{ Apology to Victims }
Fall 2002
Dear Former and Current University
Students,
My name is Charles J. Hobson and I am
an Associate Professor of Business Administration at Indiana University
Northwest in Gary, IN. One of my areas of expertise, in which I teach, conduct
research, do training for companies/universities, and provide expert witness
testimony in court cases, is the prevention of sexual harassment.
According to the Office of Civil
Rights of the U.S. Department of Education, there are two types of illegal
academic sexual harassment - quid pro quo (which means "this for that") and
hostile environment. In the first instance, quid pro quo harassment occurs when
a professor makes academic decisions (i.e. grades) based upon a student's
willingness to go along with requests for sexual favors. Hostile environment
harassment involves a pattern of behaviors (often in the classroom) which is
sexual in nature, unrelated to course content, and interferes with a student's
academic performance or creates a hostile, intimidating, offensive learning
environment.
Sexual harassment of college students
is a national disgrace, affecting 3 out of 4 of all female students who enroll. Thus, there are literally millions of women who
have been sexually harassed while attending college. The experience typically
has a devastating impact on victims, causing severe psychological, behavioral,
and academic problems.
During the course of my efforts to assist Indiana University in in the late 1990's to prevent sexual harassment, information was provided to me indicating that certain professors had been sexually harassing students for many years. Consequently, I recommended, in writing, that the university send a letter to all former students of those professors in order to :
apologize for any unprofessional, sexually harassing conduct that may have occurred,
offer free counseling/therapy to any previous student victim to help heal past trauma, and
offer to refund course tuition.
Sadly, my recommendations were not accepted and no letters were sent to previous students. I was told that the university had no legal obligation to send such a letter and the potential costs/liabilities were prohibitive. Apparently, the university leadership felt no moral obligation or responsibility to silent victims of faculty sexual harassment who failed to file a formal complaint (Research shows that only 2 - 3 % of female students who have been harassed attempt to file formal complaints.). I could only assume that our "leaders" were content to allow these student victims to continue to suffer in silence.
Sadly, the strategy of denial and
"stone-walling" is all too typical in higher education today. Decision making is
dominated by attorneys and universities are afraid to "do the right thing"!
I strongly disagree with this course
of inaction! If we have evidence to indicate that a faculty member has
been sexually harassing students for a long period of time, I believe that the
institution has a moral obligation to contact those students and try to
repair any damage that was done. However, waiting for such decisive moral action
on the part of a university might take a lifetime or more.
Thus, as a deeply concerned college
faculty member, campus sexual harassment prevention advisor, and strong civil
rights/women's rights advocate, I want to apologize to all students at Indiana
University and any other higher education institution who have been victimized
by faculty sexual harassment/sexual misconduct in the past. Sexual harassment is
wrong and represents a violation of your civil rights! I also apologize for your
university's lack of responsible and appropriate action.
If you believe that you have been victimized by faculty sexual harassment/sexual misconduct, even if it occurred years ago, I encourage you to directly contact your institution's top administrator or "leader" (President or Chancellor) in order to :
file a formal complaint about your experience as a victim of sexual harassment, no matter how long ago it happened,
ask for an apology to you and other sexual harassment victims,
ask for counseling/therapy services, if needed, to help you deal with the trauma, at the university's expense,
ask for a refund of the tuition you
paid for any courses in which harassment occurred,
inquire about the steps being taken to safeguard student civil rights on campus, and
request a statement concerning how the campus is disciplining faculty members who violate student civil rights, without disclosing the names of the perpetrators.
The problem of sexual harassment is
national in scope and affects every university. While the overwhelming majority
of faculty members are hardworking, conscientious professors who treat students
with respect and dignity, we are plagued by a small minority of rogue faculty
members, best described as sexual predators, who exploit students for their
own personal gain and academic leaders who are either unwilling or unable to
initiate decisive action to correct the problem and assist prior victims.
Please accept my apology if you have
been victimized in the past and join with me in making university campuses safe
from faculty sexual harassment. Good luck in your efforts and please keep us
posted on your progress, both successes and failures.
Sincerely,
Associate Professor of
Business Administration
Indiana University Northwest
3400 Broadway
Gary, IN 46408