At Regis Jesuit High School there are two separate schools, the boys-division and the girls-division, as I do believe that this is part of the problem, but Regis Jesuit is missing an opportunity to be part of the solution.

“I think that an all girls school makes an easy target and it’s unfortunate that 9th graders and I assume other grades do negative things because of that.” Says Mrs. Sherwood.

They may be an easy target for the boys and some people may blame the problem on that fact and that fact only, but not me, even if they are an easy target the boys are the ones who are taking advantage of it and using it to make the girls feel bad.

Some schools say that the reason why the boys are not taught about the way that girls need to be treated is because the girls and the boys are in the same class room and it would be an inconvenience to the girls that have to sit through that conversation. But at Regis Jesuit the classes are not co-divisional. So why doesn’t Regis Jesuit give these conversations with these boys?

The reason: a phrase that is going around in the schools that the teachers say to girls when ever they ask about this topic. “Boys will be Boys”, but … years ago this saying had never been said because this was not a problem.

“I know that a lot of boys sexualize girls from my own experience of the inappropriate comments I have received,” Says Emma Ciafone.

So I guess that is just boys being boys right? Wrong! The boys at Regis Jesuit were not born to treat these girls the way that they do and say these things, all it is, is that the boys lack the ability to control themselves and that is a huge problem.

Nine years ago there was a huge problem because the girls-division had just started and the boys were angry. Mrs. Sherwood said that she was teaching a freshman and he told her that a Senior, told the student that he had to hate everyone in the girls division.

Nine years ago! Don’t you think the boys would have gotten over that by now? But no. There is still a huge rivalry between the two divisions and the girls are the ones who are taking the beatings from the verbal attacks.

“One of the biggest things you here about the girls division is they are an arts and crafts school, I have herd that so many times from boys at this point and it’s ridiculous at this point.” says Mrs. Sherwood.

Physical abuse.This has been a problem for years to girls and to boys. But over the past 10 years there has been a different kind of abuse rising to the surface and in 2015 a lot of teachers believe that this kind of abuse is much worse than physical abuse. Verbal abuse.

In high school if a teen girl gets pregnant she gets verbally and sometimes physically abused, she gets prosecuted because she got pregnant. “In administration I feel that girls aren’t treated fairly since the way we dress is much more valued than the way we act.” said Emma Ciafone.

But how does a girl get pregnant, most of the time there is boy a involved and what kind of abuse does the boy suffer after this happens. None! His friends think that it is a good thing that he had sex with a girl rather than the fact that he was the one that got her pregnant.

The thing that most people don’t understand about this is that it is a one way street when it comes to this subject. The girl is the only one who has to hide and the only one who gets abused and prosecuted. Why is this? Because boys believe that girls are an easier target and they believe that they will not fight back.

“In administration I feel that girls are not treated fairly since the way we dress is much more valued than the way that we act, which is clear to see if you look at our demerit cards.” says Emma Ciafone.

This quote leads me to my next point. Fairness. Fairness is different than equality, equality is when you are treated the exact same way no matter what you do but people are different and they make different choices. Fairness, on the other hand, means that everyone is treated the same way for certain situations.

This theory of fairness is supposed to be represented at Regis Jesuit but is it really? No. If you look at the demerits that girls get for being out of dress code there is a huge difference.

When a young-man is out of dress code in the boys-division most teachers simply tell them to tuck in their shirt or to take off their jacket, but in the girls-division being out of dress code will get you 1-4 demerits and in some instances a JUG.

The point of having a dress code at Regis Jesuit is to help students be proper and learn how to dress in a good manner. But after these girls get prosecuted again and again they stop to give up on the dress code.

Some teachers think that this is their fault but is it really? No. The constant abuse targeting the girls has driven them to stop following the dress code at all. It is the end of the year now and the students at Regis Jesuit constantly see girls wearing leggings and yoga pants because they just do not care any more.

The fact is this problem has been going on for years and is not only effecting the girls lives today but effecting their lives in the future too.

“I think that if boys keep treating girls this way for the next two years then it will keep being this way. If the administration does not teach the boys how to treat girls now then it will still be a problem forever.” Says Hannah Trotter.

This problem will lead to something of a federal issue if the boys are not taught before they enter collage. At the University of Michigan there was a study done on this subject.

The study showed that 95% of students did not know the difference between rape and a girl being drunk and saying no to sex. Almost 100% of boys said that they would never rape and girl but if she was drunk and she said no then they would go for it.

This is an enormous problem and the place that it starts is in the heart of our middle schools and high school. And that is the real problem.