An embarrassing and obscene "Senior List" describing the personal and sexual habits of female upperclassmen at a Missouri high school is the focus of one furious parent's crusade, KTVI reports.
Ruth Alhemeier, a mother at Ladue Horton Watkins High School, said the vulgar list constitutes a federal title IX violation, and she isn't afraid to take legal action if the harassment continues.
Alhemeier, who shared copies of the list with local television stations, said the document is distributed around campus toward the end of each school year. Alhemeier's daughter, who graduated in May, brought the list to her mother's attention last spring, after copies started showing up all over the school's campus.
"It’s shocking; it’s obscene; it’s vulgar, and I just couldn’t believe it," Alhemeier told KTVI.
Written by junior boys, the list discusses the body parts, hygiene and sexual habits of a five to 10 senior females. The tradition may date back several decades, according to sources close to the school.
After her daughter came to her hysterical, Alhemeier brought her concerns to the school's principal, Bridget Hermann. But according to Alhemeier, Hermann told her there was little authorities could do.
“Well it’s kind of just tradition, it’s been going on for a really long time there’s not much we can do to stop it," she says Hermann told her.
Ahlemeier also said she tried to file a complaint with the school but was told an investigation by administrators had concluded no rules had been broken.
Unsatisfied with the response, Ahlemeier took her case to the district. Several letters to the school board later, Ahlemeier was invited to a closed door meeting with the school district on Monday, Patch reports. Ahlemeier, who wanted the meeting made public, was accompanied by state Rep. Sue Allen, who has sponsored several unsuccessful anti-bullying bills in the past.
Susan Dielmann, director of communications for the Ladue School District told Patch that the district was "looking at efforts to curb [the tradition]. It's a culture of bullying we're trying to address. We have anti-bullying measures in place and there are plans to ramp those up.
In an interview with KSDK, Hermann admitted said that "Students at our high school at times make some pretty poor decisions."
Although Hermann declined to comment on whether or not any male students had been disciplined, Joan Oakley, an assistant superintendent in the district told Ahlemeier that those responsible had been identified, and "received immediate and long-term consequences."
Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated the type of civil rights statute potentially violated by the the "Senior List. The correct statute is Title IX.