Grady High School officials are investigating a social media post that named numerous female students in an NCAA basketball tournament-style bracket.
The online post was created by a “small group of Grady students” and “contained the names of numerous female Grady students,” said Principal Betsy Bockman, in a letter she sent this week to parents and the school community.
“We strongly condemn this behavior that objectifies and disrespects young women,” she wrote, according to a copy of the letter that Atlanta Public Schools provided to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “As we have been investigating the matter, we have heard from many current and former Grady students (that) have stated that this event is a symptom of a larger ill within our society that manifests itself in Grady culture: young men believe they have license to objectify, demean, and even assault young women.”
The post appeared online over spring break earlier this month, when school was not in session.
The incident was first reported by The Southerner, the Grady high school newspaper. The newspaper reported that the post ranked 64 girls in a tournament-style bracket.
Bockman said the school is investigating the incident and will hold the students who created the bracket accountable. She added that student discipline cases are confidential.
The school will hold a “student support listening session” on Friday and another meeting next week to address the issue.
School counselors are also available to meet with students, Bockman said.
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