It should not end well but when everything is relative then everything is relative.

I'm with you, Abdul…this school district has long prided itself on its image, and now, it's taking a huge beating.

It behooves us to wait until facts are in and results announced. But consider this:

**there are statutes which place extra burden on school personnel, to report suspected abuse instantly, without fear of retribution for any potentially false charges. The law considers children sacrosanct, and the law relieves us alll of the commonly-thought dilemna: “what if my suspisions are wrong?” Absent, of course, deliberate malice in reporting suspected abuse.

**A good friend tells me this alleged incident(s) took place on one of those “short” buses…only five or six rows deep. So an adult was just a few feet away from this alleged conduct?

If it's any consolation, the new superintendent, Dr. Swensen, is a no-nonsense guy. Very smart. And, to his credit, he comes to the job this year, with no Carmel baggage. Which is almost impossible to find in a Carmel admin staffer. Too many folks in Carmel Schools walk, talk and sleep “denial.” On multiple fronts–race, economics, real-world education, etc.

The statue reference was helpful, Abdul. I think we all get the mental image of what allegedly happened here. Within easy earshot and eye contact of one or two supervising adults. If true, this goes beyond the “boys will be boys” mantra.

Here's a cunundrum: boys' BB sectional starts in a week. Think there'll be any action taken before then? If you think there will be, you haven't paid close attention to our love affair with sports. That entire team will likely be intact until after their tourney run is finished. Then, **poof** the results of the probe will be announced two or three days thereafter.

Some things never change.

Oh yeah–if these charges are true, the Carmel school system is liable for some potentially-hefty civil damages. These kidns of incidents cna scar a kid for life if not properly treated by professionals.

Let's all hope the charges aren't true, and if they are, that the proper justice follows, first for the victim(s), then for the accused.

WTHR reported this AM that four Carmel seniors would not be playing in the next game. Plus, that one of the reported victims had been on suspension for fighting during the last month.

I suppose that could be construed as the denial. Suspend the victim for fighting back without looking for the reason why.

The problem with hazing of any kind is that saying it should go away, even legislating it to go away – doesn't just make it go away. Learned human behavior is very difficult to change, especially when that behavior is found within group settings. While an individual might never actually behave in a certain fashion alone, in a group setting the whole dynamic changes, and unacceptable behaviors can certainly find an outlet if no one strongly stands up against it. It's worse when the alleged perpetrators may have had the same thing doen to them without any punishment being administered to their tormentors.

What disappoints me (so far) the most is that the supervising adults failed their charges, and (as yet) are not being held accountable in any way.

Varan, with school personnel, you have to move with calculated skill. All steps must be properly documented. And now that police are called in, from the school admin perspective, it slows things down. You cannot automatically assume that any allegedly-responsible adults are escaping accountability.

The internal school investigation is likely proceeding on its own path, being conducted by the AD/principal/superintendent. Tip-toeing around the CPD probe. Some of these suspected wrong-doers have likely lawyered-up. As in–those 7 little words no one wants to hear: You Have The Right To Remain Silent. There is no shortage of, uh, **$$**resources to hire good legal help in Carmel.

Harken back to last spring: high schoolers in Zionsville were partying at the home of a fellow student, with parental assistance. A famous former Colt hosted. He actually took the ridiculous position that he had the right to host and to supervise under-age drinkers. He defiantly resisted prosecutors, hired the top criminal defense lawyer in town, and peddled his “drink at home instead of driving on the road” mantra. He lost–ultimately, a plea was arranged. Sometimes in these cases, when fiscal resources are endless, brains fly out the window. It's as if no nearby adults have the Common Sense gene–a tremendous sense of “entitlement” that trickles down to their prodigy.

I know for a fact that attitude exists in this Carmel situation, to some degree. A colleague who has kids in the Carmel athletic program told me yesterday: “What you don't know is these younger kids asked for it. This is normal boys-will-be-boys behavior.” Seriously. With a straight face he said that. That attitude may prevail, or be a minority, but if it exists to any degree, it's a scar on the entire program, and an insult to the many parents who do care what happens.

Maybe there's a new day in Carmel. They certainly need it. Let's just give it a ltitle time to percolate. The rights of several people hang in the balance–accused, alleged victims, bystanders, of all ages. Carmel can emerge from this a better school district.

It's not just well off children. I went to a wretched public school full of low income family hoods in middle school. They would stalk you and beat you up after school if you made good grades or they decided they didn't like you for whatever reason. I would not fight back. Once they bashed my head on railroad tracks. Once they threw me in the mud when I had on a little pink angora dress. In the 70's no one did anything about it. No kid should live in fear of going to school everyday like I did in middle school.

This whole thing is a mess. Without many facts to go on it's important not to speculate. I know that criminal behavior can occur anywhere but I hope that this does not become like the Duke Lacrosse team.

Like other commenters, however, I have some key questions:
(1) What happened to the on board bus camera video?
(2) What heck is going on with the coaches and the driver of the bus?
(3) Why did the principal (who seems to be a good guy), initially, tell the press that the incident “did not reach the level of criminal behavior”?

If the facts point toward criminal behavior then I think that not only the guilty teenagers should face consequences but the adults who were supposed to be providing supervision should face consequences.

You know this man has integrity how? What about the coaches? Is he more worried with the reputation of his school than he his the protection of his students? It amazes me that you have cleared this man simply because of this announcement. (Hell, no it doesn't. You believe every word out of President Teleprompter's mouth.) That principal must be a charming guy!

And, the pity of it is that my foreman has more power to take decisive action than the Carmel principal. Asleep on the job? Fired instantly. There are no good reasons for teachers, administratiors, or coaches to be handled with kid gloves. Conspiracies against the public should be abolished beginning with 217

You commented that the principal had integrity. I simply pointed out that you came to that conclusion rather hastily. Hell, you've proved that integrity means little to you, so I guess it's a moot point.

Hopefully, this well publicized and unfortunate incident is going help a lot of kids that don't quite fit in not worry every day about being terrorized at school.

The facts are not in, TA. That was exactly my point. But I think you knew that. While you're not the Obi Wan of this site as some (pathetically) think, you are wise enough to get my point. None of us know!
I have 'venom' for those forces that I see destroying our country. That venom is usually directed at policy and ideology rather than at individuals. And I think some on here would label your blind hatred of Sarah Palin as 'venomous'.
If you were the parent of one of the students assaulted (if the allegations are true), how would you feel if the adults in question were allowed to continue coaching?
You have decided that this principal has integrity simply because he has suspended accused rapists from playing. Wow! What punishment! None of us know the facts. I pray that they are not as horrific as the stories that I have heard. But if the stories are true, every student and every coach should be held to account. And if this principal is playing 'politics' with his decison, then he should be strung up with the rest.

These coaches and students should prepare themselves. Things like this always come back. If I was a one of those parents, I would see to it.

I'm venomus because I demand harsh treatment for those who abuse, or allow to be abused, children?? Some of us on her would describe as venomous your treatment of Sarah Palin, a woman who had the ausacity to carry who child with Down Syndrome to term.

I think this the integrity of this courageous principal

The Sarah Palin directed venom and TA's Sarah Palin outright lies convict TA as a low level hack. He refuses to admit that he is bonkers unlike this thread where he readily admits to being corrected. So, that is progress of a sort. On the subject of Palin TA has nothing to say of any usefulness and he ought to just shut up so that his essential foolishness on the subject isn't transferred to other subjects. According to my dinner guest last night, a Carmel grad, stuff like this has been going on for decades there but, to him, it seems like it has been getting worse, much worse, although facts of the current matter seem scarce and judgement should be with held until all the facts are on the table. Schools reflexively cover up things…(how are we coming with the $900,000.00 fiasco at Washington Township schools, a nest of corruptions over decades or just a small error)? Board members of Carmel have not been heard from either.

Dave, I don't think anyone is suggesting that a huge settlement will help the children who suffer this sort of abuse will help them cope. However, a chunk of change from tax payers pockets will get taxpayers (IE the employers of the school administration including the superintendent, principal, coaches, etc…) riled up and will ensure that a school will take the necessary steps to make sure it won't happen on school grounds or at school sponsored events.

This would be a completely different story (and maybe not even a well reported one) if this was done outside of school where they have no control over students. Sure, the school may still take action against the children, but they wouldn't be LIABLE.

Forgetting the acculturated reflex (flaw suits) for a moment (not me poiwn-tat-awl); “settlement,” would be a conscious departure from the entitlement “paradigm,” which costs a whole lot more than 20 cents…

The entitlement mentality afflicts the entire economic spectrum, the cure for which exists in our DNA; not the emotive droning of slobbering, publicly funded statists.

No one should have to suffer what thugs do. Their victims do not suffer from entitlement, but a lack of justice. We, as a society, need to correct that. And if the only way to make us, as a society, ensure that we don't let thugs run our schools is by losing a chunk of change to a lawsuit and then more change to improving schools so they can crack down on thug abuse, then so be it.

What in the world are you talking about? What does this have to do with what's going on in Carmel High School?

Here we are in May of 2010, and Carmel High School, and
Carmel Indiana, are STILL in DENIAL.
This is a MASSIVE COVER-UP. BIG MONEY and
SOCIAL STATUS buys so-called “justice” in Carmel
Indiana. Swennson and Williams are doing NOTHING.
The Carmel-Clay school board is a DISGRACE, and
so is the Carmel Indiana Police force, and Brainard.
A MASSIVE COVER-UP from start to finish.