boarding School Sued for Bullying

Thursday, December 11, 2008

A couple filed a federal lawsuit against an affluent all-girls school after their daughter had been bullied for months.

A group of girls at the exclusive Miss Porter's School allegedly bullied Tatum Bass until two physicians had to advise her to take a break from the school. The girl's harassers then put a "For Rent" sign on her bed and the school threatened to expel her.

Bass said in the suit that she was taunted and insulted publicly because she had attention-deficit disorder. She added that she had been bullied at a school dance, on campus, in text messages and on Facebook.

"(Her) emotional stress and anxiety became overwhelming," the suit said.

The lawsuit asks for unspecified damages and to be reinstated in good standing so that Bass can graduate.

Miss Porter's enrolls about 330 students from all over the world. The school's annual tuition tops off at $43,000 a year and to be accepted is considered a guaranteed ticket to an Ivy League school upon graduation.

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Rich,little,spoiled brats very well describes these girls getting their laughs at another girls expense. I hope you all fail every class and NEVER get into ANY good COLLEGE. I wish I lived in that town so I could teach you all a thing or two or maybe five. I would consider it enriching to have that one girl for a friend. I am your 76 year young grandmother. SHAME ON YOU ALL !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

- Bea.

Posted 12/11/08 09:56 PM

Shame on you, “Bea”.

- Tamara Beale

Posted 12/12/08 01:59 AM

Unfortunately, my neighbor’s daughter is being bullied by a group of girls at our local public school, so I don’t think this phenomenon is one only found at a fancy schools. To focus so much on one case when it is EVERYWHERE will only let it be perpetuated.

- Kla

Posted 12/12/08 08:34 AM

To go to Miss Porter’s is not a ticket to an Ivy League school. The majority of the girls do not go to Ivy League schools after graduation. Please check your facts before posting articles online for the whole world to see.

- Lisa

Posted 12/12/08 09:30 PM

Reporting the details of one side of a disputed lawsuit is shaky reporting at best. However, to do it with such a tone of bias and sensationalistic fantasy, and to drag not only an institution but also an entire student body of young girls through the mud is morally reprehensible. This article is full of inaccuracies and it does a grave injustice to the wonderfully supportive community so many have worked to maintain at MPS. I am particularly offended that the article relates a now defunct name to a Russian group of no relevance to the story or Miss Porter’s school. Miss Porter’s was eradicating bullying from its student body long before bullying became a national issue. I can only speak from my own experience but in my days there I saw zero instances of anything that could be construed as bullying. And I am quite certain anything even close to bullying would not be tolerated by the administration nor the student body. Certainly it’s possible a bully could slip through the cracks at any school. However, I have some serious doubts about this story. Regardless, anyone can file any allegations they want in a lawsuit. It remains innocent until proven guilty. Personally, I am taken aback by the number of people who are so quick to condemn based on an unsubstantiated lawsuit. How would you feel if you were accused. Lawsuits are an excellent way to slander a name, particularly if you use a hot-button issue like bullying. Don’t let your good intentions lead astray from analyzing this poorly written, highly biased article. I am proud to say I recently graduated from Miss Porter’s and that I experienced an environment where diversity, intellectual debate, and a supportive, welcoming community thrived. The faculty, administration, and students go above and beyond to make MPS a rich and warm community with tremendous support for all. This article is really just gross pandering to outdated stereotypes and sensationalism. I hope you will all reserve judgment until all the facts are revealed in a more unbiased and responsible manner.

- Aghast

Posted 12/17/08 03:34 PM

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/erin-gates/missing-one-miss-porter s_b_151097.html “MISSING: One Miss Porter’s “Golden Ticket” After reading the press regarding the lawsuit filed this week against Miss Porter’s School, I am rendered slack jawed in shock. I will remain tight-lipped about the claims the Bass family makes in their suit until all the facts are presented on both sides, but I cannot remain silent about the horrible, unfair way the media has portrayed my beloved alma mater. The unfounded and un-researched claims made by various news outlets enrage me and leave me feeling the need to defend the very school that was a fundamental part of helping me become the successful, strong, dynamic woman I am today. Traversing the tumultuous waters of the teen years is difficult no matter who you are or where you go to school, and everyone’s experience is different. No one experience can define a place or a time- yet I feel that the media is allowing this one story to describe Miss Porter’s as a school, the student body and alumnae as a whole. Miss Porter’s is a magnificent place to be educated. Steeped in history and a long- standing pillar of the same-sex academic community, it practices what it preaches which is to produce graduates that will help “shape a changing world”. I arrived at Miss Porter’s my junior year and was immediately embraced by a caring staff and community in which I felt safe, respected and free to figure out exactly who I was and who I wanted to be. I was pleasantly surprised to find a teaching staff so invested in our learning that they would invite us into their homes for dinner and extra study sessions, as well as a group of students that were the most dynamic, smart and welcoming girls I’d ever met. Overlooked by many of the reports in the press is the fact that 40% of Miss Porter’s students are on some form of financial aid and come from 22 states, 10 different countries and 23% are non-Caucasian. It is not a homogeneous place of “mean girls”, but a diverse community of respectful women dedicated to their education. Miss Porter’s has a wonderful set of traditions that date back to the beginning of the school in 1843. Some of these traditions have been amended as time progresses, the “Oprichniki” (called “The Keepers” as of 1998, a fact omitted by the press) being one them.

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