Is $700,000 an appropriate settlement in the Milton Hershey School HIV-discrimination case?

“It’s nice that they gave money to the student, and that they adopted a non-dis-crimination policy. But nobody is going to learn from this. Everyone connected with that school needs up-to-date sex education. It’s awful what happened to the student. I have the utmost sympathy for him.”

“Yes. If the young man is OK with it, I am. I think it’s great that he’s getting money. He should be compensated for the harm done to him. It also sends a message to other discriminators that they’ll have to pay big bucks for their actions.”

“Yes. The school acted in a ridiculous manner. The money can put the boy through private school for four years, with some left over for college. But I think the school also should have issued a public apology that was widely distributed. And the school should have been required to make a sizeable donation to a local AIDS organization.”

“No. Nobody really grows from the situation. The school should have issued a sincere, personal apology to the boy. And they should have made him feel welcome to study there. But I don’t think they acted in a mean-spirited way. They meant well — to protect the students in their care. But they went about it the wrong way.”