Eight fewer harassment cases reported to ombudsman last year

The Ombudsman's Office received a 14 percent increase in complaints last year, but handled fewer harassment cases than the previous two academic years, according to the Ombudsman's annual report published in this week's Almanac. According to the report, issued by University Ombudsman Daniel Perlmutter, the 14 harassment complaints -- eight fewer than last year -- were split unequally between alleged acts of sexual and racial harassment. Two alleged incidents involved racial harassment, while 12 involved charges of sexual harassment. Half of the sexual harassment complaints, which primarily involved students, were "brought by women who alleged that demands of a sexual nature were made that left them feeling uncomfortable and threatened," the report states. Five of the 12 cases involved gender-related complaints arising from comments directed at women. "The most blatantly offensive comments were lewd references to female anatomy," according to the report. Perlmutter declined to comment on the report yesterday, saying "I would like to have it just stand for itself." The job of the Ombudsman's office is to respond to the needs of University students, faculty and staff, by informing people of their rights, helping to protect their rights and promoting better lines of communication. All complaints to the office are heard confidentially, and the Ombudsman's office acts in an advisory capacity to those members of the University community with complaints. The 1990-91 report shows that more than twice as many complaints were filed with the office in the category of academic / procedural complaints than during the previous year. Academic / procedural complaints refer to complaints surrounding rules and procedures. The report also states that more undergraduates filed complaints with the Ombudsman than any other group. Microbiology Professor Helen Davies, who said she has not read the report yet, said last night she thinks the Ombudsman's office is very effective. "The general response I have is three cheers for the Ombudsman," said Davies, a prominent faculty activist. "[It has been] extremely important in the University for seeing that people got due process quickly without going into formal procedure." Davies added that she thinks the University's new harassment policies, which were implemented last fall and therefore had no impact on the statistics in this week's report, could act as a deterrent for future harassment. "[But] there will always be a need for the offices that can deal with harassment," she added.

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