Questions from ex-student rape trial linger at prep schools

Somber letters going home to parents at some schools outline their plans to tackle issues related to sexual violence, drawing on events at St. Paul's School, an exclusive Concord, New Hampshire, boarding school that spent the summer embroiled in a high-profile rape trial.

"For high schools everywhere, this trial raised hard and important questions about sexual assault, adolescent decision-making, and institutional procedures and policies," Andover's head of school, John Palfrey, wrote last week.

The school also is narrowing the window when students can visit each other's bedrooms, and it now requires students to keep doors open and lights on during all visits, except for seniors nearing graduation.

Some experts, though, contend the freedom given to students at boarding schools, coupled with traditions dating to when the schools admitted boys only, makes them vulnerable for sexual assaults.

"There's enormous pride in these institutions and their histories, and I think there's a deep reluctance to change tradition," said Karen Gross, a past president of Southern Vermont College and a former senior policy adviser to the U.S. Department of Education.