Standing up with some brave Rocklin High girls

While students' concerns now are usually about end-of-the-school-year projects and preparing for finals, several Rocklin High School female students are focused on protecting themselves from bullying and abuse they say are committed by some student athletes. Two female students at a May 3 Rocklin Unified School District meeting brought up unrelated incidents they experienced that no one should ever go through. Allegedly caused by their peers, one incident was a sex crime and the other incident featured racism and discrimination. Following both incidents, the girls said, they were victimized by bullying caused by the athletes' supporters. The May 3 Rocklin Unified School District board meeting was brutal to watch. It was heartbreaking to hear the two girls describe being threatened, abused and scorned by popular sports team members and then treated like they were the problem. According to the girls, their families and their friends, the escalating bullying continued without any attempts by the school district's and high school representatives to mitigate the bullying, taunts and abuse. The school board heard the girls recount threats of rape, cyberbulling, retaliation and home vandalism by other students because they would not be silent about the incidents. The two female students, and their families and friends, described being made to feel helpless after school staff refused to help them and discipline the alleged perpetrators. Both girls told the school board May 3 that they were bullied and harassed to the point that one moved to another school and the other hid out during lunch period from football team members and their friends. The parents told the school board that staff did nothing to protect their daughters from the dangers they faced on campus as a result of the incidents, although they knew what was going on. If that's true, the school district and high school officials failed the girls. And that's unacceptable. By California law, school is supposed to be a safe place for all students to receive an education. Seth's Law specifically states: "If school personnel witness an act of discrimination, harassment, intimidation, or bullying, he or she shall take immediate steps to intervene when safe to do so" (Education Code Section 234.1(b)(1)). To the credit of other parents and students who planned to address the district on other issues May 3, all spoke of the two girls' courage in talking about the incidents and demanding that the district immediately fix the injustices suffered by them. There was plenty of shock and outrage immediately following the May 3 meeting by students and parents throughout south Placer County, as social media posts supporting the girls quickly spread. A week later, on May 10, almost 100 parents, students and community members participated in a walkout to protest Rocklin Unified School District staff's covering up the alleged sex crimes, racism and bullying by some sports players. On May 10 and May 11, Rocklin Unified School District Superintendent Roger Stock emailed families in the district about the May 3 comments from the girls and their supporters. In the May 10 email, Stock wrote in part, "We understand that students, families and staff would like more information. However, matters involving student discipline, investigations and consequences are confidential, in accordance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). Rocklin Unified continues to review board policies and student codes of conduct to identify areas for improvement. This includes further educational efforts focused on cyber-safety and sexting. We will continue to improve our efforts involving mental health supports, digital citizenship and cyber-bullying education for all grade levels."In the May 11 email, Stock included: "Rocklin Unified and the Rocklin Police Department collaborate closely each day with the shared goal of maintaining a safe and welcoming environment across all schools and the community. If students, families or staff have information that would be beneficial to ongoing investigations (or other concerns), please share the information with your school's principal or administration team or anonymously by clicking here (https://mobile.catapultems.com/rocklin-usd/Schools). If you have any information about incidents that are criminal-in-nature, please contact the Rocklin Police Department's School Resource Sergeant, Chris Osborne, at 916-625-5442."For the sake of all Rocklin Unified School District students, school administrators must immediately address the allegations and implement measures to ensure that all students can safely attend school without becoming targets of harassment and bullying. From the social media posts and calls to the newspaper, these alleged actions don't just occur at Rocklin High School. Other female high school students and graduates throughout the area are now talking about similar experiences with no consequences to other athletes accused of inappropriate and/or illegal interactions. School sports programs theoretically are great for students. Playing on a team teaches many invaluable life skills. That includes doing one's very best, working together for the team and respecting others. It's all about good sportsmanship. If the comments made at the May 3 school board meeting by students and their family members are found to be correct, however, then the student athletes in question have defiantly and blatantly ignored sports principles. That's distressing in 2023. It's time to listen to the girls' charges and change the culture today.