PETRUCCI: Sexual assault policy missing key elements
It is the holidays. You ask for a PlayStation 4, video games, remote controllers and a new bean bag chair. You wake up the next morning and all you got was the PlayStation 4. But what good is the PlayStation without the gosh darn games to play on it, the remote controllers to facilitate the game and a place to sit while you play?
An article released early this month by NJ Advance Media, details a series of sexual harassment claims filed against Rutgers University professors. Kristy King was one of the women who came forward accusing her graduate professor Stephen Eric Bronner of sexual misconduct after a “chat” in his office turned into a series of inappropriate touching. King came forward to tell her story approximately 20 years after some of the incidents took place. According to the former Rutgers policy, the University refused to investigate sexual misconduct complaints that were more than 2 years old. Like all frivolous crimes, this one just diminished into non-existence after two years, yet the man accused seemed to survive the two-year expiration date and is still a full-time faculty member.
Bronner was also accused of sexual misconduct by another graduate student who remained anonymous in the article. She filed a complaint to the University but did not receive a response. These women are two of several women who filed claims of sexual harassment against Rutgers professors but whose claims were not processed under the two-year statute of limitations.
The article came after Cynthia Daniels and five other senior professors in the Department of Political Science penned a memo calling for five changes to the sexual harassment and abuse policy last spring. The memo included a call for the elimination of the two-year statute as one of the measures.
Yet, this is old news. University President Robert L. Barchi sent a letter to the governing boards just 8 hours after the publication of the article that the two-year rule “is inconsistent with both our practices and our values” and that "we must send a clear message of our commitment to pursue any complaint of sexual harassment or misconduct for which evidence and witnesses remain."
Like the solution to all great problems, Barchi ordered a review of the Office of Employment Equity (OEE), which conducts investigations of sexual misconduct. The University will also establish a University Committee on the Prevention of Sexual Harassment composed of students and faculty. Problem solved, right?
But wait, what about the other four suggested changes to the sexual harassment policy ordered by the memo that sparked this whole firestorm? While the PlayStation is vital to your gift, without any games, remote controllers and the bean bag, are the desired ends of the gift going to be achieved?
So here are the other four essential aspects of the memo in case Barchi needs reminding of the other components necessary to “pursue any complaint of sexual harassment or misconduct”:
1) The “witness” rule allows victims to report their complaints as “witnesses” rather than as “complainants.” The rule gives victims a second option, one more private, yet in doing this victims give up their right to know the outcome of their complaint and the right to appeal the final disposition of their complaint. Decisions are reached and the victim has no idea if the claim was inconclusive or if the accused was charged.
2) Under the reporting rule, certain faculty are “mandatory reporters” that are required to report any instance of sexual misconduct that their students discuss with them. The knowledge of the complaint is then limited to the appropriate deans and sometimes department chairs are notified of the complaints. The mandatory reporter is not always notified on the OEE's verdict.
3) Standards of unwelcomeness must be seriously re-examined given the power differential between faculty and graduate or undergraduate students. Sexual propositions by those in positions of power should be considered unwelcome and thus in violation with the sexual misconduct policy. In one case outlined in the NJ Advance Media, one woman provided emails actually showing sexually explicit content sent by her professor.
4) Decisions about hiring and promotion should taken into account reports filled to the OEE regarding job candidates. In one case outlined in the NJ.com article, a woman came forward to discuss allegations against a professor at a school at an out-of-state university who was newly hired at Rutgers. Because the complaints took place at a different school, Rutgers officials said they could not investigate the claim.
Following the announcement, News12 New Jersey released a 2-minute piece about the change in the two-year limit, yet made no mention of the other suggestions made in the memo and only made a brief mention of the NJ Advance Media article.
Before the announcement, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) said, “Whether you're a university, whether you're a church or some other organization . . . your responsibility is to take this stuff seriously and run everything to the ground." While Murphy sparked waves last year when he wore Asics to deliver his 100-days in office speech in which he ran up to the podium at Rutgers—New Brunswick, can we actually say this policy has legs let alone any ability to run?
Francesca Petrucci is a School of Arts and Sciences senior double majoring in journalism and media studies and political science and minoring in Spanish. Her column, "The Annoying Vegan Millennial," runs on alternate Tuesdays.
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