Nichole Moraila

Bio 027

Essay I

On October 25, a 12-year old girl, student of Willard Middle School was sexually assaulted by 9 boys for over five hours. After the sexual assault the girl was transferred to another school, Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School. On November 8, the same girl was lured to a secluded area of campus and raped by a 13 year old boy. The next day the boy was arrested on charges of rape and he was then released to his parents. The girl has since been taken out of school. The sexual assault on October 25 was the first sexual assault in all three middle schools since the early 90's.

Seven of the nine boys who were involved in the October 25, sexual assault have been arrested and are currently in juvenile hall. According to the Alameda prosecutors there was no evidence of sexual intercourse during the gang assault. Since the police did not learn of the assault until October 27, doctors would not conduct a rape test since the girl had bathed in the two days since the first sexual assault.

In an attempt to not alarm parents, district officials have tried not to divulge the fact that the victim was the same in both assaults. On November 15, Martin Luther King Jr. Principal Neil Smith issued a letter to parents mentioning the sexual assault at Willard Middle School and also mentioned that ``last week, two students were engaged in sexual activity in the bushes during lunch time''. The two incidents were never tied together by Mr. Smith. Parents have since learned that there was a common victim in both incidents and they are outraged.

It's very scary to think that incidents like these can happen in your city and neighborhood.

Why do these things happen? Is it all of the anger, frustration and curiosity about sex that causes these incidents? Would sex education help in preventing crimes like these? Perhaps if parents made more of an effort to discuss sex with their children at a younger age, like maybe 2-3 years of age, they may feel more comfortable about both themselves and sex. If they are educated about sex this might ease some of the frustration and natural curiosity that can occur during their adolescent years. Also, by discussing sex with your children they may feel more at ease when they have questions or problems regarding sex. Most children and adolescents learn about sex from the media and their friends, and most of the information they are taught is false.

Yes, Principal Smith at Martin Luther King Jr. told parents of the sexual assault at Willard Middle School, but he didn't want to alarm parents, so he elected only to share that on Nov. 8, "sexual activity had occurred in the bushes". Rape certainly does deserve cause for alarm. Mr. Smith never mentioned the word rape to the parents. Despite the fact that movies, television shows and music videos are full of sex, it seems that we're only supposed to look at it but not talk about it. Parents and students both need to know what is happening in their schools and neighborhoods to further protect themselves. Talking about sex seem like a good way to begin.

Bibliography

www.sfgate.com

Word Count: 544