Dear Editor:

In recent months, countless women across the country have been emboldened to reveal long-concealed accounts of being sexually assaulted and harassed. Among them are media accounts of several women who have lately made allegations against Tamaqua Area School Board President Larry Wittig for sexual misconduct against them when they were ages 17 and 18 and he was their rowing coach. Allegations reported in the press are graphic and troubling.

News accounts also report that Wittig resigned from his position as a coach at the University of Pennsylvania in 1984 amid an ombudsman’s investigation into, in part, his relationship with one of the accusers. Wittig denies the most recent allegations, and although the press reports that he acknowledged having sex with one of the women, he denied that it was an ongoing relationship; as if that would make it better.

Following the allegations, Mr. Wittig is no longer chairman of the state Board of Education; removed from the president’s leadership council at Drexel University, his alma mater; and no longer serves on the board of trustees of Philadelphia University and Thomas Jefferson University.

Closer to home, the response has been strikingly different, as Wittig continues to serve as president of the Tamaqua School Board while also representing Tamaqua on the Board of the Intermediate Unit 29, giving him the power to influence students throughout the county. It truly is unfortunate that we often will never know the truth in cases like this. However, the theme of the accounts by different people is too consistent and similar to what is known about serial predation to fail to address the allegations, in stark contrast to how the allegations were addressed with other institutions around the state. Wittig’s refusal to resign may appear to be arrogance on his part, but that he and his supporters believe that he can bring more to the district and the community than these allegations take away is depressing and disturbing. The silence of other public officials, aware of the county’s ongoing challenges to draw new business and talent to the community, also does nothing to counter the negative impressions of the community left through these accounts.

This situation sends a terrible message to our students. Our daughters and granddaughters see portrayed here what has historically happened to women who allege improprieties, particularly against powerful men. This message also does a disservice to our sons and grandsons as it fails to prepare them for a changing world that promises to hold individuals accountable for their behavior.

Sincerely,

Sarah T. Casey,

President & CEO Schuylkill Women in Crisis