While walking through the doors of Metea Valley, students feel safe in a building among their peers and teachers—or at least that’s what most of us hope for. Unfortunately, it’s come to our attention that for some of our community members, this isn’t reality. Recently, multiple students have come forward with personal stories of sexual harassment.

In light of the recent events in Hollywood, government and elsewhere in society, proper behavior in the workplace is being reinforced with the need for more accountability. According to a recent survey done by The American Association of University Women, in a given school year, 48% of seventh to twelfth graders experienced some form of sexual harassment, which included anything from being called derogatory names to receiving unwanted physical contact that created discomfort. So this begs the question; when will it be the right time to discuss proper behavior in an academic environment?

So how exactly can sexual harassment be defined? According to The American Association of University Women, sexual harassment is the “unwelcome… verbal, nonverbal, or physical conduct of a sexual nature.” Essentially, any sexual contact can be considered sexual harassment if it is not conveyed and/or received in a friendly manner.

April is sexual harassment awareness month and the time is now for students to embrace their voices. In order to redefine what sexual harassment means as a student body here at Metea, the Student Voice Committee will host lunchtime sessions on Tuesday, April 17, and Friday, April 20, in the Collaboration Center (Located in the LMC). Here, students will be able to openly talk about the issue of sexual harassment. There will be discussions on what exactly sexual harassment of students is if it is a prominent problem at Metea, and what measures or policies can be done to solve it. Please feel free to come ready with ideas and potential solutions to this problem!

Signed,
Ayesha Ali
Nikki DeCastris
Aarthi Krishnakumar
Vinayak Manepalli
Leland Pan
Avyay Surampalli
Cayley Frolik
On behalf of The Metea Valley Student Voice Committee