To Whom It May Concern:
(human beings, mothers, fathers, young women, SHS administration, Nebo School District)
My name is Danica Budge Holdaway. I am a proud Red Devil alum (Class of ’08, baby). I represented Springville through letters in softball and soccer, National Honor Society, and graduated with High Honors and a New Century Scholarship. But it shouldn’t matter if I was a star student or a dropout. What I have to say should be weighed just the same.
I have literally nothing to gain from this. My experience predates 2013 and any statute of limitation qualifications. I did nothing. I said nothing. And honestly? My experience alone probably would have stood for nothing. Not even a conversation. And I guess I understand that. Because “nothing” “happened.”
Coach Money was my Driver’s Ed instructor. I was 15 years old and it was 2005. I had already heard from girls on my soccer team that Money was a “creep.” I was told “oh you’ll be fine. He passes all the cute girls.” and “Careful wearing those shorts to Money’s class.”
He was a terrible Driver’s Ed instructor, to start. That feels important to note. But again, even if he was an all-star Teacher of the Year, it doesn’t make it ok that he asked me if I was wearing a sports bra.
It made my stomach drop. It made practice drives highly stressful. It was embarrassing. And then it was my “Coach Money Experience,” a token that granted me access to the not-so-exclusive club of girls with creepy memories of the sub-par Driver’s Ed teacher.
It’s weird today, as a comfortably feminist adult and mother of three daughters in the post #MeToo era, to think that we all just carried on. We didn’t speak up. We didn’t tell anyone. Because what were we supposed to do? Go talk to a counselor or admin about him making an off-color comment? Talk back to him? No, no. That’s not what polite straight-A students do.
He may not have done anything overtly physical. I’m not sure. It may be incredibly difficult to “prove” misconduct. It seems to get harder the longer their history of Red Devil prestige. Weird, that. Which is why none of us really pushed back.
But now you have legions of girls and women. All saying the same thing. “He made me uncomfortable.” Thousands of experiences that are difficult to confirm, difficult to prove, difficult to define.
It’s… it’s almost like…. that’s the way he did it on purpose to not get in trouble…
As a former Nebo School District employee I have great respect for and hope in our administrators. I’m sure you won’t lean on the platitudes or explanations that would have you believe that girls make this sort of thing up, because now you have thousands. Did thousands make this up? Did thousands wake up in March 2021 to decide “NOW WE’RE GONNA COORDINATE LIES AND DESTRUCTION!!!”?
I’m sure you’re not gonna say “He has a wife and kids! He has been a loyal employee! He’s integral to Springville High! He’s been here forever!” because I know that you know that it only makes it WORSE. A man with a wife jeopardized his marriage with bad behavior towards minors. A man with kids treated someone elses’ with such disrespect. A man used a trusting institution to protect his ability to prey on young women.
I’m sure you’re not gonna attack the victims as being attention-hungry, dissatisfied with the class, the grade, anything else. Because you know that this is a club no one actually wants to join.
I’m sure you’re going to take this seriously. To listen. To empathize. To believe. To weigh the words of thousands of girls and women. To entertain the notion that they are all true. And what it means for your students.
I’m sure your students come first, and that the discomfort and pain of generations will not go ignored simply because we didn’t have the forethought to wear body cams to our underage teen driving classes.
I’m sure you believe us.
Because if you don’t? We’ll make you.
