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
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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.
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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.