Deans Raise Awareness of Harassment

Cat calling, sexual gossip and religious or racial jokes were categorized as acts of harassment during a proctor training session in September to the surprise of some students.Recently, the focus of faculty and students has shifted from eliminating hazing on campus to reducing the amount of harassment after the deans identified it as an important issue on campus.Proctor training meetings this year have focused on preparing proctors for this responsibility, and some dorms have had discussions and meetings to promote a more accepting and kind community.The E Book’s definition of harassment encompasses “unwelcome conduct or behavior which is personally offensive or threatening and which has the effect of impairing morale, interfering with an employee’s work performance, or creating an intimidating, hostile or offensive working environment.”Dean of Residential Life Arthur Cosgrove hopes to raise awareness of harassment with student leaders. “In one of our proctor training meetings I gave them what the E Book states about harassment, the different definitions of harassment, sexual harassment, discrimination, religious harassment—all of those are in the E Book and are things that students should familiarize themselves with.”Some of the examples listed in the E Book as harassment come as a surprise to students.“I was surprised that sexual harassment included unwanted kissing and hugging--it seems to happen in a lot of dorms, so I was surprised,” senior and proctor Anisha Nawalrai said.“I think there are two forms,” Cosgrove said. “There’s subtle harassment that occurs, driven by carefully chosen language that can be hurtful.  Rumor spreading and gossip is another form of harassment that is absolutely present in any teenage environment…and probably any social environment.  Then there are more overt forms of harassment, that I don’t think actually show up that often, but when they do, unfortunately become really public.”At a proctor-training meeting, students discussed forms of harassment that might go under the radar in dormitories. One student suggested “friendly racism,” a widely accepted form of discrimination that some still find offensive. Another proctor brought up comments directed at different girls in her dorm about weight, which she speculated could lead to eating disorders.“These are big topic items, and we didn’t have time to really get into a meaty discussion,” Cosgrove said. “There are lots of good starting places, and we’re not anywhere near the end of the discussion.”Harassment has become more of an issue on campus since social networking became omnipresent, and more emphasis is being placed on preventing it as a result.“Twenty years ago the focus was on eliminating hazing—initiation rituals in the dorms where kids were put in awful positions,” Cosgrove said. “I’d say that we don’t have major issues with different types of initiation, with ceremonies and things that used to exist here. I don’t want to call it a gap, but [harassment] has sort of filled that gap, especially with social media. I think that making people aware of it and the potential of being hurtful and also getting themselves in trouble is really important.”Some dorms have had meetings dedicated to discussing harassment in the dorm and on campus, and many have addressed it at faculty-proctor meetings, in addition to the proctor training.Senior and proctor Julian Drury appreciated the training about harassment that he received.“I learned a lot about numerous forms of harassment, both on a larger dorm scale and on a more one-on-one level,” Drury said. “In Peabody there is very little harassment, just based on the kind of kids that we get year to year, but we have talked to the kids about personal space and how to act in other students personal space.”Dorm faculty also support the idea of continuing the training and awareness in smaller groups, to increase the effectiveness.“The way that I would like to follow up, and the way that I think that the deans would like us to follow up, is in the advisee/advisor groups,” Wheelwright dorm head Barbara Desmond said.Desmond also thinks that the proctors in her dorm are more aware of the problem of harassment.“I think they are more aware... through their conversations it’s very clear it’s on their mind. “I think it’s a problem that is very much in the media now. It doesn’t surprise me that there is this emphasis.”For some, harassment training began years ago in health class.“I think every student, or most, have gone through health education and topics on harassment in that class covers it all, so I wasn’t surprised when the deans listed out the different types of harassment,” senior and proctor Misty Goh said.The emphasis that Cosgrove and other faculties placed on preventing harassment made an impact with some of the proctors.“I definitely think it’s a big part of a proctor’s responsibility to make sure new people are starting off well at Exeter,” senior and proctor Anika Ayyar said. “Being mindful of what we say and when we say it and recognizing that we shouldn’t necessarily treat new people the same way as our friends.”This is still only the beginning of the training process. The subject of harassment will continue to be a theme throughout the year of proctor training.“Our proctor training about harassment isn’t officially done yet,” Goh said. “There will be a follow up meeting sometime soon.”