Newspapers / Lambda (Carolina Gay and … / June 1, 2004, edition 1 / Page 14
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POLICY “Policy” from page 13 Sexual Harassment Policy and Procedures. The webpage sdU refers to the AIDS memo, but oddly enough it contains no link to it. The rest of the links are all to existing documents. The first concerns non-discrimination policies, the second concerns reporting government improprieties, and the third and fourth concern racial and sexual ha rassment policies. First, why are these harassment notices found un der “Nondiscrimination”? Discrimination and ha rassment policies are clearly different, and yet they are all lumped into this same general category. The University Counsel points to this webpage when it says it is adequately advertising the sexual orienta tion harassment policy. A link entitled “Nondiscrim ination: Policy Statements on Nondiscrimination” (www.unc.edu/campus/policies/nondiscrim.html) to the Chancellor’s memorandum on September 6 is here. But if students would come here to find information on the sexual orientation harassment policy then why not simply place a link here to this policy alongside the racial and sexual harass ment “policies and procedures”? The Chancellor’s memo here does not even concern harassment. One reason might be the general lack of under standing in the University community about these policies. The University Counsel advertises long standing policies on sexual and racial harassment but seems to annually forget to advertise similar policies on sexual orientation harassment. Few people know the difference between the non-dis crimination policies and the anti-harassment poli cies. Even Chancellor Moeser seems to confuse the two in his memo when he says, “Any employee of The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill having a complaint of discrimination should notify the immediate supervisor (excluding the alleged ha- rasser)” (The emphasis is mine). Is he talking about discrimination or harassment? Are those who dis criminate also harassing and vice versa? Another reason might be that while the Office of the Dean of Students (in conjunction with sev eral other University offices) did develop an anti harassment policy, that policy has not been widely advertised or adopted by the University commu nity as a whole. It seems that this so-called “Re source and Action Plan for Sexual Orientation” is only for students who are experiencing “harassment or assault based on sexual orientation.” But the problems do not end here. How does a student know if s/he has experienced HABSO? While the plan discusses HABSO at length, it never defines what HABSO is or might be. Similar policies about LAMBDA - Volume XXVII - Issue 2 sexual and racial harassment carefully define what constitutes the practice. No^ such clear definition exists in the current HABSO policy. Are Only Students Protected from Harassment? It seems then that while the Office of the Dean of Students has developeci its own plan for dealing with harassment and assault of students based of> sexual orientation, the University as a whole has no similar plan of action ii’i regards to faculty, administrators or staff There is no recourse for the profeS'. sor who told me he heard the words “faggot” ring across the quad at his pass ing on two occasions when he began teaching at UNC-CH just a few years ago. There is no system in place for administrators who are treated similarly of staff members who are specifically harassed by co-workers because they af^ or are thought to be gay, lesbian or bisexual. As I reviewed UNC policy, I came across this statement about harassment^ “The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill recognizes the rights of all, members of the University community to learn and work in an environment^ free from unlawful harassment and/or retaliation based upon age, sex, colofi national origin, religion, creed, or handicapping condition.” However, if f faculty member, administrator or staff member at the University is harassetl because of their sexual orientation, there seems to be no “legal” recourse (oi them. Their harassment is lawful. Recent Developments Recently, I heard good news that someone in the University administratiof (the details are vague so far) has decided to send out notice of the full nofl discrimination policy to students along with the racial and sexual harassmeif' policies. While this is not sending out the HABSO policy and thus not exactl) what I was attempting to accomplish, it is definitely a step in the right direc tion. Stephanie Chang of the LGBTQ Office is also spearheading efforts update the HABSO policy this summer by adding a clear definition of wha' exactly constitutes “harassment and assault based on sexual orientation ■ While the LGBTQ Office (as a division of Student Affairs) does not seen’ to be the most appropriate office to lead any efforts to urge adoption of policy by the entire University community and its extension to faculty, admin' istrators and staff, they nevertheless are tirelessly working to make progress on this issue. I hope that each member of the University community will hclp them make progress in whatever way s/he can. All of these recent developments bring me back to the fundamental go^j in this area. The mission of the University is to serve a// the people of State. The University exists “to improve the condition of human life through', service and publication; and to enrich our culture.” Is the apparent lack understanding by the Office of the University Counsel enriching the li'^^’i of UNC students, faculty, administrators and staff when it fails to enfof^^, and advertise the University’s HABSO policy? It is no doubt a difficult st^Pi to publicize such controversial policies while being held hostage fiscally by^ conservative legislature. But what message does the University send to ' lesbian, bisexual and queer students, faculty, administrators and staff when *' does not even have the courage to send out a simple e-mail? , Co-Editor in Chief and senior Douglas Dukeman, a religious studies and philosop^l double majorfrom Norton, Ohio, can be contacted at lambda@,unc.edu. h
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