# 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:** 4
**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 28, 2009, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-a-school-deal-with-pantsing/494644/61 "2009-04-28T21:16:29Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > You are obviously wrong that “no one would give a shit about it” since several people on this thread would give a shit about it. And they’re all helping to further wussify the next generation. Every minor transgression against another person is not assault and something like a pantsing does not need to involve the police. ---
**Author:** ![sinjin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@sinjin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sinjin)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2009, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-a-school-deal-with-pantsing/494644/62 "2009-04-28T21:16:40Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > This is not a crime and no one would give a shit the next day unless she was wearing crotchless panties. And then it would be her fault for being a slut right? ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2009, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-a-school-deal-with-pantsing/494644/63 "2009-04-28T21:17:02Z")
Call the cops, bust him for assault. Period. ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2009, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-a-school-deal-with-pantsing/494644/64 "2009-04-28T21:20:38Z")
> [@Randy\_Seltzer](#): > > Jeez, everyone’s throwing around such strong language. People, this is **NOT** “sexual assault” or “statutory rape.” Did you actually read my post or just go searching for the buzzwords? I was the one who threw out the words “statutory rape” and I did it specifically to show that the law in this case should be similar in how the law treats the _exceptions_ to statutory rape, not to prove that anything close to rape had occurred. ---
**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 28, 2009, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-a-school-deal-with-pantsing/494644/65 "2009-04-28T21:22:58Z")
> [@sinjin](#): > > And then it would be her fault for being a slut right? You can carry your own feminist “every man is a rapist” baggage, thank you very much. I said nothing comparable to that and bringing it into this discussion proves nothing. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2009, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-a-school-deal-with-pantsing/494644/66 "2009-04-28T21:23:20Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Every minor transgression against another person is not assault and something like a pantsing does not need to involve the police. Like I said, I’d leave the police involvement up to the girl and her parents. I’m not going to persuade them either way. ---
**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 28, 2009, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-a-school-deal-with-pantsing/494644/67 "2009-04-28T21:27:27Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > Like I said, I’d leave the police involvement up to the girl and her parents. I’m not going to persuade them either way. Exactly. _The school_ shouldn’t do more than give this kid a one hour detention. If the girl was that traumatized by this (which I highly doubt she is), she can call the police herself. It sounds like she has plenty of witnesses. ---
**Author:** ![Randy\_Seltzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ee7513/32.png) [@Randy\_Seltzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Randy_Seltzer)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2009, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-a-school-deal-with-pantsing/494644/68 "2009-04-28T21:41:02Z")
> [@Enderw24](#): > > Did you actually read my post or just go searching for the buzzwords? The latter, since my point was that people were overusing buzzwords. I apologize if I gave the impression of miscasting your message. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2009, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-a-school-deal-with-pantsing/494644/69 "2009-04-28T21:47:35Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > You can carry your own feminist “every man is a rapist” baggage, thank you very much. I said nothing comparable to that and bringing it into this discussion proves nothing. You’re the one using the “boys will be boys” argument, claiming that stopping _adults_ from pulling down people’s pants without their permission is somehow “wussifying” the next generation. I say call the cops on this asshole. ---
**Author:** ![sinjin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@sinjin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sinjin)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2009, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-a-school-deal-with-pantsing/494644/70 "2009-04-28T21:48:39Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > You can carry your own feminist “every man is a rapist” baggage, thank you very much. I said nothing comparable to that and bringing it into this discussion proves nothing. Please note I said nothing about rape. You were the one who mentioned crotchless panties and how that would make things different. Why would that make a difference? How about if she was going commando, would that make a difference too? ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2009, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-a-school-deal-with-pantsing/494644/71 "2009-04-28T21:55:40Z")
> [@crazyjoe](#): > > At 18 years old he is likely on his last term before graduation, and with only a couple months left to boot. Unless a suspensin puts him in serious danger of not graduating, or threatens a scholarship or something, then I would argue against attempting to use it as a disciplinary tool here. > > The discipline must be explicitly tailored to the individual. At 18 he is free to drop out of school and work at wal-mart if he so desires, and nothing the school does can stop that if that’s his planned course of action. However, if he had planned to go on to college, I would think that perhaps a talk with the college board of admissions might be a way to go. > > Getting the police involved also might be appropriate, considering that he is supposedly an adult now. I hesitate at this one because high-school life is high-school, and immaturity runs pretty rampant there. There is iften a big difference betweent he guy who hasn’t graduated and the guy who has, at least in terms of the things he is willing to do. Sorry, at 18, or even 16 the jackass needs to learn that you dont commit assault on anybody, man or woman. Arrest his idiot self right now, and suspend him from school. If the courts find him guilty of assault, expell him. I dont care if he supposedly has a full on scholarship to MIT or will be the first draft pick for the sport of your chice, you DO NOT COMMIT ASSAULT. How do you think he will be with women in the future if he gets away with this? It wasnt rape, she wanted it … no means yes … ---
**Author:** ![PoorYorick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@PoorYorick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoorYorick)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2009, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-a-school-deal-with-pantsing/494644/72 "2009-04-28T21:56:26Z")
I’m amazed at the “boys will be boys” posts I’m seeing. Why in the hell do we think things are OK in a high school that we would never tolerate anywhere else? Yes, to a certain extent we have different expectations in school versus what we expect in the real world, but c’com, the “kid” is 18 years old, not a first grader. When he get’s that job in WalMart in a couple of months, let’s see what everyone’s response will be when he depants a co-worker, just for giggles. What, she can’t take a joke? You’re fooling yourself if you think this was anything else other than pure unadulterated hostility. Expel him at the _minimum_. Fuck him if that keeps him from graduating. ---
**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 28, 2009, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-a-school-deal-with-pantsing/494644/73 "2009-04-28T22:05:27Z")
> [@sinjin](#): > > Please note I said nothing about rape. You were the one who mentioned crotchless panties and how that would make things different. Why would that make a difference? How about if she was going commando, would that make a difference too? I said that would make it more memorable (and thus humiliating to the girl) to the rest of the student body. Otherwises, no one is going to care about a juvenile prank like pantsing the next day. And that’s what it is, a juvenile prank. ETA: Also, I take offense to the implication that I’m handwaving this away as “boys will be boys”, I would feel the same way if a girl tried this on a guy or another girl. ---
**Author:** ![sinjin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@sinjin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sinjin)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2009, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-a-school-deal-with-pantsing/494644/74 "2009-04-28T22:11:43Z")
Just to be clear Justin: If your 16 year old daughter had her pants pulled down by an 18 year old man it would not bother you at all. You’d just tell her to suck it up? Even if she was wearing crotchless panties, or going commando, or heaven forfend was wearing tight jeans\* and whatever she had on underneath went down with them too. You have absolutely no problem with an 18 year old man putting his hands on your 16 year old daughter and removing portions of her clothing against her will? \*I know this is highly silly, teen-age girls don’t wear tight jeans these days. ---
**Author:** ![sinjin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@sinjin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sinjin)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2009, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-a-school-deal-with-pantsing/494644/75 "2009-04-28T22:15:09Z")
Oh and just to be complete how would you feel if one of your friends did this to your wife at the next party you go to? All in good fun of course. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2009, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-a-school-deal-with-pantsing/494644/76 "2009-04-28T22:21:17Z")
I don’t think it’s unreasonable for this young man to be punished. Whether it’s suspension for a few days, expulsion for the remainder of the year, or even criminal charges, none of these punishments are going to ruin this young man’s life. And if it does mess up his chances for graduation or he misses out on a scholarship opportunity, so what? Lesson learned and he can move on. Odesio ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2009, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-a-school-deal-with-pantsing/494644/77 "2009-04-28T22:23:56Z")
What it sounds like on the surface is an 18 year old boy acting like every other 18 year old boy out there. A dumbass. THERE IS A SHOCKER! Before we can properly nail him to the cross, we need more details. > [@](#): > > Is it a private school or a public school? > If it’s private- Give the kid a week of suspension, maybe plea bargain it down to in-school suspensions and leave it to the family of the girl if they want to pursue it further, to take it outside of school. Oh those kids… > **If it’s a public school, throw the book at him for assault and sexual harassment and call the cops. People who pants people should not be admitted to College. Hell, the community college will probably take him**. He needs to learn his actions have consequences and that Life is NOT fair. Justice likes to keeps it’s robes ON, thank you very much. I don’t get the difference between punishments here. Private school kids pantsing someone and a public school kid pantsing someone. The only difference I can see is about $6000+ year for education. There is some elitist thinking going on there that I can’t wrap my brain around. ---
**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 28, 2009, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-a-school-deal-with-pantsing/494644/78 "2009-04-28T22:26:59Z")
> [@sinjin](#): > > Just to be clear Justin: If your 16 year old daughter had her pants pulled down by an 18 year old man it would not bother you at all. You’d just tell her to suck it up? Even if she was wearing crotchless panties, or going commando, or heaven forfend was wearing tight jeans\* and whatever she had on underneath went down with them too. > > You have absolutely no problem with an 18 year old man putting his hands on your 16 year old daughter and removing portions of her clothing against her will? > > \*I know this is highly silly, teen-age girls don’t wear tight jeans these days. > [@sinjin](#): > > Oh and just to be complete how would you feel if one of your friends did this to your wife at the next party you go to? All in good fun of course. 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. ---
**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 28, 2009, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-a-school-deal-with-pantsing/494644/79 "2009-04-28T23:55:32Z")
> [@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. A legal adult is legally responsible for his criminal actions. > [@](#): > > Secondly, I never said this was OK. I just said it’s not criminal This is factually false. It is, in fact, a criminal offense to tear another person’s clothes off without their consent. It’s an even more egregious consent to tear the clothes off someone else’s child in a public place. If you don’t believe me, go to the nearest McDonald’s, rip some teenage girl’s clothes off and see if you get arrested (not to mention get your ass kicked if she has any family or friends with her). Is it your position that it is, or should be perfectly legal to randomly rip the clothes off of strangers without their consent? > [@](#): > > 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. You wouldn’t say this if your daughter wasn’t hypothetical, believe me. > [@](#): > > 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. If you’re a school official, it isn’t your decision. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2009, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-a-school-deal-with-pantsing/494644/80 "2009-04-28T23:56:09Z")
A lot of people are crying sexual assault. Minus any information that he was targeting someone of the opposite sex in particular, it seems rather odd to think there was a sexual underpinning to the event. This is the modern, all-sexes-are-equal world I’m sorry to tell you, and I know that because it was already true in high school ten years ago. I saw any number of cases where if someone was wearing pants that looked like they were about to fall off, someone would give them a bit of a scare by giving a yank at the back hem when they walked past. Male or female didn’t enter into it, nor any particular desire to see some legs. Point in fact, for all the pant yanks there ever was, there was never a case of a pair of pants falling to the ground–but I could certainly see it happening eventually. This isn’t to say that the OP’s particular little dumbass wasn’t specifically targetting a girl or wasn’t full on trying for a full depanting. I just don’t see anything which makes that seem likely from any of the information we’ve been given. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-a-school-deal-with-pantsing/494644.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-a-school-deal-with-pantsing/494644.md?page=5)