POLICY
I^VMBDA - Volume XXVII - Issue 2
Poor Policy Public!
A semester-long attempt to persuade
the University to notify students of its
anti-harassment policy ends in
confusion, unanswered
questions and
By Douglas Dukeman
On December 15, all students at UNC received
a memorandum from Chancellor James Moeser
by e-mail. The e-mail was tided “FORMAL NO
TICE: Policies and Procedures Concerning Sexual
and Racial Harassment.” The memorandum began
by reminding students of the policies on sexual
and racial harassment and “emphasiz[ing] strongly
the responsibility of each individual to contribute
to work and learning environments free of these
kinds of discrimination.” While students are also
protected from sexual orientation harassment under
the Office of the Dean of Students’ anti-harass
ment policy, which covers “harassment and assault
based on sexual orientation” or HABSO, this policy
was not included or referenced in the Chancellor’s
e-mail.
inadequate
concessions
The Initial Investigation
Racial and sexual harassment
policies, however, are required
by federal policy to be adver
tised widely, and thus the Uni
versity complies through email
notification. To my amazement
and disbelief, she noted that if
the federal government did not
require student notification of
these racial and sexual harass
ment policies, students would
not have been informed by e-mail
about them either.
icrosoft Internet Explorer
Search
Favorftes
Media
i POLICIES twrfPROCI
THE UNIVIRSIT'f OF NORTH CAROilNA^*
Campus Policies and
On January 30,1 inquired initially into the rea
sons for the lack of sexual orientation harassment
policy publicity by the Chancellor. His office re
ferred me to the Office of University Counsel lo
cated at 300B Bank of America Building on Frank
lin Street. Apparently, this office is responsible
for sending out these e-mails on the Chancellor’s
behalf at various times during each academic year
from his e-mail alias: james_moeser@unc.edu.
A staff member at the Office of University
Counsel initially explained to me the reasons for
not advertising the anti-harassment policy on sex
ual orientation by referring to federal government
requirements. She explained that the federal gov
ernment has no policies on sexual orientation ha
rassment itself. The University is under no federal
obligation to advertise its own “internal” policies
on sexual orientation harassment. Since it has no
need, it should not do so, she said.
As soon as I got over my initial
shock, I asked that Counsel consider
sending out by e-mail a notification
of the HABSO policy (the anti-ha
rassment policy on sexual orientation)
immediately to all students in order
to rectify the situation. I furthermore
stressed that in the future, notifica
tion of the HABSO policy should be
sent out to students along with the
racial and sexual harassment e-mail notic
3 Jhc OHice of the itean of Sfntionls Miwosoft Inforoct Expl"'
ge E* Fffiwtes loqfe
'Search
;//leanrfstudents.irc.ectij/
t:'
/harassi
es. This staff member offered to take my
concerns to the University Counsel and
get in touch with me as soon as they had a
response.
The University’s Response
Inaccuracies,
inconsistencies
and confusion
plague the various
websites dedicated
to UNO’s anti
harassment and
nondiscrimination
policies.
he
After a week’s worth of deliberation,
the staff member contacted me and asked
me to come to the Office of University