I Was 17 & Innocent When I Entered Kings Point. The Racist & Sexist Behavior I Witnessed Was Shocking, And The Way Victims Were Treated Was Horrible. This Is What Has Stuck With Me The Most.
*This post was submitted to MLAA by the author, a recent graduate of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy*
I don't know that my story would be all that interesting, but I can tell you what has stuck with me most over the years: I was 17 and very innocent when I started at Kings Point so the behavior I witnessed was horribly shocking and scary to me at the time. Things that have stuck with me most:
-Over the years guys opening the door when we were changing.
-The affirmative action lessons always turning into every male saying women and minorities had no right to take spots from white guys who deserved to be at KP more.
-Blatant racist and sexist comments from students and even teachers who would make racist and sexist comments and promote the racist and sexist behavior of students.
-Nowhere you could go if you actually needed to seek help without having the whole school know about it, or the solution to your problem sucking time and money that people couldn't afford, or students suffering ramifications within the regimental system simply for seeking help.
-When I was an HR officer, people who did report sexual assaults and rapes told me they regretted coming forward due to the ramifications they faced.
Victims of sexual assault had no choice once they came forward. They had to pay for cabs to go to school mandated things like therapy, etc. and they had regimental backlash if they had been drinking when something happened.
Most importantly, the victims of sexual assault would not give the name of their assailant because if you got a guy kicked out of school your peers would isolate you and it would have been a social death sentence.
You need to have at least a few people behind you to survive KP. Victims would not report, not only out of fear of being punished by the school, but even more so out of fear that they would be punished by their fellow students.
My personal experiences with sexual misconduct were more that I didn't know how to tell people they were crossing the line. Whenever I did stand up for myself people would say "it was all in fun," "he's just like that" or "if you don't like it you shouldn't be here."
I have heard a few people say they are making small changes. Maybe it is changing a bit, but I can't really imagine it's that different in 3 years. It was a deeply imbedded culture of this behavior, which was often times reinforced out on ships during Sea Year.
Now that I've graduated and I work in this industry, I run into these same beliefs but there are enough people who recognize that it is unacceptable and I believe some companies fear having such behavior being associated with them, which gives some people a means of combating it.
At Kings Point the students don't have that means. They are living in such a tight bubble. They are young. It's just a perfect storm for everything to fail when something goes wrong leaving victims with nowhere to turn. I tell people NOT to go to Kings Point.
But the school taught me a lot. I grew up a great deal during my four years, but there is extensive room for growth at KP.
Unfortunately, people will fight it. People will say non-sailors don't belong or don't deserve a place at the table. But KP can't stay in its own bubble forever. At some point the people in charge will have to institute change at every level and enforce it at every level until people understand they are serious about not letting students, staff, teachers or regimental staff get away with these behaviors. That's about all I have.
—Recent Female USMMA Graduate