Accusations highlight issues of Title IX discrimination, tenure, and the power structures that abide in academia In the midst of the #MeToo movement, consider the following scenario: sexual harassment accusations against a powerful man, reinforced by an investigation and internal deliberation at his place of employment, leading to a widespread petition from his colleagues demanding action. But instead of resignation or prompt disciplinary action, the accused remains employed, salaried, and facing an unknown fate, as the proceedings taking place against him are conducted out of the public eye.
And while sexual harassment in the workplace has come to the forefront?following a reinvigorated discussion around reporting sexual misconduct on college campuses?that this particular scenario has been unfolding at a college known as a liberal, progressive bastion may come as a surprise. But here we are, in the architecture department at the University of California at Berkeley. In March of 2016, Ph.D. student Eva Hagberg Fisher accused Nezar AlSayyad, a tenured architecture professor in the UC Berkeley College of Environmental Design?and her former faculty advisor?of sexual harassment and misconduct.
A university-funded investigation of AlSayyad, released in November 2016, found numerous incidents of inappropriate behavior between 2012 to 2014 that echo Hagberg Fisher?s claims. A settlement reached between Berkeley and Hagberg Fisher in December 2017 led to the school paying...