St. Paul’s High School in New Hampshire, a proving ground for the nation’s elite that has been attended by several notable officials including Secretary of State John Kerry, is the center of a scandal in which upperclassmen are alleged to be competing with each other for “sexual conquest.”
Owen Labrie, 19, has been indicted for the rape of a 15-year-old girl on campus. He has pleaded not guilty, but has told local police that many upperclassmen take “great pride” in having sex with as many underclassmen as possible.
The news is a shock to the boarding school, which has bred several senators and governors, and is referenced in the cult hit on wealthy WASP culture, “American Psycho.”
The “Senior Salute” is an apparent underground tradition among certain graduating men at St. Paul’s. The task of the tradition is for upperclassmen to take the virginities of younger, female classmates before matriculating to college. The practice has landed Labrie, now 19, of Vermont, an indictment for rape for one such instance, according to the Associated Press.
Labrie relayed to the police when he was originally interviewed by them that not only do some students engage in the Salute, but that it also often evolves into a contest — which graduating student can bed the most virgin, freshman or sophomore girls.
Labrie won a Rector’s Award for “selfless devotion to the school’s activities” upon graduating in June, and was due to attend Harvard in the fall. But Harvard says he’s no longer enrolled.
