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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 9, 2000)
Harassment continued from page 1 part of an employees personnel file and are not open to inspection. Sexual harassment grievances filed through the University Office of Affirmative Action & Equal Op portunity have declined since 1994, when 10 were filed. In the last year, however, Sexual Assault Support Services (SASS) reported a 20 percent increase in calls to its 24-hour support and crisis hotline. In addition, the U.S. Department of Justice reports an increase in sexu al violence, while other crimes Students Receive 8% discount on all items except sale items • classes beginning intermediate • tine quality yarns, needles & accessories • patterns, magazines and hooks 2H21 Oak Street (in Southtowne Shops) 484-0430 |0 Mb', 10am-7pm. S Sat., 10am-5pm, Sun, 2pm-4:30pm have decreased. There are basically two kinds of sexual harassment, Moore said. The first kind — trading grades for sexual favors — used to be the most common. These are the "go out with me or you’ll fail my class” types of sexual harassment, he said. Now the most common kind of sexual harassment is the creation of a hostile environment through offensive comments or materials. “I admonish [University em ployees] not to engage in these be haviors,” Moore said. In addition, Moore reminds fac ulty members that they should be reporting any incidences of sexual harassment to his office. “I advise them — strongly ad vise them — that if a student comes to them with these things, that they can and should be report ing these things to us,” he said. Moore noted that the severity of the sexual harassment grievances he sees has declined along with the number of grievances. Moore’s office recorded three sexual ha rassment grievances in 1999 and one thus far in 2000, but “it’s still very underreported — that’s com mon knowledge across the coun try,” he added. There are many reasons for vic tims of sexual harassment to re main silent. Associate Dean of Stu Efforts to rid the University of sexually hostile en vironments have tended to overlook comments and materials that could be offensive to lesbian, gay, bi sexual and transgender students. Chicora Martin, director of the Lesbian, Gay, Bi sexual and Transgender Educational and Support Services Program, said that she encourages Univer sity professors to always assume that there is an LGBT individual in their classroom. “You have professors who don’t realize the climate they’re creating,” she said. “A professor could be talking about an effeminate man in history, and maybe he begins to talk with a lisp or bend his wrist. They’ve just alienated one or more of their students.” Making anti-gay jokes and perpetuating stereo types are the two most common ways a hostile envi ronment can be created in the classroom, Martin said. She said many LGBT students are not very likely I to report sexual harassment. ‘ A student is more likely to drop a class or switch professors than to go through grievance procedures,” she said. Students who are sexually harassed often suffer academically; their self-esteem suffers, too, she said. “It really does impact their ability to be success ful,” she said. Martin said she is working with a Bias Response Team to develop formal ways to report and respond to all types of bias-type speech. In addition, she is holding a workshop in Novem ber on how to create an inclusive classroom. For more information, contact Martin at 346-1134. Many resources are available on campus and in the commu nity for victims of sexual harassment, as well as those inter ested in learning more about how sexual harassment can be prevented: • Sexual Assault Support Services, 24-hour crisis line (541) 343-7277 or 1-800-788-4727 • University Department of Public Safety, 24-hour emer gency help, 346-5444 • Office of Student Life, 346-3212 • Office of Student Advocacy, 346-3722 • Office of Affirmative Action & Equal Opportunity, 346-3123 dents Laura Blake Jones, said vic tims of sexual harassment often have lots of difficult things to deal with including emotional, health and academic problems as a result of their ordeal. Making a formal complaint is not always high on the person’s list of priorities. “There’s a whole myriad of things that people need support around,” she said. The Office of Student Life is one of many re sources on campus and off that provide support for victims of sex ual violence, including harass ment. “We’re trying to work on under reporting,” she said. “It’s a fine line between wanting underreporting to go away and respecting a stu dent who wants to not report for various reasons.” Victims of sexual harassment are often sought out by alleged perpe trators because they may be vul nerable, accessible or lack credibil ity, said Sheryl Eyster, associate director of the Office of Studenl Life. 010268 robbie williams sing when you’re winning The new album featuring the bloody great new single and video “rock DJ” www.robbiewilliams.com hollywoodandvine.com ©2000 Capitol Records, Inc. *13.99 at 860 East 13*Ave. (across from U of 0 Bookstore) 16 Listening Stations!! We buy & sell used CDs, and they're guaranteed! Look for coupons in Eugene Weekly 345-1010, or access music & news at tacethe.com MUSIC Sexual harassment cases often come down to “he said, she said” scenarios. In this situation, deci sions are often made based on the credibility of the parties involved, she said. Hilary Berkman, director of the Office of Student Advocacy, an ASUO program, said her office can provide assistance to students who have been sexually harassed and are trying to prepare their cases. In addition, the OSA can refer victims interested in taking action against the University to outside agencies such as the Equal Em ployment Opportunity Commis sion, the Bureau of Labor and In dustries or private attorneys in the area who specialize in civil rights cases. Katie Antos, community educa tion coordinator for SASS, said that victims of sexual harassment who come forward are often blamed for what has happened. They’re not rewarded for reporting and they fear that nothing will happen to the harasser. But Antos said asking why peo ple choose not to report sexual ha rassment is the wrong approach. People are failing to ask key ques tions such as, “Why does the of fender harass? And what is it about our society that makes it okay to harass?” “This is a significant social prob lem, and it’s one we need to talk about,” she said. Antos suggests that people raise their awareness about sexual ha rassment, become aware of stereo types and stop sexist jokes. She added that people should “never support the idea that someone is to blame if they’ve been harassed.” Calendar Monday, Oct. 9 Exhibition: Painting by John Fleenor and Aaron Foster; multi-media by Simrat Khalsa. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. LaV erne Krause Gallery, Lawrence Hall, 1190 Franklin Blvd. Free. Reception 7-9 p.m. information Technology Workshops: The IT Curriculum of fers computer and Internet training for everyone on campus, novice to advanced. No preregistration need ed. Rooms 144,235,267B and Stu dio A, Knight Library, 1501 Kincaid St. Free. Presentation: Chad Smith, Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation, holds a community meeting for all area Cherokeesat4:30 pm and a public lecture at 7:30 pm. 175 Knight Law Ctr. Free.
