After news broke last month of a "Fantasy Slut League" organized by varsity jocks at Piedmont High School in the East Bay, the plucky editorial staff of The Piedmont Highlander student newspaper launched their own investigation into the alleged sex game. In their report posted earlier this week the student journalists interviewed over 30 students, some of whom claimed to have taken part in the slut league, and concluded that some parts of Principal Kitchens' report to parents had been misleading or exaggerated. Specifically, the students didn't seem to agree with their Principal on what constituted "hooking up."

Out of 25 Piedmont High School sophomore, junior and senior girls, most agreed that the league was degrading, but that "hooking up" was a pretty loose term. According to the girls at Piedmont High, "hooking up" is more like "making out" and doesn't necessarily mean there was sexual activity involved. (Sidenote: The term "heavy petting" has apparently been phased out of the high school lexicon.)

Likewise, the students interviewed downplayed the role of peer pressure and alcohol in the hookup culture. Seventeen out of the 25 girls interviewed said the boys at school do not give the girls booze in order to hook up with them. All of the girls told the Highlander that it is entirely up to the individual whether or not to drink. Unsurprisingly, eight out of the eight boys interviewed said alcohol is not forced on the girls of Piedmont High.

In order to counter the media storm that they believe cast their high school in a bad light, Highlander editors also interviewed some of the male athletes who took part in the fantasy slut league. Although some of them refused to comment in the school newspaper, others apologized for their behavior. One explained, with all the hindsight of a bright young high schooler, "We’ve all realized it was wrong and degrading to the girls involved. At the time, we never thought of it as being as bad as it really is or how it could hurt the girls involved... I want the student body to know that there are boys who feel sorry for what happened, but we’re learning from it. Sometimes it takes mistakes to learn how to be better.”

The Highlander staff concluded, "Although the media coverage will blow over, the issue cannot be brushed under the rug. Rather, we should work as a school and as a community to handle the larger issues, such as gender equality, bullying, and sexual pressure."

Although principal Kitchens originally said the league came to light after a school assembly on date rape, he later told the student paper that the two were unrelated. The administration learned of the game on October 1, when a parent reported that their daughter had been mistreated by a male student and linked it to the league.

Previously: Varsity Jocks At Piedmont High Organize "Fantasy Slut League"
[Oakland Tribune]
[Piedmont Highlander]