The beating was so bad that the boy, Wayde Baker, had every bone in his face broken. As these schools are two of the more prestigious schools in South Africa, there has been quite an uproar. I personally feel that, if found guilty, the boys¹ who committed the crime should be sent to jail. If this had happened at a township or rural school the boys would have gone straight to jail with no expensive lawyers to argue their case. However, this is not the crux of my entry.

The articles(1, 2, 3) about the case that appeared in "The Star" newspaper were tinged with a hint of unfair hatred towards the schools. For example:

In the wake of the incident, a picture has emerged of a subculture that has evolved over decades that condones binge drinking, public violence and a belief that you can get away with anything - as long as you have enough money.

This is a clear attempt to pin the wider problem of 'underage drinking' to rich schools. When some parents e-mailed one of the journalists involved they received a pair of vitriolic rants. After a meeting between the school and the newspaper, I believe the newspaper has done the right thing. The paper apologised and the journalist has been reprimanded and taken off the story. The paper didn't admit error with the story, which I feel is within reason, and the entire debacle was sorted out in a reasonable manner. This is the kind of accountability I like to see. Maybe I am just jaded, but I usually don't expect responsible behaviour from journalists.

¹From what I have heard they are over 18.

UPDATE: spelling, thanks Vhata