Regrettable hostess pics

The damage was done but the eventual resignation of the Silpakorn University president over his photos of a female air stewardess with a risque caption posted on social media is still welcome. Chaicharn Thavaravej, 71, tendered his resignation on Monday.

In his letter to the university council chairman, Mr Chaicharn stated that he decided to step down to protect the university’s “good image.”

The image had been considerably dented though, not just because of the outgoing president’s social media post but also his outdated mindset that could betray a wider and probably deeper culture of sexism at the arts institute and probably beyond.

Mr Chaicharn earlier provoked an uproar after he posted the images on Facebook last week. In an accompanying caption, he wrote that he always took pictures of air hostesses for his junior colleagues to drool over.

His post was picked up by several artists and activists. It soon went viral and a public outcry followed.

Thousands of students, lecturers and alumni of Silpakorn University, which is one of the country’s most established and well-known arts colleges, pressured administrators to review the president’s action.

Dozens of women’s organisations also condemned the photos and the accompanying message as a form of sexual harassment. They demanded that the university and Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation Minister Anek Laothamatas take action against the embattled president.

In a rather perplexing move, Mr Chaicharn admitted that he did post the photos and the message but insisted that it was harmless. The photos only showed an aircrew member doing her routine work. He insisted that he meant no harm and did not find the photos amounted to sexual harassment.

Therein lies the bigger problem.

Mr Chaicharn not only serves in a top executive position but he does so at a well-recognised arts college where being cultured and in possession of high cultural values are to be expected.

That the university president was completely unaware of what constitutes sexual harassment, let alone where respect for privacy and decency lies in the age of pervasive social media does not augur well for the institute he presided over for a decade. Mr Chaicharn was appointed university president in 2019 after serving as acting president since 2012.

Even in his resignation letter, Mr Chaicharn seems to blame the negative social sentiments as causing damage to the university’s reputation, not his actions. He insisted that he did not intend to cause any harm or cause people to view the university inappropriately.

But since the opposing sentiment could be harmful to the university’s image, he decided to show his responsibility through his resignation which he said: “Will be good for all concerned.”

Nowhere in the letter did Mr Chaicharn acknowledge that his social media posting was seen as an act of sexual harassment and a violation of individual privacy.

Along with his insistence of no malicious intent, he wrote that he has contributed to the university to the best of his ability, but this cannot justify his lack of judgement over this case. Mr Chaicharn’s resignation will take effect as soon as the university appoints a new president.

For the time being, the university should take the opportunity to review what occurred and make a case for educating all of its executives and staff to help ensure that such a regrettable incident will not reoccur.