Danish efterskole students face escalating harassment from local adults on Langeland island, with incidents ranging from verbal abuse to physical assault. The confrontations, rooted in the students' alternative appearances, have forced the school to involve police and the local mayor, highlighting a clash over belonging in a small community.
Lily Boehm Avlund was sewing on a machine at Langelands Efterskole when a stone suddenly shattered a window and flew through the room. This act of vandalism was not an isolated event. It represents a peak in a prolonged campaign of intimidation that students say they have endured for some time. The school's headmaster, Michael Thagaard, has now reported two serious incidents to the police and contacted the town's mayor.
A Pattern of Intimidation
Students describe a consistent pattern of harassment when they venture into Rudkøbing, the main town on Langeland. Björk Mortensen and her friends were out for a walk when an adult man stopped his car, rolled down his window, and shouted, "You don't belong here." Another student was beaten up outside the local Netto supermarket on a Saturday night. Other encounters involve cars following them, threats of rape, and constant verbal abuse. "We have always been shouted at on the street because we look a little different, but recently it has really escalated," Björk Mortensen said.
Headmaster Michael Thagaard describes his students as colorful, festive, and liberal-minded. Some have dyed hair, piercings, or wear bright second-hand clothing. He believes this visible difference is the core of the conflict in a community perhaps unaccustomed to such expressions. "Many here from Langeland are not used to seeing colorful students with nose rings and tri-colored hair," Thagaard explained. "I think there is a fear of what is different." Student Ellen Schelde Fogedby corroborates this, stating she has repeatedly been called a "fucking disgusting emo" by boys on mopeds when visiting Netto.
Official Responses and Community Tension
The school's leadership has drawn a clear line. Thagaard emphasizes they will not accept threats, violence, shouting, or sexualized comments directed at their pupils. This firm stance led him to reach out to the municipal mayor, who then issued a public reprimand to locals in a Facebook post. The two incidents formally reported to police are the assault outside Netto and a separate case of sexual harassment, which the headmaster did not wish to detail further.
This situation underscores a significant tension within Danish integration and community dynamics. It presents a case where young people, albeit from within Denmark, are being ostracized and threatened for their subcultural identity within a smaller, perhaps more homogeneous, setting. The conflict moves beyond typical teenage disputes into a realm of intergenerational aggression and questioned belonging. The mayor's intervention suggests the incidents are seen as damaging to the social fabric of the entire town, not just a problem for the school.