A Maine student says she feels "very ashamed" of her high school's decision to suspend her after posting a note in a bathroom that said "There's a rapist in our school and you know who it is."
The 15-year-old student in question—Aela Mansmann—spoke with BuzzFeed's Julia Reinstein about the Cape Elizabeth High School suspension, which was handed down last Friday.
"For three weeks, myself and other students were brought in for interviews and interrogation," Aela said. "They promised all of us whoever put notes up would not be in trouble."
According to Aela, she had grown "fed up" with the alleged sexual assault and harassment facing her classmates and the inaction in the direction of those accused. She also pointed out that the note, which spawned similar messages, wasn't directed at a specific person. However, a student ultimately took issue with the notes and made a report to school administrators arguing that they constituted bullying.
School officials, meanwhile, have defended their decision to suspend Aela and two other students for what they say is a violation of anti-bullying policy.
Principal Jeffrey Shedd, per the Press Herald, said the student who felt bullied by the notes missed eight days of school because he "felt unsafe" but is now back in class.
"The students who posted the sticky notes made a bad choice even though their intentions were good," Shedd said in a letter to the school community earlier this week. "People were hurt by those bad choices. The students regret their choices, I'm sure. They will learn. We don't expect perfection of our students. We freely give second chances."
Shedd also said that all three students could have their suspensions expunged from their record in the future.
