# How should a school deal with pantsing? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 28, 2009, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-a-school-deal-with-pantsing/494644 "2009-04-28T17:59:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![SmellMyWort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SmellMyWort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmellMyWort)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2009, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-a-school-deal-with-pantsing/494644/201 "2009-04-29T18:36:30Z")
I thought it might be helpful to see what an actual HS handbook says about this type of thing. I did a google search of “high school handbook” as many schools publish their Code of Conduct, etc. on school websites. This was the first non-amazon hit: [Murray County High School](http://www.murray.k12.ga.us/handbooks/FINAL%20high%20school%202004-2005.htm). Section 7 deals with Physical and Verbal Abuse. Obviously the rules will vary from school to school. > [@](#): > > 7.0 PHYSICAL AND VERBAL ABUSE > > 7.3 Pushing, Shoving, Kicking, or other physically aggressive behaviors > > First offense: 5 days ISS, Parent Contact; possible police action > Second offense: 5 days suspension, Parent Contact; possible police action > Third offense: 10 days Suspension, Parent Contact, possible police action, Tribunal hearing > > 7.4 Endangering the well being of self and/or others through malicious jokes, pranks, tricks, games, etc. > > First offense: 5 days ISS, Parent Contact > Second offense: 5 days suspension, Parent Contact > Third offense: 10 days Suspension, Parent Contact, Tribunal hearing > > 7.5 Sexual harassment and sexual violence > > Sexual harassment and sexual violence may constitute sexual abuse **as defined by state and federal statutes**. In such cases the appropriate authorities will be notified. In all cases, the administration will follow Murray County Board of Education Policy concerning sexual harassment and sexual violence. Sexual harassment and sexual violence are actionable when the misconduct is directed toward school system employees, other students or persons attending school related events. Each provable offense may result in 10 days Suspension, Parent Contact, possible Police Action, possible Tribunal Hearing, and notification of event to the School Social Worker. Conversely, complaints proven to be false and of a malicious nature will be considered serious infractions of the student code of conduct and may result in up to 10 days suspension, possible Police Action, possible Tribunal Hearing, and notification of the event to the School Social Worker. To me, it looks like the action falls under 7.4, so a 5-day in school suspension and notify parents. It might fall under 7.3 too, as an “agressive behavior” but we’d need to know more about the circumstances. If so, the punishment is the same but with “possible police action,” so clearly the school reserves the right to call the police or not. Based on Post 44 by Randy Seltzer and given the info we have, it doesn’t seem to me like this “shorts-check” meets the definition of sexual assault. If the parents are not happy with the punishment, they can always notify the police themselves. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2009, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-a-school-deal-with-pantsing/494644/202 "2009-04-29T18:38:56Z")
Wait! Wait! Wait! I think we are all ignoring a vital piece of information! Did he start singing “I see London, I see France, I see Susie’s underpants!” after the pantsing occurred? Because then it’s physical and verbal sexual assault. Seriously though, we’ll never come to an agreement over what should happen because what happened directly after the pantsing is a mystery. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2009, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-a-school-deal-with-pantsing/494644/203 "2009-04-29T18:45:33Z")
Even if we know exactly what happened, we may still not come to agreement. Looking at those laws and regulations, it seems like there’s a significant amount of wiggle room for interpretation. I can see valid reasons for calling it 7.3, 7.4, and 7.5. ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2009, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-a-school-deal-with-pantsing/494644/204 "2009-04-29T18:48:08Z")
> [@InvisibleWombat](#): > > Personally, I think the police should have been called right away. I think it’s probably a stretch to call it rape. Likewise, it’s probably a stretch to call it murder. ---
**Author:** ![SmellMyWort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SmellMyWort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmellMyWort)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2009, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-a-school-deal-with-pantsing/494644/205 "2009-04-29T18:54:54Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Wait! Wait! Wait! I think we are all ignoring a vital piece of information! > > Did he start singing “I see London, I see France, I see Susie’s underpants!” after the pantsing occurred? Because then it’s physical and verbal sexual assault. > > Seriously though, we’ll never come to an agreement over what should happen because what happened **directly after** the pantsing is a mystery. Or before. Was she daring him to or has this guy been tormenting the girl for some time? Did she pants him last week and this is revenge, or was this a completely random act? The point is that the circumstances matter and that’s why it’s clear to me that schools build in room for judgement. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2009, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-a-school-deal-with-pantsing/494644/206 "2009-04-29T18:57:48Z")
Nobody has called it rape. That whole angle is a huge strawman. ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2009, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-a-school-deal-with-pantsing/494644/207 "2009-04-29T19:02:02Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Nobody has called it rape. That whole angle is a huge strawman. Which is what they’d call this guy if they pantsed him. OH SNAP! ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2009, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-a-school-deal-with-pantsing/494644/208 "2009-04-29T19:09:03Z")
Kudos for looking to actual school handbooks. Looks like under 7.3 or 7.4, this particular school imposes a 5 day ISS. Maybe short of expulsion or police notification, but strikes me as considerably more severe than the relatively minimal “one day of detention” response at least some folk advocated. > [@SmellMyWort](#): > > Based on Post 44 by Randy Seltzer and given the info we have, it doesn’t seem to me like this “shorts-check” meets the definition of sexual assault. I find paragraph 7.5 a little confusing. ISTM that you read it to say that sexual harassment and sexual violence EQUAL sexual abuse as defined by state and federal statutes. I’m not sure it says exactly that. The precise words are “Sexual harassment and sexual violence **may constitute** sexual abuse as defined by state and federal statutes.” In my mind that says that there are specific things that the school considers to be SH and SV - and that there MAY be some overlap between those and what statutes consider SA. ut it also seems to imply that there may be any number of actions that the school considers SH/SV that ARE NOT statutory SA. Is my reading entirely off-base? Of course, if it were read the way I propose, it would require a separate listing of the actions that the school considers SH and SV. If nothing else, a good example of the need for precision in drafting policy/statutes. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2009, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-a-school-deal-with-pantsing/494644/209 "2009-04-29T19:28:47Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Hamsters ate my post. > > You’re drawing on the [Loki’s Wager](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loki%27s_wager) fallacy here: perhaps objectively we can’t point to the exact border between two distinct states, but we can recognize that there are two distinct states, and we can establish an arbitrary but consistent border between the states that we’ll use for multiple purposes. Here, we’re consistent (at least within legal culpability) with considering 18 the arbitrary bright line between childhood and adulthood. Too bad for this guy that he falls on the adult side of the line; it’s time for him to give up childish things. The age of majority does have to be arbitrary, yes. But when posters on a messageboard talk about ‘adults’ and ‘minors’ they can afford to be a little more realistic. Hell, the law in most countries (and, from a comment above, in Minnesota and possibly some other US states too) isn’t even as arbitrary as that, when it comes to sexual relationships, let alone pranking in a school. > [@bengangmo](#): > > Could the pantser be put into some sort of sexual harrasment workshop or learn more about boundaries this way? > > Yeah - he needs to be punished, but it would be good if he actually learnt why what he did was wrong. That would be an excellent idea. > [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Why don’t you go tear the bathing suit off a little girl at the beach and see what you get charged with. Little girl? 16 is not a little girl. You don’t seriously think that an 18-year-old boy pantsing (outer clothes only) a classmate 2 years his junior is the same as an older adult (like the poster you challenged), pulling a bathing costume off a little girl to reveal her childish nakedness, do you? Come on, you can’t seriously believe that. > [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > What do you think would happen if you ripped a girl’s pants down at the mall? Why won’t any of the people defending this dude answer that question? For a start, nobody’s defending the boy. Nobody’s saying he should get away scot-free. What some people are saying is that sexual assault charges are probably over the top. If he were actually convicted of sexual assault, that would be on his record forever. Forever and ever. 20 years from now, he could still find it impossible to get work because of pantsing someone in high school - no-one wants to hire a rapist, and that’s what people would think of when seeing ‘sexual assault.’ If he wanted to adopt, then he couldn’t. Odds are he wll have grown up and changed a lot in the meantime, but his life would still be pretty fucked. Of course, right now he wouldn’t be thinking about that - he might not even care all that much. Give him a long suspension, ban him from the prom, send him to a sexual harrassment workshop - he’ll care about all that and be more likely to actually change his ways, which is the goal, surely? [quote=“Dinsdale, post:208, topic:494644”] Kudos for looking to actual school handbooks. Looks like under 7.3 or 7.4, this particular school imposes a 5 day ISS. Maybe short of expulsion or police notification, but strikes me as considerably more severe than the relatively minimal “one day of detention” response at least some folk advocated. [quote] I can only see one poster advocating anything as mild as a single detention. ---
**Author:** ![Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e56c9b/32.png) [@Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harriet_the_Spry)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2009, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-a-school-deal-with-pantsing/494644/210 "2009-04-29T20:10:45Z")
My reading is that this is a clear case of 7.5 under Murray County H.S.'s rules. Leaving the word assault out of it, I don’t find it any kind of a stretch to call it sexual harassment. Try pantsing someone in the workplace of your choice and see what they call it. That means the next step is to see if the act meets the definition of sexual abuse in federal statutes or state statutes in Georgia (had this in fact taken place in Georgia). In that case, notify the authorities required by statute. Regardless of federal and state law, follow the Murray County Board of Ed. policies, which define sexual harassment " Sexual harassment and sexual violence may include but is not limited to: 1. verbal harassment or abuse; 2. subtle pressure for sexual activity; 3. inappropriate patting or pinching; 4. intentional brushing against a student’s or employee’s body; 5. demanding sexual favors accompanied by implied or overt threats concerning an individual’s employment or educational status; 6. demanding sexual favors accompanied by implied or overt promises of preferential treatment with regard to an individual’s employment or educational status; 7. any sexually motivated unwelcome touching." [https://eboard.eboardsolutions.com/ePolicy/policy.aspx?PC=JGIA&Sch=4120&S=4120&RevNo=1.23&C=J&Z=P](https://eboard.eboardsolutions.com/ePolicy/policy.aspx?PC=JGIA&Sch=4120&S=4120&RevNo=1.23&C=J&Z=P) Here’s what they have to say regarding sanctions "V. Sanctions … A substantial charge against a student in the school district shall subject that student to student disciplinary action including suspension or expulsion. In any case, if criminal activity is suspected, law enforcement will be contacted as soon as possible. " This has been a nice exercise for Murray County, GA, but of course the OP’s not located there (or it would be an odd coincidence). ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2009, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-a-school-deal-with-pantsing/494644/211 "2009-04-29T20:24:28Z")
> [@scifisam2009](#): > > I can only see one poster advocating anything as mild as a single detention. I apologize if I engaged in hyperbole. Am I incorrect in my recollection that at least a few posters seemed to support something considerably less than a full week of ISS? ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2009, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-a-school-deal-with-pantsing/494644/212 "2009-04-29T20:26:57Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Way to overreact. > > First, let’s get one thing straight. An 18 year old senior in high school is no more a man than his 16 and 17 year old peers. He may be legally be an adult, but all he has to show for it is being born before an arbitrary cutoff date or the stigma of being held back a year in his younger days. > > Secondly, I never said this was OK. I just said it’s not criminal. I wouldn’t be OK with it, but if my hypothetical daughter came up to me and said “That was just Billy horsing around. We’re buds.” I probably wouldn’t give it any more thought. > > Finally, I can’t imagine this would happen at any party my or I would attend, but I would never dream of involving the police. And if your hypothetical daughter DIDN’T say that? What if she cried about it? I’m not trying to be all, “what about the CHILDREN!!!” I’m genuinely asking: what if she was truly upset, crying, etc.? Would you still not “give it anymore thought?” Just curious. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2009, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-a-school-deal-with-pantsing/494644/213 "2009-04-29T20:30:58Z")
> [@InvisibleWombat](#): > > The boy should be punished exactly as the law would require him to be punished if he started pulling clothes off of an unwilling girl in front of a crowd at the mall, at the beach, in the park, or on a public street. Ok, if you saw a crowd of kids dicking around in a park and one of them pantsed another, you’d immediately call 911 and report a sexual assault? “911, what is your emergency” “I’d like to report a sexual assault at the park” “Please describe the incident” “Well, these kids were all hanging around and one kid pulled another kid’s shorts down” “… and?” “Then he laughed and pointed while the kid pulled his shorts back up.” “… and?” “that’s it, aren’t you going to lock up this sexual predator?” The funniest part about the “what if it wasn’t at school” idea is that this “pantser” got in trouble precisely because he was at school, and did it in front of an administrator. In the “real world” a bunch of kids horsing around like this would go completely unnoticed, and nobody would call the cops or follow up on it the way a school would. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2009, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-a-school-deal-with-pantsing/494644/214 "2009-04-29T20:34:09Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > And if your hypothetical daughter DIDN’T say that? What if she cried about it? I’m not trying to be all, “what about the CHILDREN!!!” I’m genuinely asking: what if she was truly upset, crying, etc.? Would you still not “give it anymore thought?” That has ZERO to do with this question posed in this thread. If the girl is upset, by all means, throw the book at the prankster. But she has to be the one to decide to press charges. As far as punishment from the school goes, this is not something that should result in expulsion or out of school suspension. I think the 5 days of in school handed down is fine, although if I was the principal it would have been considerably less. ---
**Author:** ![SmellMyWort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SmellMyWort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmellMyWort)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2009, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-a-school-deal-with-pantsing/494644/215 "2009-04-29T21:00:12Z")
Definition of Sexual Abuse from the [Georgia Code](http://www.lexis-nexis.com/hottopics/gacode/), Title 19-Domestic Relations, Chapter 15 - Child Abuse, Section 1 - Definitions. I used GA because the HS Handbook I linked to as an example is from a school in GA. > [@](#): > > (11) “Sexual abuse” means a person’s employing, using, persuading, inducing, enticing, or coercing any minor who is not that person’s spouse to engage in any act which involves: > (A) Sexual intercourse, including genital-genital, oral-genital, anal-genital, or oral-anal, whether between persons of the same or opposite sex; > (B) Bestiality; > (C) Masturbation; > (D) Lewd exhibition of the genitals or pubic area of any person; > (E) Flagellation or torture by or upon a person who is nude; > (F) Condition of being fettered, bound, or otherwise physically restrained on the part of a person who is nude; > **(G) Physical contact in an act of apparent sexual stimulation or gratification with any person’s clothed or unclothed genitals, pubic area, or buttocks or with a female’s clothed or unclothed breasts;** > (H) Defecation or urination for the purpose of sexual stimulation; or > (I) Penetration of the vagina or rectum by any object except when done as part of a recognized medical procedure. > “Sexual abuse” shall not include consensual sex acts involving persons of the opposite sex when the sex acts are between minors or between a minor and an adult who is not more than three years older than the minor. This provision shall not be deemed or construed to repeal any law concerning the age or capacity to consent. The only item that seems close to me is G since it includes physical contact, but we have no reason to believe that it was for stimulation or gratification. The GA Code has a whole separate chapter for Sexual Offenses: Title 16 - Crimes and Offenses, Chapter 6 - Sexual Offenses. The only section that seems close to this situation is is Section 22: Sexual Battery. > [@](#): > > (a) For the purposes of this Code section, the term “intimate parts” means the primary genital area, anus, groin, inner thighs, or buttocks of a male or female and the breasts of a female. > > (b) A person commits the offense of sexual battery when he or she intentionally makes physical contact with the intimate parts of the body of another person without the consent of that person. Still doesn’t fit to me. Yanking down someone’s pants does not require touching “intimate parts” So, we seem to be left with simple battery; slap the kid with a 5-day in school suspension. If I were the principal I think a letter of apology to the girl would be in order too. > [@](#): > > 16-5-23. Simple battery > > (a) A person commits the offense of simple battery when he or she either: > > (1) Intentionally makes physical contact of an insulting or provoking nature with the person of another; or > > (2) Intentionally causes physical harm to another. > > (b) Except as otherwise provided in subsections (c) through (i) of this Code section, a person convicted of the offense of simple battery shall be punished as for a misdemeanor. On preview: **Harriet the Spry** , I don’t think we have any indication that the action was sexually motivated. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2009, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-a-school-deal-with-pantsing/494644/216 "2009-04-29T21:00:52Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > Ok, if you saw a crowd of kids dicking around in a park and one of them pantsed another, you’d immediately call 911 and report a sexual assault? > “911, what is your emergency” > > “I’d like to report a sexual assault at the park” > > “Please describe the incident” > > “Well, these kids were all hanging around and one kid pulled another kid’s shorts down” > > “… and?” > > “Then he laughed and pointed while the kid pulled his shorts back up.” > > “… and?” > > “that’s it, aren’t you going to lock up this sexual predator?” > The funniest part about the “what if it wasn’t at school” idea is that this “pantser” got in trouble precisely because he was at school, and did it in front of an administrator. In the “real world” a bunch of kids horsing around like this would go completely unnoticed, and nobody would call the cops or follow up on it the way a school would. Make that happen among adults (and whether the girl was a minor or not - and she was - the boy in question is a legal adult) and at Dio’s mall. “I’d like to report a sexual assault.” “Describe the incident” “A man walked up to a woman at the mall and pulled down her pants.” Why don’t you go give it a try and tell us if the cops just laugh, or if you get arrested and what the charge is? Then we’d have an answer, at least in your jurisdiction. ---
**Author:** ![Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e56c9b/32.png) [@Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harriet_the_Spry)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2009, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-a-school-deal-with-pantsing/494644/217 "2009-04-29T21:02:27Z")
**Cheesesteak** , if I saw a teenaged boy pull down the pants of a teenaged girl in a park, I would in fact call the police. In the description of the situation in this thread, the girl reacted by crying, which would make it even more more of a certainty that I would call the police. That’s the action of a responsible adult. I wouldn’t be screaming anything about “sexual predator,” but that’s no way to act in public. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2009, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-a-school-deal-with-pantsing/494644/218 "2009-04-29T21:02:42Z")
> [@SmellMyWort](#): > > On preview: **Harriet the Spry** , I don’t think we have any indication that the action was sexually motivated. For sexual harrassment, the motivation isn’t necessarily the factor considered, its the perception. Its a different standard than say - murder (NOT comparing this to murder - but with murder you have to prove they intended to kill - with sexual harrassment you just have to prove that a ‘reasonable woman’ would find the behavior offensive or sexual.) ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2009, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-a-school-deal-with-pantsing/494644/219 "2009-04-29T21:13:49Z")
Could we perhaps treat school-age pranks like this on a case-by-case basis? I see a lot of people citing laws and judgementally saying whether this kid, and all kids who pull pranks like this, should either be put in jail or given a slap on the wrist. I’m completely against such kinds of all-inclusive lawyering. It may be in fact that if this kid did it in school, in that environment it requires little more than a slap on the wrist, but if he did it in a mall, he should be punished harsher. Context matters. If he ended up a rapist in the future, well, pantsing isn’t really going to be a good predictor of that so no one should feel bad they somehow missed catching a monster when he was young. Enough people grow up different than how they were as kids to warrant second-guessing behavorial predictions like this ---
**Author:** ![Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e56c9b/32.png) [@Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harriet_the_Spry)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2009, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-a-school-deal-with-pantsing/494644/220 "2009-04-29T21:19:19Z")
> [@SmellMyWort](#): > > On preview: **Harriet the Spry** , I don’t think we have any indication that the action was sexually motivated. For Murray County Board of Education’s definition of sexual harassment, all we need is “inappropriate patting or pinching.” Sure, the act might not have been sexually motivated. Teenage boys are rarely motivated by sex. The thought of it rarely crosses their mind in an average day. If his motivation was clearly something different (say, drawing the act at random from a hat in a game of Truth or Dare) he can argue that in his defense. Since simple battery looks like a slam dunk, call the police and let them sort the rest of it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-a-school-deal-with-pantsing/494644.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-a-school-deal-with-pantsing/494644.md?page=12)