A bombshell article in the Concord Monitor uncovers a new game of sexual conquest on campus at the world-renowned St. Paul's Prep School in New Hampshire.
Nearby residents in Concord are sick and tired of having this same conversation over and over again. Some are blaming school leaders for what the students are doing on campus.
"At some level, it is an institutional dropping of the ball," said David Coursin, who says he is familiar with the St. Paul's School community.
According to the report, eight boys in one dorm were competing for a crown, though there are few details about the rules of the game.
"This is just the 'Senior Salute' dressed up with a crown," said Lyn Schollett, the executive director of the New Hampshire Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence.
This comes three years after St. Paul's graduate Owen Labrie was accused of raping an underage classmate in his quest for a Senior Salute. During his trial, students described the game as a longstanding tradition on campus in which seniors try to have sex with as many underclassman as possible before graduation. Labrie was acquitted of rape but convicted of misdemeanor sex assault.
"The school went on to say our culture has changed things are different here, but what we now know is that change really hasn't happened," Schollett said.
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In a statement, rector Mike Hirschfeld said students were the ones who alerted staff to the inappropriate activity.
"The school immediately began an investigation into those behaviors," Hirschfeld wrote. "The school also hired an outside investigator to review the allegations and talk to all of the students involved to get to the bottom of what took place."
The written statement, for some community members, is simply not enough.
"These are the most privileged, wealthiest, most intelligent people in the country, and the institution is not getting across to them what extraordinary people they might be," Coursin said.
St. Paul's is making it clear — contrary to published reports, the school, at no time, tried to cover up this incident.
The school tells NBC Boston its investigation into the matter is ongoing.
