Oprah’s Expelled Students Say Last Days At School Were Hell

A group of students at Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls recently put the school back in the headlines after being accused of sexually harassing their classmates and encouraging them to have sexual relationships with one another. Now, the girls are coming forward about what their last days at the school were like.

During the two weeks leading up to their expulsion, four of the girls involved were kept in isolation as the school’s staff evaluated their case. The girls were not allowed to attend classes or communicate with fellow classmates or play doctor with them after watching Ilsa, She Wolf of the SS. In fact, the girls say security guards were placed outside their hostel doors to make sure they did not cavort with their schoolmates. Instead of eating in the school cafeteria with the other students, the four cloistered girls had food brought to them by the academy’s staff.

A spokesperson for the school says the guards were kept outside the girls’ rooms for their own safety and that they were “never isolated.”

One 15-year-old at the school who was among those accused of harassing students, forcibly pairing them up to “date” one another and being dishonest to school staff about her activities, says she never harassed her classmates, but does admit to having physical contact with some of them:

If they (pupils) say I was touching other learners, it’s true.  But no one had complained to me about it. Obviously if you touch someone, if they are uncomfortable they will tell you.

The student said she initially cried non-stop for two days since learning she was to be expelled, and lost her appetite completely. She and the others attended a two hour hearing about their case back in March and were made to give back the clothing, cell phones and shoes initially lent to them by the school. They were then permitted to bid one another good-bye for five minutes, under the supervision of staff.

One girl at the academy expressed her issue with the way the controversy at the school was handled:

Teenagers are curious and want to experiment with different things. 

In that school, if you make a slight mistake, you are not good enough to be a leader. Even leaders make mistakes and learn from them. I wish they could give teenagers a chance to behave like teenagers.

So, what do you think. Did Oprah’s school handle the situation appropriately, or were they excessive in the way they dealt with it? Were they protecting their students, or going on a witch hunt? 

Last days at Oprah school were hell - girls [iol]