Students, administrators, and faculty gathered in Hotung Caf?© last night to debate the University's sexual harassment policies in the wake of senior Iris Halpern's unsuccessful complaint against The Primary Source in October.
The forum, organized by the Tufts Feminist Alliance and the Women's Center, featured eight panelists, including Halpern, who addressed sexual harassment in broad terms. Other speakers directly criticized the dismissal of the complaint by the Committee on Student Life (CSL).
Halpern made a distinction between sexual harassment and free speech, saying that the two issues had been muddled by the controversies surrounding her complaint. She also said that she is not attempting to censor the Source, but wanted to point out the difference between what is legal and what is morally right or wrong.
Halpern alleged in her complaint that remarks printed in the Source about "well-endowed SLAM members" and their "oh-so-tight tank tops" and a caricature depicting breasts were aimed at her.
Source Editor-in-Chief Senior Sam Dangremond called the forum unnecessary, pointing to his editorial board's recent statement that the material was "mean and uncalled for" and Halpern's statement that she does not wish to censor the magazine.
Halpern, however, did not change her stance. "In that apology, it never said that it was sexual harassment," she said. "I want you guys to deal with that issue."
She also dismissed the apology, saying that it came a month and a half after the material was printed and that it depicted her as a "hysterical woman" and was a "placation."
"It is wrong to do these things morally," she said of the Source's content and other forms of sexual harassment. "Sexual degradation leads to other issues... victims of sexual harassment have their voices taken away from them."
Others disagreed with Halpern's definition of sexual harassment. Daniel Kahn, a freshman audience member who has worked with several local groups and taught classes on violence against women and sexual harassment issues in high schools, said the material in the Source did not constitute "sexual harassment that is punishable" under Massachusetts law.
But he encouraged Halpern and other victims of sexual harassment to talk to counselors and friends in dealing with the Source material. "She is so strong to be able to do this," Kahn said after the forum, "and it facilitates a lot of appropriate discussion."
Panelist and Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senator Pritesh Gandhi, who attempted to pass a resolution last month condemning the Source material, said Kahn should put himself in a woman's shoes before dismissing the material as sexual harassment.
"I would ask you if you had a drawing of your penis in The Primary Source and then tried to continue with your studies," Gandhi replied.
Gandhi repeatedly asked the administration to comment on the controversy. Another panelist, recently elected sophomore senator Ariana Flores, joined several other audience members in asking the administration to "take a stance".
But that is not likely to happen. Dean of Academic Services and Student Affairs Kristine Dillon said that she feels it is not the administration's place to comment on the controversy. "We came to hear you speak... It's not important for me to speak," she said on behalf of other administrators in the audience, including Associate Dean of Students Marisel Perez and Dean of Judicial Affairs Veronica Carter.
After the repeated calls for the administration to comment on Halpern's complaint, a smattering of applause responded to Dillon's comment.
"[Student services'] stance is to maintain [an environment] for this kind of dialogue to occur," Dillon later told the Daily, adding that she did not come to "comment on student-faculty committee decisions."
Panelists and speakers also debated the larger issues surrounding sexual harassment law and occurrences. Peggy Barrett, director of the Women's Center, said that sexual harassment law only addresses instances between individuals.
"The problematic fact of this is that a publication published those images," she said. "If it had been individuals [involved], it would have been a very different case."
But Barrett said that the Tufts community should create a response to the material and the dismissed complaint, because the incident affected the learning environment at the University.
"We are all part of the same community and given the differences in power between men and women historically, the kinds of situations that happen effect the environment," she said.
Several speakers said that in sexual harassment cases, the victims are not heard and their experiences can have longstanding effects. And the lone faculty member on the panel said the administration should be more vocal.
Philosophy professor Nancy Bauer, who is currently writing a book on free speech issues, said that freedom of statement becomes problematic because speech can adversely affect individuals despite its intended effect. She called on the Dean of Students office to denounce the "degradation of women's bodies."
"There are laws against the University in doing those kinds of things, but the University is also in the position to denounce those laws," she said.
The panel also included a representative from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, who defined sexual harassment and encouraged victims of harassment to speak out. Lisa Coleman, director of the Africana Center, said she was an advocate of freedom of speech, but not when it leads to a hostile environment.
But a panel member from the newly-formed Tufts American Civil Liberties Union chapter said the right to free speech "greatly outweighs someone's supposed right not to be offended."
