UT students push for tougher abuse policies
Protests call for firing of two professors who violated sexual misconduct guidelines
Chanting “say it loud, say it clear, misconduct isn’t welcome here” and “abusers have got to go,” students at the University of Texas-Austin protested on campus Friday as they push the administration to rework a sexual misconduct policy they say prioritizes faculty members over the safety of students.
It was the latest in a series of demonstrations sparked by the continued employment of two professors found in violation of
UT’s sexual misconduct policy. In recent weeks, protesters have also stormed a classroom and held sit-ins outside university offices.
Earlier this week, UT announced several steps to address student concerns: a public forum in January with UT President Gregory L. Fenves, a working group with student input on the sexual misconduct policy, a compilation of policy violations since November 2017 that will be made available to the public through open records requests,
and an external review of Title IX policy led by law firm Husch-Blackwell.
But protesters say these measures have done little to ensure that those who misuse their power will not lead their classes.
Simone Gabriele Harry, a third-year UT student and a member of the newly formed campus Coalition Against Sexual Misconduct, called Friday for the open publication of the names of professors who have violated the sexual misconduct policy, a move she says will increase transparency and allow students to be more informed. That information is currently accessible through open records requests, but Harry said it needs to be easier for students to obtain.
“There should be no obstacles to this,” Harry said. “Students are still walking around and wondering, ‘Hmm, did I register for a course with someone who has violated a policy of sexual misconduct?’ There’s still ambiguity. That’s the problem.”
A petition that has gained about 1,300 signatures, according to organizers, asks the university to send out a UT-wide report explaining why certain professors have been deemed safe, as well as the creation of a restorative-justice program by 2021 and improvements to university-wide sexual misconduct training.
“We haven’t seen real addressing of a big issue — the fact that these men have been found guilty and are still in the classroom,” student organizer Alyssa Ashcraft said.
The two professors targeted in the protests are English professor Coleman Hutchison and integrative philosophy and biology professor Sahotra Sarkar.
Hutchison, who did not inform UT about a consensual affair with a graduate student and made “inappropriate” comments to several others, was barred from teaching and advising graduate students for two years and moved to undergraduate courses, beginning earlier this fall.
Sarkar was found in violation of Title IX policy after students complained that he’d asked them to pose nude or swim with him at a nude beach. In 2016, he was placed on paid administrative leave during an investigation, was suspended for a semester, and then returned to teach undergraduate courses as well.
UT’s current policy grades sexual misconduct on a spectrum. The sanctions for sexual misconduct violations vary widely from case to case — from mandatory training to termination.
“The type of sanction for a specific situation depends on the facts,” UT spokesperson J.B. Bird said. “The intent is for the severity of the sanctions to match the severity of the misconduct. Not all violations rise to a level that would justify termination.”
Bird said UT has already taken steps to address transparency concerns, including publishing an annual Title IX impact report with details on violations, but not the names of the staff members involved. Similar reports will soon be required at other Texas universities, thanks to the passage of Senate Bill 212 by the Texas Legislature, but Bird said UT has been publishing these reports for the past two years.
To proactively publish more specific information of faculty violations, with the details students want, has not been the norm in higher education, Bird said. But he said the working group will consider it, along with evaluating whether more violations should be punishable by termination.
John Foubert, a sexual violence prevention expert and professor at Union University, said power imbalances in the classroom make most violations a serious problem.
“My perspective is, if you’ve been accused and found responsible, you shouldn’t be allowed to return to a job that requires working with students,” Foubert said. “The default option should be dismissal.”
Sarkar and Hutchison are not considered by the university to be a safety threat, Bird said. In the event of repeat violations, there could be a harsher sanction, including termination.
Harry said students, especially some who are survivors of trauma, have come to her with concerns over being in classrooms with professors found to have committed sexual misconduct. There’s a certain level of anxiety there that might hinder someone’s academic performance, she said, preventing students from feeling comfortable going to class or office hours and losing points as a result.
“They just wish they had known,” Harry said. “That’s unfair and they should have been given the opportunity to enroll in a different course.”
The fall semester ends next week, followed by a month-long break until classes resume in late January. Student organizers, including second-year student organizer Tasnim Islam, are worried about any slowdown of the momentum they’ve fought for.
“We just don’t want UT to water this down,” Islam said. “We want this, and us, to stay on their mind.”