Get kicked out of camp? Sue!

[fireheart17]

http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/par...-1226688462947

So during a summer camp, a 15-year-old girl and boy took a moment to have a little kiss behind the arts and crafts building. Despite the rules at the camp clearly stating that kissing is not prohibited, the girl was expelled for "sexually provocative behaviour", as was the boy. The girl is now filing a lawsuit.

Honestly, I can understand the need for some form of restitution, but suing for half a million is a tad steep.

[Panacea]

They'll settle for far less than that.

[s_stabeler]

actually, it's more reasonable than it seems: the girl was known to be insecure, as well as having anxiety problems severe enough to require medication. Counsellors had apparently encouraged the boy to kiss the girl, who was publically humiliated before being expelled, being escorted by an ARTMED POLICE OFFICER off campus.

in other words, for the first time in her life, the girl was able to feel normal, and did absolutely nothing wrong, then was publically humiliated and expelled form the camp. That is likely to badly set back treatment for her anxiety, let alone for her social issues.

[Kheldarson]

Didn't the camp director call her a slut and a whore too?

*goes looking for article*

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2013/07/...r-kissing-boy/

Okay, tramp, not whore, but still.

[s_stabeler]

yeah, the lawsuit sounds a lot more reasonable, especially when you realize they are suing for punitive damages as well. Considering the likely effect it will have on the girl (I'll bet her anxiety issues, which have probably been worsened by this, make it a struggle for her to find a job) they are being pretty reasonable to me Personally, I hope the camp director gets fired for this, assuming she doesn't own the camp.

edit- especially considering the fact that this situation appears to have been engineered by the staff of the camp. ( remember, they encouraged the boy to kiss the girl. Then reported her for sexual behaviour? umm...

[hinakiba777]

The amount of the lawsuit does not seem steep at all, considering the punitive damages. I mean, a girl with Anxiety Disorder and OCD gets called a slut and a tramp, and then kicked out of camp, while being escorted by POLICE! Yeah, that is going to cause some severe ripples. Plus, Panacea said, they will probably settle for this. The higher initial amount allows more room for negotiations during a settlement. Unless this goes to court...

Playing Devil's Advocate in regards to the Engineering: It could easily have been that one set of staff may have encouraged the boy, while other might have stumbled on the scene. Not say this is necessarily what happened, but it seems likely. Summer camps tend to have few dozen councilors.

[fireheart17]

Playing Devil's Advocate in regards to the Engineering: It could easily have been that one set of staff may have encouraged the boy, while other might have stumbled on the scene. Not say this is necessarily what happened, but it seems likely. Summer camps tend to have few dozen councilors.

This is fairly likely. Heck, even at work I'll get told one thing by a kid because staff member #2 told them too. o.o

[s_stabeler]

Irrelevant. The staff presumably know about the puritan attitude of the camp director, therefore the staff who encouraged the boy to kiss the girl knew this was likely to happen. The staff who reported it ( when they knew the camp director would overreact, even though the girl did nothing wrong) Therefore, it's engineered by the staff regardless of if there is an actual conspiracy. ( specifically, the staff who encouraged the boy to kiss the girl knew that if word got to the camp director the kids would be in trouble- the staff who reported it should know the camp director would overreact. Even aside from the point that it shouldn't have been reported in the first place.)

[Rageaholic]

As someone who suffers from anxiety, I don't have much sympathy for the camp. Probably a bunch of uptight religious people who don't want people having fun. Fuck them.

[Hyena Dandy]

The staff presumably know about the puritan attitude of the camp director, therefore the staff who encouraged the boy to kiss the girl knew this was likely to happen.

The staff who reported it ( when they knew the camp director would overreact, even though the girl did nothing wrong)

Are any of the camp staff psychics?

Because otherwise, I don't know why you're assuming all this. Most people who are prudes don't exactly wear T-shirts labeled "I will humiliate people who kiss." And there's nothing religious listed on the Camp Emerson website to make me sure that the people would know. If it's not listed in the rulebook, and this hasn't happened before... What are you assuming they knew she'd get kicked out based on?

[s_stabeler]

the camp had been going for at least 5 years at this point. I'm assuming the staff know each other by now and the kind of attitude that causes things like this tends to be fairly obvious.

[TheHuckster]

the camp had been going for at least 5 years at this point. I'm assuming the staff know each other by now and the kind of attitude that causes things like this tends to be fairly obvious.

That's assuming the camp keeps is turnover rate after 5 years. Camps like these hire seasonal work, and it's likely that many councilors don't work there for 5 consecutive years and are unfamiliar with the director's nature. Heck, it's even possible the director hasn't been there for 5 years.

Not to mention, while it's 5 elapsed years, it's still only about 15 months of total experience, assuming this is like most camps which operate only during summer vacation.

[s_stabeler]

OK, I'll grant that. On the other hand, the staff who reported the kissing still aren't off the hook- they shouldn't have reported it, since it wasn't against the rules.

[wolfie]

This situation could have been resolved in a manner that wouldn't have made the news. How?

Counselors who find the kids kissing take them aside, and tell them that while the rules don't specifically prohibit kissing, some people could get overly excited if they found out it had been going on - so it would be a bad idea to do it again.

[hinakiba777]

OK, I'll grant that. On the other hand, the staff who reported the kissing still aren't off the hook- they shouldn't have reported it, since it wasn't against the rules.

Counselors who find the kids kissing take them aside, and tell them that while the rules don't specifically prohibit kissing, some people could get overly excited if they found out it had been going on - so it would be a bad idea to do it again.

That I can agree with. Even if they didn't know what would happen to the two campers, reporting something that isn't against the rules is a huge overreaction. As wolfie said, they should have just taken the kids aside to talk to them.

I really do feel bad for the girl.