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Story by JURNEE LOUDER – News Editor
Gallery by JULIE ALPAUGH – Photography Editor
On Feb. 17, Athens residents gathered in the Cedar Shoals High School auditorium to discuss the recent alleged sexual assault case.
The alleged sexual assault of a 15 year-old-girl at Cedar Shoals High School was reported over a month ago, but the public has only been aware of it for a couple of weeks. Even now, there are questions from angry community members about what went wrong.
CCSD Superintendent Philip D. Lanoue, board members, police officers and a few other community members held an open forum to clear up misconceptions.
Lanoue opened up the forum with a presentation discussing the county’s next steps. “Enhancing security equipment and monitoring” was one of the goals for moving forward.
“The buck stops with me,” Lanoue said.
The attempt to appease the crowd wasn’t enough. Some questions like why the three students charged with the rape were still allowed on campus were dismissed.
“(That can’t be answered) because it’s under an internal investigation,” Lanoue said
One concerned community member challenged Lanoue on the panel’s lack of answers.
“I feel like the buck only stops when there is a PR problem,” she said.
The panel was able to provide answers on some aspects. The timeline of events was apart of the discussion.
A few CSHS students asked a few questions. CSHS senior and Student Body Public Relations Officer Angelina Choi also challenged Lanoue about the removal of former CSHS principal Dr. Tony Price.
“Why was Dr. Price put on leave, but not you Dr. Lanoue?” Choi said.
There are steps being taken at Cedar to lift spirits from the incident. The Project Cedar initiative was put into place by the student government to allow students to start feeling confident and safe again.
Lanoue says that this will most likely be the last time this incident will be discussed with the public.
