A committee examining the climate within Harvardâs Anthropology department recommended in a final report this month that the department establish a code of conduct, allow access to third-party arbitration in misconduct investigations, and order an external review when âpowerfulâ figures in the department are accused of sexual misconduct.
The department formed a Standing Committee for a Supportive Departmental Community last year following an investigation by The Crimson that revealed three male faculty â former department chairs Theodore C. Bestor and Gary Urton and professor John L. Comaroff â faced allegations of sexual harassment, and that dozens of current and past students said the departmentâs culture disadvantaged women.
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When Harvard University was looking for an easy way to sell punishments on unrecognized single-sex groups such as “final clubs,” it seized on their supposed role as facilitators of sexual assault.
This rationale, however, was largely missing from the report and recommendations issued by the task force on “single gender social organizations.”
Instead, it said these clubs must be eradicated because of their “oftentimes toxic atmosphere,” which reeks of “elitism and discrimination” and stands in contrast to the “diverse and socially conscious” students of Harvard. Activists accused the university of a bait-and-switch.
Nearly four years later, Harvard is at it again.
Harvardâs Anthropology department has formed eight subcommittees â alongside hiring an external consultant and launching faculty outreach efforts â in order to address longstanding climate issues that surfaced this summer.
An investigation by The Crimson published in May revealed that three male faculty â former department chairs Theodore C. Bestor and Gary Urton and professor John L. Comaroff â faced allegations of sexual harassment, and that dozens of current and former students felt the department s culture placed women at a disadvantage.
In the ensuing months, Faculty of Arts and Sciences Dean Claudine Gay placed both Urton and Comaroff on paid administrative leave pending investigations; Urton retired in August. In an early December interview, Gay declined to comment on the progress of the investigations or whether they are ongoing.