RHOADES LESS TRAVELED:

Teenagers can be savage to one another.

Reminiscing about my high school days many years ago, I find myself focusing on those students who suffered abuse at the hands of their peers. At that age, everyone is concerned about coming off as cool or, at the very least, normal. Consequently, those who are deemed uncool or abnormal suffer the consequences.

There was Tom, who was physically awkward and intellectually slow. He also couldn’t swim, and when our P.E. class went for a dip it was not uncommon for him to be surrounded, grabbed, dunked and dragged to the deep end. I also recall seeing him shoved into the mud one rainy day. And the verbal taunts were a constant.

There was John, who happened to use a wheelchair and had meager control of his motor skills.

Only later did I learn that he was brilliant, despite his condition.

No one reached out to help him. Many derided him and pantomimed — caricatured is closer to the mark — his movements and mannerisms.

I wonder what became of Tom and John and so many others who faced similar challenges and were ridiculed for them. I hope the unrelenting abuse they were subjected to didn’t scar them too deeply or hamper them psychologically.

Surely, there were gay and lesbian students in our midst. But back in the early 1980s, none of them even thought of going public with their sexual orientation, which made it a non-issue on campus.

Times have changed.

The ACLU this week sued the Newport-Mesa Unified School District and Corona del Mar High School, claiming that “homophobic slurs are routinely used with impunity” and students were harassed and called names for voicing opposition to Proposition 8, California’s anti-gay marriage ballot.

The suit centers on a plaintiff who, to protect her, goes by the name “Mary” in legal circles.

The lawsuit claims three male students posted a video on the social network site Facebook allegedly discussing raping Mary in the back of a pickup truck and killing her.

The lawsuit comes on the heels of a controversy surrounding the school play “Rent.” Drama teacher Ron Martin claimed that Principal Fal Asrani canceled the production over portrayals of homosexuality.

So then, what exactly is the school’s, and district’s, obligation?

I believe reasonable people can agree that gay and lesbian students — or any other students, for that matter — shouldn’t have to endure abuse. I also believe that reasonable people can agree that students shouldn’t be shielded from the realities of homosexuality. Rather, they should be educated whenever possible.

So where did Corona del Mar High go so wrong that the ACLU stepped in?

In my book, it didn’t.

School officials rearranged Mary’s school schedule to avoid the alleged harassment, suspended a few of the students involved and called police.

And the school, claiming that Asrani merely needed to review and OK the play (which is protocol), eventually greenlighted “Rent.”

None of that is enough to satisfy the ACLU. But to that agency I would say: School officials can only do so much. Kids will be kids, which is to say, savages will be savages (and before you letter writers pen your objections, I’m not implying that all kids are savages; many are fair and tolerant).

And just as my teachers from bygone days tried to protect, as best they could, Tom and John, I’m certain that Corona del Mar High educators are trying to protect Mary.

Unfortunately, they can’t be everywhere at once.

Unfortunately, we will never make schools 100% cruel-free zones.

I mean, are you kidding? We adults can’t manage to make our work places mean-free zones.

So there you have it. Most of us — in schools, offices and the like — do our best to create positive, tolerant environments.

And, yes, we fall short.

But when we do, we shouldn’t sue. In good faith, such as in the Mary case, we should face up to the problem, make it better and move on with our lives.

Editor BRADY RHOADES may be reached at (714) 966-4607 or at brady.rhoades@latimes.com.