2024(5): Student on Student Harassment in the Classroom

CLEJHE -

Terra Ryan, Regis University

Abstract

The following case study explores student on student harassment in a classroom setting. The paper asks if gender and culture play a role in harassment. It also asks what role adjunct instructors can fill when giving students who have experienced harassment the support and resources they need. Finally, the proposed case study questions the role CARE teams have when keeping students, staff, and faculty safe.

Keywords: harassment, CARE Teams, faculty, students

Introduction

Creating a safe physical and psychological classroom is an important aspect of being a postsecondary instructor. Creating this environment may mean that an instructor becomes an ally for students they work with (Swartz, 2021). While a postsecondary instructor can be a positive influence for students, they may also experience negative scenarios, including student-on-student harassment (Lee, 2022). This case study explores many complexities of harassment in the classroom, offering insight into the emotional and logistical effects of harassment in an educational environment from an educator’s point of view (Lee, 2022; Ryan, 2023).

The people in this vignette are:

(1) Dr. Betty Williams, a White 40 year old woman, and adjunct community college instructor.

(2) Adam, a second-year math major. He is enrolled in the course. Adam is from Oman and has been in the United States (U.S.) for five years.

(3) Kojo is from Ghana and has been in the U.S. for six months. Kojo is a first-year student who, like Adam, is taking the course for general credit.

(4) Lin, a 20-year-old woman also from Oman who has been in the U.S for six months. She, too, is taking the course for general credit.

(5) Renee, Associate Dean of Students and CARE (Campus Assessment, Response and Evaluation) Team Member. All three students are taking a public speaking class from Dr. Williams over the summer. The class is now in its final two weeks.

Context

Adam and Kojo have been sitting at the same table throughout the semester. They are friendly and work together during speech workshops. Both grew as speakers as the semester progressed, and Betty is pleased with the speaking skills both gained. On the second-to-last Monday of class, Adam approaches Betty and asks to speak with her. They are in the classroom 20 minutes before class starts, alone with the door propped open. During the interaction, Adam looks visibly uncomfortable and requests to move his seat closer to the front of the room for the final class sessions. Betty is confused and asks why Adam would want to switch his seat this close to the end of the term. Adam looks down and says that Kojo has been making him feel uneasy. Betty, concerned, asks what he means. Adam says Kojo has been touching him the last few weeks in ways Adam felt was inappropriate. Betty, now alarmed, asks Adam if he’s physically okay. Adam says he is, but the last few weeks have been miserable for him.

Betty assures him he can move and tells him she will have to report what Adam told her to her supervisor and the CARE team. CARE teams are made up of professionals from across the college that are meant to help students with needs they may have during their time at the institution. Needs may include food, clothing, housing, and mental health (Kezer, et al., 2023). Adam asks her not to make the report. Betty says that she is required to because she is a mandatory reporter. Betty explains that making the report will ensure that Adam gets the help he needs to cope with the situation effectively. Adam asks Betty what she means. Betty elaborates and says that she is not trained to help him with this and filing the CARE report will put him in touch with people who can. Betty assures Adam that filing a report isn’t a bad thing and will give him the help he needs. She says that Adam can file the report for himself, too, but she still has to report. Adam says he feels too embarrassed to do it. Betty knows she can file a CARE report and leave Adam’s name off, but anonymity isn’t always guaranteed (Honker, 2019). Betty doesn’t tell Adam this. She excuses herself and heads upstairs to speak with her department chair.

Betty speaks to her department chair about the situation and tells him that Adam seems embarrassed about the situation. Betty’s department chair says he may be embarrassed because male-on-male harassment is often underreported (Raj et al., 2020; Thomas & Kopel, 2023). Betty fills out the report, giving details Adam disclosed and adds that Adam feels embarrassed about the situation. Betty ends the report saying she feels like there are details missing in the story. She submits the report and receives confirmation the report was received. Three days later Betty gets an email from Renee, an Associate Dean and CARE team member, saying that she will speak with both students and get clarification on the situation. Betty thanks her and adds that Adam seems happier in class since switching seats. Renee says she’ll be in touch after speaking with Adam and Kojo. Betty thanks her for her time and help. Two days go by and Renee emails Betty again. Renee says she spoke with both men and that they agree to stay away from one another for the remainder of class. She also says that Kojo feels remorseful, and Adam is feeling better about the situation since talking with Renee. Betty thanks Renee for her help. Renee says she’s happy to help and tells Betty the situation should be resolved.

The Last Day of Class

On the last day of class, Betty holds a pizza party. Students give their final speeches during the first half of class and break for the party in the second half. As students are eating and talking with one another, Betty grabs a slice of pizza and looks around the room. She’s thinking about how the semester is wrapping up when she hears Adam ask Kojo if he can talk to him for a minute. Betty is startled and contemplates approaching both men, pulling them out in the hall, and reminding them they can’t speak to one another. She realizes she shouldn’t and stays quiet. After class is over, Adam meets with her to thank her and say goodbye. Without prompting from Betty, Adam says he wanted to “make amends” with Kojo. He also mentions that Lin has had problems with Kojo touching her. Betty is surprised and asks how he knows this. Adam says Lin confided in him that Kojo was touching her throughout the semester, too. At this statement, Betty realizes why Lin probably asked to move to the front of the classroom a month before Adam did. Betty never asked Lin why she wanted to move and just agreed with the request. Betty thanks Adam for confiding in her and wishes him luck in his fall classes. Adam leaves the classroom. Betty debates telling her chair what happened between Adam and Kojo, or Kojo and Lin, and filing more CARE reports. She decides not to since she is leaving to work for another institution in the fall and the class is now over.

Case Notes

CARE Teams are made up of Higher Education professionals offering varieties of care to students at the school. The teams offer services including mental health, housing, and academic planning, among others (Kezer et al., 2023). According to Honker (2019) some schools are removing the option to file CARE reports anonymously. Kezer et al., (2023) found that CARE Teams often focus on one identity when working with students rather than the multiple identities college students experience. Adjunct instructors may also fail to have their needs met by those in leadership, too (Anthony et al., 2020).

While adjunct instructors are an important part of Colleges and Universities, research shows that many adjunct faculty members have less than full time faculty appointments. Adjuncts often teach on multiple campuses with less pay and little to no benefits, such as retirement or disability insurance (Anthony et al., 2020). Betty has been teaching for 10 years and for multiple campuses across her career. She has taught multiple types of communication courses, many general education communication courses and introductory public speaking courses. Betty’s teaching experience reflects the research that found many adjuncts teach a variety of courses with many being introductory classes (Anthony et al., 2020). Betty’s work allows her to engage with a variety of students and courses.

Teaching Notes

Non-consenting touching falls under unwanted harassment (Scarduzio et al, 2018 ). Such touching happens in many places, including higher education institutions (Boucher LLP, 2024). Harassment can happen regardless of gender or age. Female sexual harassment offers most of the insight on the topic, but male sexual harassment reports and research are slowly catching up. While there is a large gap between the two genders in reporting sexual harassment, 42% vs 15% in workplace sexual harassment, study by Raj et al., (2020), the numbers are there and may reflect the stigma of males reporting harassment. Similar numbers show that male on male sexual harassment reporting numbers have a range between 5% and 10% in Western countries like the U.S. or the United Kingdom (Thomas & Kopel, 2023).

Male on male unwanted touching, which falls under harassment in the U.S., may reflect the need for men to be considered masculine (Stockdale, et al., 1999; Scarduzio et al., 2018). Men may harass other men to feel powerful. A possible scenario would be a boss demanding sexual favors from an employee in exchange for the employee receiving a promotion, called “Quid Pro Quo” harassment (Phillips & Associates, 2024).

Sexual harassment can create a hostile workplace or classroom. A hostile workplace can make it difficult for an employee to feel comfortable compromise employees’ abilities to perform work tasks (Merkin, 2008). In a classroom, students experiencing sexual harassment may feel pressure to drop classes, change their major or minor, and feel physically and psychologically distressed when in close proximity to their harasser (Ramapo College of New Jersey, 2024).

The technological advancement and globalization of organizations means that many organizations need to consider co-cultural perspectives of employees. The globalization includes higher education institutions (Merkin, 2008; Razzante, et al., 2021). This case study reflects the function and importance of CARE teams (Anthony et al., 2020; Kezer et al., 2023), which are meant to keep students, faculty, and staff safe. In terms of the study, it is important for students to feel physically are psychological safe. This case also showcases the intersectionality of identity, specifically in relation to culture and gender. Kezer et al., (2023) found that CARE Teams often focus on one identity when working with students rather than the multiple identities college students experience. The case study also asks how and when adjunct instructors should respond to student needs and when to report to CARE teams (Anthony et al., 2020).

Discussion Questions: Instructors can assign this case to students individually and students could respond in written, video, or oral presentation in class, to the following questions:

  1. Do you think Betty handled the first time Adam came to her effectively or not?
  2. Should Betty have included that she thought Adam felt embarrassed or she felt details were missing in her initial CARE report?
  3. Does culture play a role in this case study? Explain your answer.
  4. Does gender play a role in this case study? Explain your answer.
  5. Should Betty have filed another CARE Report about Adam speaking to Kojo? What do you think the outcomes would have been if she had?
  6. Could being an adjunct instructor factor into Betty not reporting what she learned about Lin to her department chair or the CARE team?
  7. Should Betty have spoken with Adam and Kojo separately about talking to one another after class? Why do you think this?
  8. Why do you think Adam spoke to Kojo after promising to stay away from him? What do you think he meant by “make amends”?
  9. Should Betty have said something to Lin about Kojo touching her? What outcomes do you think would have happened if Betty had spoken to Lin about Kojo?
  10. Do you think Betty was thinking mostly about herself when she decided not to file the second CARE report? Why do you think this?

References

Anthony, W., Brown, P., Finn, N., & Gadzekpo, P. (2020). The plight of adjuncts in higher education. Practitioner to Practitioner, 10(4), 3-10.

Boucher LLP. (2024). Los Angeles School Sexual Abuse Attorney. https://boucher.la/los-angeles-school-sexual-abuse-attorney/

Honker, C. (2019, September 24). Dean of Students Office Removes Anonymity Option in Care Reports. The Flat Hat: The College of William and Mary’s Student Newspaper Since 1911. https://flathatnews.com/2019/09/24/dean-of-students-office-removes-anonymity-option-in-care-reports/#:~:text=As%20of%20April%202019%2C%20students,subject%20of%20their%20care%20report.

Kezar, A., Kitchen, J. A., Estes, H., Hallett, R., & Perez, R. (2023). Tailoring programs to best support low-income, first-generation, and racially minoritized college student success. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice, 25(1), 126-152.

Lee, G. (2022, May 20). Risk & Compliance: Student-on-Student Harassment. What schools need to know about legal consideration, crafting effective policies, and creating a culture that prevents incidents. Net Assets Magazine. https://www.nboa.org/net-assets/article/student-on-student-harassment-and-abuse

Merkin, R. (2008). Sexual harassment and cultural issues: A conceptual review and integration of global communication developments. International Journal of Communication, 18(1-2), 175+. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A258439583/AONE?u=googlescholar&sid=bookmark-AONE&xid=5b23eb58

Phillips & Associates. (2024). Same Sex Sexual Harassment of Men by Men. Retrieved January 26th, 2024, from https://www.newyorkcitydiscriminationlawyer.com/same-sex-sexual-harassment-of-men-by-men/

Raj, A., Johns, N. E., & Jose, R. (2020). Gender parity at work and its association with workplace sexual harassment. Workplace Health & Safety, 68(6), 279-292.

Ramapo College of New Jersey (2024). Consequences of Sexual Harassment. Retrieved January 26th, 2024, from https://www.ramapo.edu/titleix/sexual-harassment-resources/consequences-sexual-harassment/#:~:text=In%20addition%2C%20in%20the%20higher,unproductive%20working%20and%20learning%20environment.

Razzante, R. J., Boylorn, R. M., & Orbe, M. P. (2021). Embracing intersectionality in co-cultural and dominant group theorizing: Implications for theory, research, and pedagogy. Communication Theory, 31(2), 228–249. https://doi.org/10.1093/ct/qtab002

Ryan, T. (2023). “You Should Get It”: How should instructors with disabilities meet the accommodation needs of students with disabilities without an accommodation letter? Cases on Leadership for Equity and Justice in Higher Education. Retrieved December 22nd, 2023, from https://clejhe.cu.studio/2023-5/

Scarduzio, J. A., Wehlage, S. J., & Lueken, S. (2018). “It’s like Taking Your Man Card Away”: Male Victims’ Narratives of Male-to-Male Sexual Harassment. Communication Quarterly, 66(5), 481–500. https://doi.org.dml.regis.edu/10.1080/01463373.2018.1447978

Stockdale, M. S., Visio, M., & Batra, L. (1999). The sexual harassment of men: Evidence for a broader theory of sexual harassment and sex discrimination. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 5(3), 630–664. https://doi.org/10.1037//1076-8971.5.3.630

Swartz, O. (2021). Becoming an ally in the college classroom: One front in the battle against homophobia. In R. Waltz and A.E. George (Eds.) Critical Pedagogical Strategies to Transcend Hegemonic Masculinity (pp. 193-208). New York: Peter Lang.

Thomas, J. C., and Kopel, J. (2023). Male victims of sexual assault: A Review of the Literature. Behavioral Sciences (Basel, Switzerland), 13(4), 304. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs13040304

About the Author

Terra Ryan, Ed.D. hold degrees in Communication, Sociology, and Organizational Leadership. Her research interests include employees with disabilities in organizational settings. Terra teaches a variety of courses including Public Speaking and Organizational Communication.