[The Lone Ranger]

So, Friday afternoon, Jennifer and her friend Katie came into my office, dropped into chairs, and started talking. At first, they were talking about Professor Slacker, and how he has given up all pretenses that he cares one whit about the students or about his responsibilities as a teacher.


Then the conversation shifted to a different class and a different teacher. This guy, they complained, is certainly more engaged than Professor Slacker, but is a pretty ineffective teacher. [This is by no means the first time I've heard this complaint about this particular teacher.]

Then, quiet, reserved Jennifer blurted out, "but the worst of it is the constant sexual harassment!".

Okay, I know this guy, and he's constantly making very crude, very sexual, and very sexist jokes. And I've frequently heard him making crude comments about female students and their ... anatomy.

Still, I suppose I was naive enough to think that surely he doesn't act like that in the classroom. Apparently, I was wrong.

According to Jennifer and Katie, he's constantly telling dirty jokes and dirty stories in class, making very blatantly sexual and sexist comments in class, and commenting on students. For instance, he told Jennifer that she'd make a good stripper.

But according to them, he doesn't limit himself to such verbal shenanigans. One of his favorite things to do, apparently, is to come up behind female students (the pretty ones, anyway; according to them, he has a "type") and "hug" them from behind -- making sure that his arms and hands are at chest level. Another favorite tactic is to come up behind a student, press up against her, and put his hands on her hips. Jennifer mentioned that another of his favorite things to do is "guide" female students -- by placing his hand on the student's back, then sliding it down to her pants, in order to "guide" her.


Jennifer and Katie both said that what makes it even worse is that many of the male students in the class seem to be well-aware of what's going on, and approve. Some of them have even said that they're jealous of the "attention" Professor Groper gives to the [pretty] female students. As Katie pointed out, they don't seem to be able to grasp that the "attention" is very-much not welcome.



I brooded about this for some time. I decided to discuss the matter with a trusted female colleague, to see if there might be something, anything that I could do. What she told me wasn't exactly shocking, I suppose, but it was also rather disheartening.


I'm trying to be generous here. I'm assuming that Professor Groper thinks he's being friendly and charming, and that his behavior is entirely appropriate. He's a 20-plus-year veteran at the college, and he graduated from the college himself. Oh, and did I mention that he's my department chair? All of this gives him a certain degree of prestige and power. In short, he's used to getting his way, without much in the way of challenge.

And let's face it, he doubtless derives a certain degree of sexual thrill from telling dirty jokes to pretty young girls, commenting about their bodies, and putting his hands all over them. The fact that he can do it right out in the open and get away with it probably adds to the thrill.


This must be particularly difficult for Jennifer, given how she has apparently been molested in the past. It must have taken quite a bit of courage on her part to tell me what's going on -- though I'd be lying if I said that it doesn't please me that she feels I'm that trustworthy.

But this poor girl has gone through enough. She has serious trust issues, and perhaps even worse self-esteem issues. I'd bet my bottom dollar that at some level, Jennifer believes that she deserves to suffer through such harassment -- or at least that she believes she has no right to complain about it.

So like I said, it probably took some real courage on her part to come to me.



Now as I said, I want to believe that Professor Groper thinks that he's just being friendly with the students. And goodness knows, I'm painfully aware that I have my own faults and blind spots.

And I've hugged students myself, including both Jennifer and Katie. [Though I am so not a "hugger." It's not at all unusual for days at a time to go by in which I don't touch anyone at all. And as a rule, I like it that way.]

So I made a point of telling Jennifer and Katie, "If I ever do or say anything that you think is inappropriate or that makes you uncomfortable, then you should tell me; I promise you that I want to know if I do so, and I won't be upset if you tell me."

Their response was: "No, if you hug us, it's to show support, not because you're trying to cop a feel." Then both of them stood up and ... hugged me. Awww ...





But back to what my female colleague told me. As I mentioned, I've heard Professor Groper make sexual and sexist jokes on many occasions, and I've heard him make lascivious comments about female students on more than one occasion. But I foolishly assumed that he didn't act like that in the classroom.

But according to my colleague, he has been doing that -- and much worse -- for some time now. According to her, this is far from the first time he has been accused of sexually harassing female students. According to her, he has tried to kiss students, and on one occasion he stuck his tongue into a girl's ear. [What the frak?]


And, according to my colleague, the administration is well aware of this, because they've received complaints about sexual harassment by Professor Groper for years now.

She told me that the best bet was to have the students go to the Dean of Female Students and tell her what they'd told me. She also pointed out that they should get as many other female students as possible to accompany them.

I told her that I would suggest this course of action to the students, and that I would tell them I'd go with them if they wanted me to, for support. To her credit, my colleague immediately told me that if they felt uncomfortable going with me, a male faculty member, that she would be willing to go with them and provide support.

But she cautioned me that I shouldn't have too much hope. Her advice boiled down to, "The best advice I can give you is to keep your head down and don't make trouble for yourself; there's little to nothing you can do." After all, Professor Groper has apparently been getting away with this sort of behavior for quite some time now.


Okay. Well I can't just do nothing.

***

So, I talked with Jennifer today. (Katie had been planning to accompany her, but couldn't make it, as it happened.) My main concern where Jennifer is concerned is that -- given her history -- she's very reluctant to do anything that might be traced back to her.


I told her that sexual harassment is not something that she or the other students should have to put up with. And I can't just ignore it.

Besides, this is clearly eating away at her. She was nearly in tears when she came into my office today; she said that the more she thinks about Professor Groper's behavior, the more upsetting it is.


So, I offered some options, and told her that if she thinks of any better options, she should feel free to present them.


One option: if she and the other students fear that going to the Dean and lodging a formal complaint might get them "outed," and thus get them into trouble with Professor Groper, then I will go to the Dean. I'll tell her what they've told me -- without giving any names -- and request that she explain to Professor Groper that his behavior is completely inappropriate and will not be tolerated any longer.

Jennifer was concerned that if I go to the Dean, then the result will be that I will be treated as an "agitator" or some such. Perhaps. Honestly, it wouldn't entirely surprise me, given that the administration has apparently known about this for some time now. But if it's a choice between standing up for the students and upsetting the administration and/or my boss? That's no choice at all; the students' well-being is -- or at least should be -- our primary concern.


A related option: if going to the Dean is deemed to be an inadvisable and/or ineffective strategy, then I can go to Professor Groper myself. I'll do my best to diplomatically bring up the subject that some students have ... concerns. (And again, I absolutely will not divulge any names.) Maybe he'll be inclined to listen to me, particularly as he'll see me as a colleague, rather than some faceless member of the administration.



The strategy my colleague recommends as having the greatest chance of success: as many of the female students in the class as possible should go to the Dean of Female Students and file a formal complaint. The more students who go to the Dean and put themselves on record as having concerns, the more likely it is that the administration will feel that it must address the issue.

I told Jennifer that if that's the option they choose, I'll be happy to go with them, to provide support and testimony. And if they'd feel more comfortable with a female faculty member, then my colleague said that she'd go with them.




I'm not going to pressure the students into doing anything that they don't want to do. After all, it's a very small school, and secrets have a way of getting out. I can understand if they're afraid that word might get back to Professor Groper if they file a formal complaint [and heck, he's not stupid; it wouldn't be hard for him to guess where the complaint originated], and that they'd be concerned he might try to retaliate somehow.


So I told Jennifer that she should discuss the issue with Katie and with any other students that she thinks should be included. When they've decided on what they think is the best course of action, I'll support them to the best of my ability.