UNC’s harassment policy to be rewritten

In the fall of 2009, a graduate student was sexually harassed by her adviser — but the problem didn’t stop there.

After UNC’s confusing harassment policy prompted her to seek help, the dean she spoke to was legally required to file a report.

That complaint forced the student to break with her adviser, undermining her prior research and forcing her stay in school for at least an extra year.

Now, a year and a half later, her case has led the University to consider permanent changes in its harassment policy.

Leslie Lerea, associate dean for student affairs in the graduate school, said the harassment advisory committee is working to rewrite the University’s harassment policy, hoping to complete it by the end of this semester.

At a meeting Tuesday, the committee discussed the policy’s revision, which began in October after the woman, whose name has not been disclosed by the University, contacted Laura Blue, the outgoing president of the Graduate and Professional Student Federation.

Blue said that although the woman was refunded a year’s tuition, her dilemma showed the policy required clarification.

Blue said three or four other students complained the policy was inaccessible and confusing.

“This is especially an issue for graduate students if their adviser is the problem,” she said. “You’re pretty much deciding whether you want to start over or not when you consider reporting it.”

According to current policy, if a student speaks to any faculty member about being harassed, the faculty member must file a report with the Equal Opportunity/ADA Office.

Blue said graduate students might choose not to report the incident to avoid jeopardizing their progress but that they should have clear, accessible information regarding their options.

At the beginning of this school year, Blue presented the problem to Ron Strauss, the executive associate provost.

“Laura came to talk with me because she wanted to explore the concept of why people don’t come forward with reports,” he said.

Strauss then took the matter to Ann Penn, chairwoman of the harassment advisory committee.

The committee, comprised of faculty members, an undergraduate student and a graduate student, has been working to revise the policy ever since, Lerea said.

Julie Lauffenburger, the graduate student on the committee, said the old policy was too confusing.

“We want to make the language more accessible, explain the review process,” she said. “We’re looking at other universities’ policies to see what works.”

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