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The boys' moms also reacted defensively, taking swipes at the girls' reputations. Dottie Belman told a reporter, "Those girls are trash." Diane Hurst, whose son was an original Spur, thought it was "sad for the girls that they have such low self-esteem that they would do this." She found no self- esteem problem in her son's behavior. "What can you do?" she said. "It's a testosterone thing."
That casual air of boys-will-be-boys struck many residents as inappropriate, given some of the complaints. One 16-year-old girl told the sheriff's department that a Spur had removed her clothes in a park during a sexual encounter, then refused to give them back until she had sex with other Spurs. She said her clothing was returned only after she screamed. She believes the commotion prevented a gang rape.
Some female students argued that many girls wanted to sleep with these boys. Plainly, Lakewood's teen population is sexually active. According to the local Planned Parenthood office, which serves Lakewood and two other towns, 2,989 teenagers visited its clinic last year. Of those, 547 tested positive for a sexually transmitted disease. Of the 949 girls given pregnancy tests, 385 tested positive.
As the high school barricaded itself against the press last week, Lakewood Mayor Marc Titel feared that the town was "in denial" about the scandal. "What kind of values are we communicating to our kids?" he asked. "There are parents and teachers who are saying, 'This is no big deal.' " For the girls involved, it remains a very big deal. Some of those who complained now endure taunts of "slut." The boys, meanwhile, were cheered when they returned to classes last week. The school is planning several assemblies on date rape and sexual harassment. The first will take place on April 5 -- for girls only.