Gonzaga Kairos Vandalism

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are plenty of things I did that I wasn't proud of, but none of them would've gotten me expelled or even suspended.

You never smoked in the boys room? Drank at a dance? or a football game?

[Anonymous]

Never smoked, didn't drink until I was 21. Sorry.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a genuine question for all of those being so critical. Even though you're a great parent, has your DC ever done something wrong and embarrassing? If your DC was involved in an event like this, would you be so adamant that all involved be expelled? And don't say my kid would never be involved in something like this. There are many wonderful parents who have kids that really screw up now and then. Take a look at your own teenage years. Did you ever do anything really stupid? I consider myself to have been a really good kid. My parents were amazing. But there are a few incidents from when I was a teen that, had I been caught, could have affected my future. I'm amazed by the blanket accusations and statements made about all of these kids, their parents, and an entire school. It's so vindictive.

I might agree with you if the boys had pulled down a stop sign or spray painted a mailbox. That’s the kind of garden variety bad choice an occasional “good” kid might make with his friends. This was not that. The extreme destruction over the course of two days (!) is a whole other thing. I don’t understand how you don’t see that.

Yes, I would absolutely expect my son to be expelled, and I wouldn’t fight the school about it. I don’t think my son would do something like this because he’s a bit of an odd duck and not much of a follower, but who knows? From an early age, we’ve talked about situations like this and how we expect him to behave. There are constantly stories in the news that provide opportunity for conversations with our children, and we do that. I really think you have to actively inoculate your kids by helping them think through how they would react in a variety of situations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are plenty of things I did that I wasn't proud of, but none of them would've gotten me expelled or even suspended.

You never smoked in the boys room? Drank at a dance? or a football game?

DP (public high school class of 85), but nope, nor did my friends or my spouse or his friends. We certainly know kids who drank and smoked after school events (never at them!), but they were not the majority. Do you really think all kids do these things?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Never smoked, didn't drink until I was 21. Sorry.

It's nothing to brag about.. carry on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are plenty of things I did that I wasn't proud of, but none of them would've gotten me expelled or even suspended.

You never smoked in the boys room? Drank at a dance? or a football game?

DP (public high school class of 85), but nope, nor did my friends or my spouse or his friends. We certainly know kids who drank and smoked after school events (never at them!), but they were not the majority. Do you really think all kids do these things?

Yes, most GZ class of '85 boys did this.

[Anonymous]

It must have been an extremely boring retreat.

[Anonymous]

This comparison of drinking or smoking weed in high school to extreme vandalism of two houses and a car is almost laughable. And this "boys will be boys" defense of these privileged vandals with no conscience is also laughable. I have two teenage kids at another school We try to teach them right from wrong, and also tell them all the time that they will make mistakes that will lead to consequences -- these mistakes do not define you and the best thing to do is to learn from the consequences. What is going on at Gonzaga is something totally different -- "we will protect you from real consequences for despicable acts." Go ahead, keep defending Gonzaga and its boys -- it makes the school look so much better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This comparison of drinking or smoking weed in high school to extreme vandalism of two houses and a car is almost laughable. And this "boys will be boys" defense of these privileged vandals with no conscience is also laughable. I have two teenage kids at another school We try to teach them right from wrong, and also tell them all the time that they will make mistakes that will lead to consequences -- these mistakes do not define you and the best thing to do is to learn from the consequences. What is going on at Gonzaga is something totally different -- "we will protect you from real consequences for despicable acts." Go ahead, keep defending Gonzaga and its boys -- it makes the school look so much better.

The point was not to compare drinking and smoking to vandalism... but kids are suspended all the time for those things... why not for vandalism. That is odd to me.

And the poster who has never drank or smoked... well that is not the norm.

Kids drink and smoke and get suspended and sometime expelled for these things so why not vandalism?

[Anonymous]

I know it fits your narrative but stop calling these acts of “privileged” kids with dads and money who can make this all go away. Did you ever consider for one second that it would be easier for Gonzaga to expel these kids? It would certainly go over better with the DCUM crowd. Did you ever think that maybe Gonzaga has a better view of where these boys would end up if they were to go to their public schools? If they’d go to school at all? Just maybe Gonzaga is willing to take the PR hit because it’s what’s best for the boys involved and there doesn’t seem to be a shortage of boys for new admissions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know it fits your narrative but stop calling these acts of “privileged” kids with dads and money who can make this all go away. Did you ever consider for one second that it would be easier for Gonzaga to expel these kids? It would certainly go over better with the DCUM crowd. Did you ever think that maybe Gonzaga has a better view of where these boys would end up if they were to go to their public schools? If they’d go to school at all? Just maybe Gonzaga is willing to take the PR hit because it’s what’s best for the boys involved and there doesn’t seem to be a shortage of boys for new admissions.

Oh brother.... they don't go to public (gasp), they usually switch to another Catholic.

It's not easier to expel because it is hard to get a bunch of seniors to transfer and expelling just 4 means $100K+ lost revenue.

Stop acting like this is work of a mission saving privileged boys from public. It's purely business. They can't take the hit athletically or financially so they will do what Jesuits do... pay them off and try to do some on house penance.... which will be a joke and forgotten about in 2 months.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know it fits your narrative but stop calling these acts of “privileged” kids with dads and money who can make this all go away. Did you ever consider for one second that it would be easier for Gonzaga to expel these kids? It would certainly go over better with the DCUM crowd. Did you ever think that maybe Gonzaga has a better view of where these boys would end up if they were to go to their public schools? If they’d go to school at all? Just maybe Gonzaga is willing to take the PR hit because it’s what’s best for the boys involved and there doesn’t seem to be a shortage of boys for new admissions.

Oh brother.... they don't go to public (gasp), they usually switch to another Catholic.

It's not easier to expel because it is hard to get a bunch of seniors to transfer and expelling just 4 means $100K+ lost revenue.

Stop acting like this is work of a mission saving privileged boys from public. It's purely business. They can't take the hit athletically or financially so they will do what Jesuits do... pay them off and try to do some on house penance.... which will be a joke and forgotten about in 2 months.

+1

[Anonymous]

Our child applied to Gonzaga, opted elsewhere. It did not strike me as particularly privileged? Do you even know that the students involved are, individually, 'privileged'? The location , facilities, service focus all seem not only not chi chi like many other area independent schools(campus alone), but with a big emphasis on service (sure that makes this more jarring, but they shouldn't be punished for a mission that values service). It also seemed to have what I would call quite a middle class feel, though could have a good number above and below- guessing scholarships too. It's a boysschool, it's a sports school- if anything, this is a chance for them to look at their culture and make sure it is healthy. There certainly havent been very many of these incidents over time so I would definitely trust them to handle it. I'm sure more than anyone, they dont want repeats. That doesn't always mean a draconian punishment. Sometimes it means being thoughtful and in it for the long run. - an educatoe

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know it fits your narrative but stop calling these acts of “privileged” kids with dads and money who can make this all go away. Did you ever consider for one second that it would be easier for Gonzaga to expel these kids? It would certainly go over better with the DCUM crowd. Did you ever think that maybe Gonzaga has a better view of where these boys would end up if they were to go to their public schools? If they’d go to school at all? Just maybe Gonzaga is willing to take the PR hit because it’s what’s best for the boys involved and there doesn’t seem to be a shortage of boys for new admissions.

Oh brother.... they don't go to public (gasp), they usually switch to another Catholic.

It's not easier to expel because it is hard to get a bunch of seniors to transfer and expelling just 4 means $100K+ lost revenue.

Stop acting like this is work of a mission saving privileged boys from public. It's purely business. They can't take the hit athletically or financially so they will do what Jesuits do... pay them off and try to do some on house penance.... which will be a joke and forgotten about in 2 months.

There you go, calling them “privileged boys” again. It’s what you want them to be.
And what’s the Catholic HS you say that will take expelled boys and offer them full financial scholarships?
What $$ are you talking about? Gonzaga ends up ahead financially by expelling boys who don’t pay tuition. Besides that Gonzaga could make than fill those seats next year.

[jsteele]

I've been pretty tolerant with this thread despite needing to remove many posts, but a poster just managed to exceed my tolerance levels. The thread had a good run, but everything comes to an end.