Expelled Girl Sues Prep School, Alleges Cult

It’s a tale worthy of Gossip Girl: A popular student at a posh prep school who was expelled says she was harassed by a secret society of girls that the school and alumnae deny exists anymore. But ex-student Tatum Bass is slapping Ms Porter's with an all-too-real lawsuit, alleging officials at the school—an all-girls boarding institute that counts Jackie Kennedy and Gloria Vanderbilt among its alums—ignored her suffering.

Some traditions—freshmen picking daises and cooking breakfast for seniors—date back over a century. Students rarely sue over expulsion and lawsuits seldom make trial, the New York Times says, because schools often don’t want to risk bad publicity. One alumna doubted the accusations about school officials: “If she was having problems, they would have bent over backwards to help.”