Anonymous’ Testimony – Hyde School

In 1977, I was sent to Hyde from a state 2,000 miles away at the age of 15. I was late for the beginning of the school year so my roommate was in charge of showing me around. Her name was Lisa. I didn’t have a clue what was going on. It was decided that I would be on the cross country running team. I needed a uniform. Lisa took me to the gymnasium and we were confronted by a few football players. Larry Dubinsky ordered me to gather the players’ dirty laundry and take it to the laundry room. Lisa didn’t say squat so I did. Made a mental note, never come to the gym after football practice again. I got my cross country uniform and got the hell out of there. That must’ve been the Friday before classes started because that Sunday Lisa talked me into going to the gym again. I was like, fine. There were a lot more people there and I remember we were watching this girl lifting weights when suddenly I was 3 feet off the ground. One of the teachers, Mr, Bertschy, had come up behind me and picked me up. It scared the hell out of me. He starts yacking about something and I was like OK NEVER come to the gym without an adult again. What he did was choreograph a dance for ME. I guess they knew I was a gymnast/dancer since the age of 5. I didn’t think much about it, again, I was a gymnast/dancer. Right before Christmas break, I had to perform this dance in front of the parents as part of “parent’s weekend” for “Humanities/Hyde Musical” and I FREAKED OUT. It was one thing to do this strange dance where I played a “Native American Hooker” in front of schoolmates but it was ANOTHER thing to do it for their fathers (men with money.) I suddenly felt like I had “Rape and Murder Me” tattooed to my forehead with a map of where to bury me. I ran away the first chance I got. I was safer hitchhiking than being a sitting duck. The trauma is lifelong.