By JULIA RYAN and STEFANIE DAZIO
AU administrators and student leaders are working to combine three separate sexual harassment policies by the end of this school year.
There are separate policies for faculty, staff and students. They were last updated in 1999.
The three policies define sexual harassment detail the complaint procedures for victims. They also address retaliation and false or frivolous charges.
“When you have three sets of procedure that are different, it gets kind of confusing,” said Beth Muha, executive director of human resources.
Muha, Dean of Students Rob Hradsky and Phyllis Peres, the dean of academic affairs, are the co-directors of the Sexual Harassment Prevention Team.
Once the proposal is completed, Hradsky will submit the proposal to President Neil Kerwin for review and final approval.
The perpetrator’s status determines which of these administrators deal with the complaint. If the perpetrator is a faculty member, Peres handles it. If it is a student, Hradsky works on it. If the harasser is a staff member, Muha takes care of the complaint.
Dealing with sexual harassment is just one part of these administrators’ duties.
Muha and Hradsky said there aren’t very many cases of sexual harassment at AU.
But there may be subtleties the victim may not label as harassment, Hradsky said.
A big part of it depends on what the victim considers “unwelcome behavior,” he said.
Meetings to officially discuss the changes are scheduled to begin in December.
History
Sexual harassment is also considered sex discrimination, according to the policies. Sex discrimination is the subject of Title IX, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in any educational program that receives federal funding.
AU has seen several sexual harassment cases in the past, but Muha and Hradsky declined to comment on specific cases, citing confidentiality.
In 1980, a student indentified only as “John” filed a sexual harassment claim against a female professor, according to The Eagle’s archives.
“John” took an independent study course under the professor’s supervision, and he was in one of their weekly meetings when the professor made unwelcome physical and sexual advances towards him.
She told him he could earn an A in the class very easily, but he told her he would rather earn an A through his studies. The professor gave “John” a D in the course, which he felt was unfair and he filed a lawsuit against her under Title IX.
In 1989, Provost Milton Greenberg formed the Sexual Harassment Advisory Committee to address sexual harassment on campus, also according to The Eagle’s archives.
Stacy Morgan-Foster, the co-chair of the committee and the director of student services, said the committee was formed because “statistically we knew there were more (sexual harassment) cases out there than were coming forward.”
A Student’s Experiences
AU junior Sarah Parnass said she has been sexually harassed multiple times in her hometown of Bow, N.H. While working at the local movie theater, her manager “Ross” made a number of inappropriate comments towards her. On one occasion, he said, “If [the General Manager Keith] saw you in those shorts, he’d make that the uniform.”
Parnass said she later found out three other girls had been harassed by “Ross.” The four girls talked to the General Manager and filed formal complaints against “Ross.” He was suspended for three weeks, and when he returned the girls still found it hard to work with him, Parnass said.
AU’s Complaint Process
There are two types of complaints: formal and informal.
Informal complaints generally involve the victim confronting the perpetrator, without any formal action taken.
Victims have one year to file a formal complaint against their harasser. The appropriate department will then launch an investigation, where they will interview other people and review records like e-mails, text messages and Facebook posts.
Victims should not engage in any form of retaliation, Hradsky said.
False and frivolous charges could result in charges being filed against the individual, he added.
Student Employees
Muha said a large part of sexual harassment among staff members involves the abuse of authority, usually in the form of a hostile working environment or a quid quo pro arrangement.
AU student employees, however, fall under both Muha and Hradsky’s jurisdiction.
Hradsky said the nature of the student’s role will be closely looked at, and further procedure will be determined on a more case-by-case basis.
Women’s Initiative
Women’s Initiative Director Quinn Pregliasco said her group has been working with the administration to change this policy for quite some time.
Pregliasco said the past three directors of Women’s Initiative have been working with Dean of Students Robert Hradsky to suggest changes to the harassment policy.
Her co-director, Victoria Bosselman, is working with Hradsky on the Sexual Harassment Prevention Team.
Women’s Initiative’s Director of Stopping Sexual Assault and Violence Against Women Laura Kiefer is a member of the Sexual Assault Working Group Education subcommittee.
While she has not worked with the Sexual Harassment Prevention Team, the Working Group has already made a few changes to the policy, such as if someone wants to report harassment, they can solely report it to Public Safety, and not to the Metropolitan Police Department.
Kiefer believes changes to the policy are “a long time coming.”
New advances in social media and closer connections between students and teachers have brought just as many problems as they have brought advantages, she said.
“We can be friends with our professors on Facebook ¬– we can be friends with our bosses or other people in authoritative position, and that can/has been dangerous for both parties, she said. “The administration needs to know how to deal with this new idea of cyber-stalking/harassment.”
She also said students, faculty and staff have to be aware of the possibility of street harassment.
“Street harassment is a growing problem that has some people resorting to driving to campus from the [Berkshire Apartments] or the Avalon if they are going to be on campus late at night, she said. “This is so they can avoid unwanted attention from drivers on Massachusetts Avenue or other pedestrians, especially if the sidewalks are not lit.”
