Cases of Sexual Harassment
In this section you can read about some cases of sexual harassment. Although they are hypothetical cases, they are based on real cases. I chose these cases as typical of cases that occur commonly in university, school, and workplace settings.
The cases are presented as short interviews with people who were involved with the alleged sexual harassment and witnesses whose testimony is relevant to the case. You should read the story through the words of the persons involved in the case and then make your own decision about whether or not the victim has suffered sexual harassment and what should be done about it.
I have not indicated the eventual outcomes of these cases. The point is that you should think through the various points of view for yourself and relate them to what you have read in other sections of this website.
The Case of the Bartered Grade
This case concerns a charge of sexual harassment brought by an undergraduate student Tony Hazleton against a Graduate Teaching Assistant Bill Rawlins.
Tony Hazelton, Undergraduate Student:
Man, this guy is a real faggot. He shouldn't be employed at this university or any other
university. Do you know what this guy did?
I was having trouble in his sociology section and I asked him for help. He said to meet in
his office. When I came to his office, he closed the door and sat down beside me. And the
next thing I know the guy has his hand on my knee!
Well, I jumped up and said 'What are you up to!' And he said, 'What are you talking about?
If you to get a good grade you know what you have to do and if you tell anyone what I said,
I'll make sure you flunk.'
I was so mad I just ran out the door never went back. Then when I got my grade, it was an
F!
Man, you got to get this faggot out of the university. And I got to get a grade change.
Bill Rawlins, Graduate Teaching Assistant:
I utterly deny every word of the charge. It is true that a student named Tony Hazelton was in one of the sociology discussion sections for which I was responsible last semester. But Tony was absent much of the semester and when he attended, he never spoke up. I probably wouldn't recognize him if I saw him on the street. I certainly never made any homosexual advances toward him.
Tony never came to me for help with the class and I never saw him in my office. You can look at my datebook; I keep records of appointments with students there. You will not find an entry with his name.
I don't know what Tony is up to. What I do know is that these unfounded charges have put my academic career in jeopardy. The department head has relieved me of my teaching duties and revoked my assistantship for the semester and I don't know where I will get the money for tuition and my living expenses. These are false charges, but they have caused me enormous psychological and financial distress.
I am sure that a fair hearing will clear my name; but these unfounded charges have really made me rethink my commitment to an academic career.
Ed Lee, Tony's Roommate:
I'm Tony's roommate. He never said anything to me about any homosexual advances or
nothing. If that had happened to me, I'd been too ashamed to say anything to anybody myself.
Tony wouldn't say nothing to me. We're not that good friends, even if we are roommates. We
don't talk much more than, Hi and Bye and Get your damn socks off my bed.
So I wouldn't know if it happened or not. Sorry I can't help you more than that.
I do know Tony's on academic probation and if he gets another F, he will be kicked out of
school. I don't know what his family will say. If it was my folks, they'd be real pissed.
Sybil Philipson, Bill Rawlins' Supervisor:
Tony Hazelton made a complaint to me about Mr. Rawlins on April 7.
I have supervised Mr. Rawlins since he came to this department two years ago. He has
taught two discussion sections of the basic course for us every semester, and we have never
had any complaints about his performance. I've met with Mr. Rawlins regularly to discuss
professional issues of teaching, but I know very little about his personal life. I believe he is
rooming with a male graduate student in psychology. I believe someone said he has attended
several student rallies in support of gay and bisexual rights. But I wouldn't really like to say
anything more about his personal life.
Of course, by the nature of the complaint I felt it incumbent on me to remove Mr. Rawlins
from further contact with students until this thing can get straightened out.
I myself have not said anything to anyone; I have tried to keep this matter quiet. But you
know how it is in academic circles. I'm afraid that the matter has leaked out and people are
talking. I would very much like to get this matter settled quickly.
The Case of the Pornographic Pictures
This case involves a situation in a student computer lab at a State University. On several occasions when the lab was unattended, three male students have used the computers in this lab to find and print out pornographic pictures. The three male students laugh and joke and show the pictures around in the computer lab, mostly to other male students.
Alice Paul, Student:
I was in the computer lab once before when these guys came in. They were using the computers to find and print out pornographic pictures and then they showed the pictures around in the lab. I was really embarrassed and then angry, but I didn't say anything because I knew what would happen. They would attack me. So I didn't say anything then. But I promised myself if they did that again, I would speak up.
That's what we learned in Women's Studies class. That you have to speak up or people don't know that they're being offensive. It takes a lot of nerve; it's not easy. I had to practice with my roommate several times. I was really ready for them the next time they came in and started that same old business.
I think it's just awful and disrespectful to both women and men to have pictures like that on the Internet. And it's worse what those guys were doing. They particularly targeted the shy women in the room who were frightened and left. And the other guys won't stick up for us either. I talked to one or two of them and they just laughed it off. They said they weren't offended.
So I went to Mr. Benson and made a complaint. I don't know what will happen. I don't know what he can do. I just want those guys to know that they can't get away with what they were doing.
Gwendolyn Brooks, Student:
Yeah, I've been in the computer lab when those dorks came in and were messing around with those dirty pictures. But, hey! What can you do? They're guys! What can you expect?
No, I wasn't offended. After all, we have free speech in this country, don't we? If someone
is offended, they can leave. I don't really like to see those pictures but I think it's only worse if you make a fuss. Then they get on your case and you've got trouble you don't need.
If that girl who was in here wants to make a fuss, it's her business. It's not my business.
Johnson Brown, Student:
Yeah, my friends and I use the computers in the student lab to surf the net and find some pictures of girls and things. Yeah, we did it a couple of times. Well, it's a free country, isn't it? I mean it's my constitutional right to free speech. And if that frigid bitch, pardon my language, is offended, well that's her problem, not mine. Like, she can just keep her opinions to herself. We were just having a little fun.
Nobody else ever complained. Where does she get off making the rules for a public
computer lab. Like, who does she think she is, Mary Poppins? Huh? We were just having a little fun and if she can't take a joke, well....you know the saying. Maybe it would do her
some good.
Fred Douglas, Student:
Yes, I've been in the computer lab when those three guys came in and downloaded those pictures and waved them around. I am very offended by that kind of behavior, not only because it's disrespectful to women but because they are noisy and they disrupt me from my work.
I don't make a complaint because I don't want to get in any trouble. I don't want those guys to get on my case. I just gave up working in that computer lab. It's hard, because the other lab is always full, but it's better than putting up with them.
Ralph Benson, Administrator of Computer Labs:
On February 20, Alice Paul made a complaint against three male students for their behavior in the computer lab in Room 115 in the Library. She said they were downloading pornographic images and showing those images to other students in the room.
I'm in the process of investigating the university's position on this type of behavior. The library doesn't have a policy on this issue; it's a new area for us. Basically, our position has always been that the patrons of the library have free access to any information that is available through any library resources. Those resources now include electronic access to all kinds of databases, some of which contain not only pornography but also hate speech like publications of the Aryan Nation and other terrorist groups.
I'm pretty sure the library will uphold the principle that patrons should have free access to any information that's available. We are not in the business of censoring information. But I understand that the students were showing these images around in the lab, and I don't know if that would constitute hostile environment or not. I'm familiar in a general way with the rulings on pin-ups in the workplace and public display of pornographic images, but I'm not sure whether or not that interpretation would be appropriate to this situation.
I'll just have to wait and see what the library's position on this issue is. I'm sorry I can't help you more than that.
The Case of the Faculty Romeo
This case involves charges of sexual harassment brought by an undergraduate student, Annette Turner, against an Assistant Professor of Humanities, Chris Updike.
Annette Turner, Undergraduate Student:
I met Dr. Updike at the Wittgenstein group, an evening discussion group sponsored by the department.. I was really surprised that Dr. Updike would be interested in me but I was also very flattered. When Dr. Updike talked to me and asked me out, I was confused and didn't know who to ask about it. I knew that Dr. Updike was going to be the instructor for my senior seminar, and I was a little afraid that if I said 'no' he might not like me or might give me a bad grade.
I was really in love. But I began to hear the gossip about him. He sleeps around a lot; he's slept with several graduate students, some of them in this department. I was shocked by that. I'm not really that kind of person. I was so humiliated to think what I had done and that other people were probably talking about me as one of his flings. I couldn't sleep and my grades were suffering. I just couldn't face him and I stayed away from the discussions groups or anyplace I thought he might be. It was awful.
And then when I got a 'C' in the senior seminar after I worked so hard, I was shocked. I don't know if he gave me the 'C' because I changed after I found out about him. I know I could probably have done better if I had been able to work more closely with him and ask his advice, but I just couldn't. Well, I'm really desperate about the 'C' in the senior seminar, because it nearly destroys my applications to graduate school.
Professor Updike, Assistant Professor:
Yes, I did have a consensual sexual relationship with Ms. Turner for about four months, but the relationship ended two months ago. We had some beautiful times together, and I have nothing but admiration and respect for her as an individual.
I'm shocked by these charges. I never had the slightest hint from Ms. Turner that she was unhappy in the relationship or that she felt coerced or pressured into the relationship.
Socializing between faculty and graduate students and the more achieving undergraduate students goes on all the time. I've had consensual sexual relationships with several graduate students in the past three years I have been teaching at State University. I'm presently living with a graduate student with whom I want to share the rest of my life. She's a graduate student in Chemistry, so there's no conflict there.
I hope we can work out something out here. These charges are totally unfounded, and I'm sure I'll be cleared by a thorough investigation. My good name is at risk here, and I'm very concerned about this matter.
Wilbur Watson, Department Chair:
Well, this case has just been a disaster for the department and for Dr. Updike especially. We've never had anything like this happen in the department, not even a hint of any such scandal! And Dr. Updike is one of our rising stars in the department, too.
Dr. Updike has published extensively; he has excellent teaching evaluations. Just excellent. He's popular with both the undergraduate and the graduate students. He's been very successful at attracting students to the major. He has a way of connecting with young people and explaining how relevant the humanities are to their goals and future plans. Frankly, I can't imagine there is anything to this charge. I just can't believe he would harass anyone.
It's terrible that this case should come up just at this time. Dr. Updike is coming up for his fourth year tenure review in October. I'm afraid this case won't be settled before the tenure review process is completed. I don't think this incident should have any effect on his academic credentials. I very much hope that the committee will not be too influenced by this case.
Rosalie Anderson, Counselor:
Annette Turner came to see me first in February of this year. She was extremely upset, but it took her some time to get around to talking about what was really upsetting her. At first I just thought she was
concerned about her grades and the possibility of getting into graduate school and how she would explain the situation to her family.
Ms. Turner comes from a strongly religious background, from a traditional family in a very small town in Nebraska. Her family and her church and her community have high hopes for her academic success. She got straight A's in the community college that she attended before she transferred to State University here. Her ambition was to go to graduate school and become a professor of English Literature and teach at the University of Nebraska near her family. Now she doesn't know what she will do when she graduates.
Then in the fall she got a C in the senior seminar, which was a blow to her. She felt that with that grade in the seminar she would have no chance to get into graduate school. She was in despair.
Once I understood the situation, I referred Ms. Turner to the Affirmative Action Office to see whether or not she had a sexual harassment case. I believe they are working with her on the case. I'm not an expert on the law, but I can report to you that Ms. Turner was devastated by this experience . I continue to meet with her on a weekly basis.
Beverly Moore, Undergraduate Student:
I met Annette last spring semester in a class we had together. I'm really worried about Annette. She's taken this all so hard. I guess it's because she's afraid what her family would think if they knew what happened.
I came to this place as a freshman, and I caught on about Dr. Updike right away; I recognized the type. I mean, like, I thought everyone knew. I was really surprised to find out aboutAnnette -- not just that she had a relationship with him but that she didn't know about his reputation.
Well, last January I think it was, a bunch of us were in the lounge and we were talking about the faculty nd about their teaching and their personal lives and I made some remark about Dr. Updike's recommendation letters including a rating of the women based on how good they were in bed and Annete just turned green. r white. I thought she was going to faint. I couldn't figure out what was wrong with her.
She didn't say anything then but later she came to ask me what I meant. Well, I didn't know she was involved with him, did I? I just told her and named some names. And God, she just broke down. She had thought this was the real thing. She was really, really upset. I didn't know what to do. I felt so awful. I felt like I had just ruined her life by telling her about him, but I would have felt worse if I had lied and she had found out later and figure out I had lied to her.
So after she was so upset and all, I finally talked her into going to Counseling Services to talk to someone about what happened to her. I had no idea it was a sexual harassment thing. I just was worried that she was so upset. Her grades really slipped that semester and all. And Annette is so ambitious and she was so proud of her grades and how she says she doesn't think she'll be able to go to graduate school. Boy, that's a really terrible situation.
The Case of the Stalker
This case involves charges of sexual harassment brought by an undergraduate student, Rebecca Stanton, against another student, Roger Muddle.
Alvin Carrington, Police Services:
On October 22 at 4:22 p.m. we received a phone call from a woman named Sharon Wilson. She reported that some men were hassling her friend Rebecca Stanton outside the Computer Science Building.
We sent out an officer to investigate. When the officer arrived the men had left. He interviewed Ms. Stanton and Ms. Wilson who said a Roger Muddle had threatened Ms. Stanton.
We called Roger Muddle in and interviewed him. He told us that he and Ms. Stanton are good friends and he was just teasing her. He didn't mean her any harm. She made the police report to get him in trouble, but she didn't mean it. He said he wouldn't do it again, so we just dropped it.
We get these calls all the time and most of the time they don't amount to anything.
Rebecca Stanton, Undergraduate Student:
I am a computer science major at State University. There are only about 35 majors here and we all pretty much know one another. Last semester one guy in particular, Roger Muddle, started paying particular attention to me. I didn't like him or dislike him. But he kept bugging me to go out with him. He'd call me three or four times a day and ask me out. I kept saying no, no, no. I just got tired of it and finally I said yes. I don't know what I thought; maybe I thought that if I just went out with him once he'd go away or something.
I agreed to go to the movies with him, and in the movie he kept putting his hands all over me. I kept pushing him away, but I didn't say anything because I didn't want to make a scene. But when the movie was over I insisted on going right back to the dorm. And I went right in and up to my room. I didn't even say Thank you. I was so mad.
I told my roommate Sharon what happened. I hoped that would be the last I'd hear about it, but it wasn't. Every time I went to class, there he was again and he'd ask me when we were going to go out again. I didn't have another boyfriend or anything, but I don't think that would have made any difference. I kept saying no, but I was getting real annoyed.
Finally, one day when Sharon and I were standing outside the Computer Science Building, he came up to me with some of his friends and he got real rough. He pinned me to the wall between his arms and said something like, So, Rebecca, are you going to go out with me or what, bitch? And these other guys were standing around and laughing and joking. And I was really scared. I told Sharon to call the police and she did. She went into the building and called the police and they came. But before they got there the guys had left. So they just went away again.
Roger is still calling me every night and I don't know what to do. Is there anything I can do to make him stop hassling me?
Roger Muddle, Undergraduate Student:
I'm not doing anything wrong. A guy's got a right to ask out any girl he likes. Rebecca has been giving me the come on and then playing hard to get. She should really get what's coming to her.
I mean it's not like she had someone steady. If she had someone steady, I'd respect that. But she don't. She don't have any reason not to go out with me. She's just stubborn.
I'm not doing anything wrong. I'm just asking her politely to go out with me. She's got no business teasing me.
Sharon Wilson, Rebecca's Roommate:
Rebecca and I have been roommates since we were freshmen. We're really good friends. Rebecca is an excellent student. She's real ambitious and hard working. She doesn't have a regular boy friend because she puts her career first. She says that can wait until she's established herself.
This semester Rebecca kept getting these phone calls all day and all night, It was that Roger guy asking her out. It's real annoying, because Rebecca says No and Roger won't take No for an answer.
Finally, Rebecca said maybe if she'd just go out with him once and tell him politely but firmly that she wasn't interested in a relationship, then maybe Roger would quit hassling her. So she went out with him. She asked me and my boyfriend Larry to follow her so she'd feel safe. So we went along to the movies without him seeing us.
Rebecca was home before I got there. And was she mad! She said that guy was all over her and he wouldn't leave her alone. She made him bring her straight back and she told him she didn't ever want him to call her again. Well, you'd think he'd get the hint, wouldn't you? But no....
And then one day when Rebecca and I came out of the Computer Science building, there he was with his friends. And he was acting real tough and yelling at Rebecca and saying she was a cold bitch and saying she was a lesbo and saying she'd better go out with him if she knew what was good for her. And his friends were all just standing around and laughing. I got really mad and I went into the lobby and I called the campus police. But when the police got there the guys were gone and there wasn't much they could do, I guess.
Roger still follows Rebecca around and calls her. It's a real hassle and we're both a little scared of Roger. I don't know what to do. The police didn't do anything, so I guess there isn't anything we can do.
The Case of the Graffiti
This case is about sexual harassment in high school. Some boys have written graffiti about a girl in the boy's restroom. The boys are teasing and taunting her. She doesn't know what to do.
Diana Vronsky, High School Student:
I just can't go back to school again. The boys are awful. In the hall and in the lunch room they call me names like "slut," "lesbian," "prostitute," "whore," and "ugly dog-face bitch" and they ask me to do sex. Most of the girls won't talk to me and everyone stares at me funny. Ginger told me that someone wrote awful thing about me on the walls of the boy's bathroom. Things like I have sex with animals and with my brother and awful names. I can't concentrate on my school work and my grades are failing. I feel humiliated and dirty and I just can't stand it.
Ginger Wainwright, High School Student:
Well, my boyfriend told me about what was written on the walls. I don't know if the guys even believe that stuff but they tease Diana all the time. They're always passing her notes with dirty stuff and calling her names when they meet her in the hall or sometimes even in class. Now she's got a "reputation" and if I hang around with her I'll get one, too. I'm afraid to be seen with her any more; it's really a nightmare.
Mrs. Vronsky, Diana's Mother:
Diana just has to learn how to deal with harassment, because that's just the way it is. People always called me ugly and fat when I was in school, and it didn't affect me. Boys have always acted like that and they're probably always going to act like that. I can't stop it and the school principal can't stop it. If she would to on a diet and fix herself up, maybe that would help. She's a mess and it's her own fault. She's not the only kid that's been harassed. She just has to get tough.
Mr. Weldon, High School Principal
I don't know what you expect me to do about it. Every year it's one girl or another. I can talk to the boys, but they don't pay any attention to me. It's not like it was a federal crime or anything.
Regina Addams, Counselor
I am aware that sexual harassment is illegal in schools. Title IX forbids sexual discrimination. It's just that I can't do anything without the support of the administration. I've talked with Mr. Weldon, but he doesn't want to act. I'm afraid we're going to get this big lawsuit against the school and a lot of bad publicity. The stuff those boys are doing to Diana is awful, and it isn't like it was the first time, either. Last year it was another girl and probably next year it will be somebody else. I just don't know where to go.
