It would seem that he could be left handed from the photos, but I must have missed something - how is that relevant?
What would she expect the professor to do? fail him? have him expelled? I guess in this climate, having him drawn and quartered would be appropriate.
Another one resigns. David Sorenson due to allegations of spousal abuse.
https://www.chronicle.com/article/NSF-to-Require-Reporting-of/242472?cid=wcontentlist_hp_latest
This is good news.
@sylvan8798 What would you suggest a TA do if an undergrad acts in a disrespectful and demeaning way to a TA in a help room for a specific class?
That’s my understanding as to how security clearances actually work. Everyone has made mistakes in the past, so you need to admit to everything. It’s all about being blackmailable.
S had a job that required security clearance. As part of the process, they sent an agent to the house to speak with me. I remember a stern-faced agent firing questions at me about his background (probably to see if they matched S’s responses). I remember being asked if I thought S could easily be blackmailed or bribed. I also remember they asked if S had ever threatened to overthrow the government.
Looks like US Swimming might be in hot water soon as more details come out.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/09/us/washington-swimmer-alleges-coach-sexual-abuse/index.html
Ewwww. The USA Swimming scandal sounds like the kind of case where more survivors will come forward.
I went through the security clearance process straight out of college, and then again recently. The agents interrogated my friends on my sex life, potential drinking or drug habits, financial situation, etc. Friends told me the agents felt threatening and the questions were very probing. They are looking to make sure clearances are granted to people of good character who can keep national secrets and are not vulnerable to blackmail.
I filled out the same forms the members of the administration have filled out. The questions are very repetitive. For example, I was asked 7 different ways in multiple places about relationships with foreign nationals. So, one would have to ‘forget’ multiple times if they had a relationship with a foreign national but answered no to the many questions addressing this. I had to provide references, both personal and professional. This list doesn’t limit the investigation. That just gets things started. The agents will try to find a thread and pull it until they find some dirt.
It seems an administration should know this. That’s why they do up front vetting. According to a report I heard on either CNN or NPR, it is unusual for a White House administration to have 30-40 people without clearances one year into the administration.
Sad story about Ariana Kukors. I remember there was an investigation into the coach back in 2010 based on a report of an inappropriate relationship. I was relieved when the coach was cleared. I didn’t want to believe it.
I don’t think anyone has yet mentioned that Nicole Eggert has said that Scott Baio molested her beginning at age 14, while they were starring in Charles in Charge.
I never said I was fine with his being a jerk, not sure where you are getting that. I don’t have a problem with his challenging her response, however, which is apparently what you referred to as the “mansplaining”. As for calling her “sweetheart”, I would probably just smile and say something like “if you want me to help you, you’re going to need to call me Anne.” If it continued, or if someone persisted in saying that I didn’t know what I was talking about, I would nicely suggest that they were welcome to come back when some other TA was available.
At the risk of being accused of mansplaining, as a general rule, if I were in @intparent’s D’s shoes, I would be proactive about building a coalition of support behind the actions she would take if the situation recurs. I’d like to know what the professor would back her in and what the professor would says was not OK. I wouldn’t frame it as a complaint (no one wants to be seen as a complainer) but as a request for guidance. For example, it would be good to know before the next incident if the professor would say that she should provide the assistance even if the student was condescending and called her sweetheart again. It is better IMO to do this before the next incident rather than learning after the fact that the professor wouldn’t support the actions she had taken. And, the professor might be less supportive after the fact in a real situation than in a hypothetical. And, even if the student never returns, the professor is getting some useful information about what is happening in the help sessions.
Given the limited set of facts that we have, I would go to the professor, describe the situation factually, then say that being called sweetheart was condescending (as was the general tone of the student’s interaction – but facts are better than feelings here) and made me feel uncomfortable. Then I would ask the professor how he/she would advise handling that situation and how he/she would advise handling it if the student returns with the same tone/approach in the future. Then, if a new incident occurs, she can take actions she knows will be backed up by the professor.
I think that conversation about how to handle it next time would be MUCH easier if the prof is a woman. I suspect a male prof wouldn’t even know how to respond. I’m not sure which it is this semester – last semester was male, but the profs rotate thru this class.
And (if you read my post), she did immediately ask him not to call her sweetheart. Her name is on the board in the room. And he proceeded to do so several more times in the conversation.
@intparent, I agree that the conversation would be easier if the professor were a female but not all male professors would be unsympathetic. What do you think that the professor (whether male or female) should say was the correct behavior in that situation?
As a former professor, I was always concerned about how my students were being treated and would want to know if someone was being abusive or sexist to a TA. As an employer, I have female professionals on my team and have had to deal with sexist clients in Germany, Switzerland, the Gulf, etc.
My post was about how best to handle the situation going forward based upon my understanding of the university environment (I still teach one week a year at my former employer). I read your posts – information came out in several posts. We readers have a limited understanding of the facts of the situation, but given those limitations, I’m trying to be helpful. I would be proactive in preparing for the next circumstance and would want to get the professor’s advice on how he/she would have advised handling the past situation and what he/she would advise if the same student comes back. I have found over time that doing this kind of thing before the event recurs is very helpful. Was this helpful to you/your daughter?
She isn’t going to talk to the prof this time. But if the student hassles her again, she will. She suspects the student will just wait until there is a male TA in the room to come for help again (and most of them are male).
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I wonder how a female professor would advise a female TA about the best way to handle this situation.
Do we have any female professors handy who could share their ideas?
Isn’t that a sexist response on your part? I once had a particularly contentious and rude student and I did pretty much what shawbridge suggested - I went to the (male) department chair for advice. He said I didn’t have to put up with disrespectful students and that if I had to ask the student to leave the classroom due his behavior that was totally acceptable (I never did so, but I did give him the evil eye from time to time to quiet him down).
Just based on my experience that male managers (profs or otherwise) are very uncomfortable when women bring examples of sexist behavior to them. They are much more likely to discount or brush off the behavior. There are surely exceptions, but that is much the story of the #metoo movement – that women have not been heard by male authorities in various situations where men have behaved badly. My D is in a part of the country that #metoo hasn’t penetrated deeply. So she is wary of consequences to her if she complains.
Plus, this is an undergrad who likely will fail this class the way they are going about things so far. So being unwilling to accept help will likely have its own consequences for him.