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Courtesy of Sanford Heisler
Six of seven Dartmouth alumni who testified Thursday that three faculty members had groped them, abused them and, in some cases, raped them, and the university had been slow to react. to their complaints.
Seven current and former students continued Thursday at Dartmouth College, claiming that he had failed to protect them from three psychology and brain science teachers who harassed and sexually assaulted them. In the lawsuit filed in New Hampshire federal court, they say that when they and others reported horrible treatment, the college did nothing, allowing the teachers' behavior to continue until spring last, one of the retirees having resigned.
The 72-page complaint, which aims to obtain class action status, describes a university department in which excessive drinking, misogyny and sexual harassment have been standardized. It is said that the three professors – Todd F. Heatherton, William M. Kelley and Paul J. Whalen – were studied "magnifying, groped, using sex" and "in a state of frenzy". ; intoxicated. " A former student claims to have been raped by Kelley and a current student claims to have been raped by Whalen. Dartmouth terminated a Title IX investigation after the teachers 'departure and, to the best of the complainants' knowledge, did not attempt to examine how the act had been done or not. how it was possible to prevent it from recurring, according to the complaint.
In a written statement, a Dartmouth spokesman said that college officials "respectfully but firmly disapprove of Dartmouth's actions in the complaint and respond through our own judicial procedures".
After complaining to the three professors, the college "took unprecedented steps to revoke their term and terminate their employment. They are no longer in Dartmouth and remain banned on our campus and attend all events sponsored by Dartmouth, no matter where they take place, "the statement said. The board members, who are the defendants named in the lawsuit, "remain committed to improving our culture as we work to make our community the best possible."
The news of the charges against Heatherton, Kelley and Whalen filtered after posters mysteriously appeared last year on campus, asking what had happened to them. The student newspaper learned from administrators that professors were on paid leave because of "ongoing investigations into allegations of serious misconduct". Subsequently, the Attorney General's Office in New Hampshire announced the opening of a criminal investigation into allegations of "sexual conduct". filed Thursday explains the root of these investigations.
A "party culture"
Kristina M. Rapuano, who earned her PhD this year, and Vassiki Chauhan, a fourth-year student still in Dartmouth, said she was raped by one of the three professors. Several of the complainants stated that they were pressured to drink, pressured or commented by one of their teachers about their appearance and their relationships.
Rapuano was a graduate student working in Kelley's lab in 2015 when she met him in San Francisco, where they attended a conference. He took her to a bar and would have encouraged her to drink late in the morning, then sexually assaulted her "when he knew that she was too incapable of giving consent," according to the complaint. He continued to pressure her to have sex and, when she tried to reject him, he "deprived her of school guidance and refused to schedule meetings to discuss her research."
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When faculty members give sexual attention to students or less experienced colleagues, this often results in distress and complications. The articles in this 32-page collection look at how administrators determine what happened in such cases and resolve complaints. Download it now.
Chauhan was working as a teaching assistant at Whalen in April 2017 when he allegedly pressured her to drink with him. He took her home and, although she tried to leave, he prevented her from doing so and "forced her to have non-consensual intercourse with him", according to the complaint. . This meeting took place about two weeks after several graduate students had declared Heatherton, Kelley and Whalen for sexual misconduct.
Another plaintiff, Marissa Evans, a former undergraduate student, claimed that when she had met Kelley for a job interview, he had "served her with several glasses of wine before take her to her bars and buy her whiskey "while she was 19 so no legal drinking age. He then sent him more than 10 explicit sexual photographs of himself and "repeatedly threatened to hurt Ms. Evans academically after she refused to indulge in his sexual jokes," the complaint said.
On the whole, the complainants describe an environment in which they felt obliged to participate in the "party culture" of the ministry and, if they did not, they would be neglected by their teachers. In April 2017, several of them filed a complaint with the president of the department, David J. Bucci, and with the director of graduate studies, Thalia Wheatley, and a survey under title IX was launched.
$ 70 million in damages
At least 27 people participated in the investigation, according to the complaint. Heatherton, Kelley and Whalen were placed on administrative leave in July 2017. Dartmouth hired an outside lawyer to conduct independent investigations of the three teachers. Based on the findings of these investigations, Elizabeth F. Smith, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Science, recommended the revocation of their term. Everyone left alone in June or July of this year.
In a statement released through the intermediary of his lawyer when he retired, Heatherton apologized for his actions.
"I admit that I acted unprofessionally in public during drunken conferences," he said. "I offer humble and sincere apologies to whoever is affected by my actions."
Kelley and Whalen do not seem to have spoken publicly since their resignation.
In the lawsuit, plaintiffs claim $ 70 million in damages from Dartmouth. They also want the college to modify its Title IX process and improve the way it treats people reporting incidents of violence, they said in an interview.
Some of the applicants are still students in Dartmouth. Sasha Brietzke, who still has several doctoral years According to her program, she was afraid to participate in the pursuit because of the way it would be perceived on the ground, but decided to do so anyway, because of headwinds she faces that many women face science.
"This lawsuit is something equal on the ground," said Brietzke. "In doing so, keeping women in science, it's a gift for science."
Nell Gluckman writes on issues relating to faculty and other subjects in higher education. You can follow her on Twitter @nellgluckman, or email him at [email protected].
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