GEO members protest outside ECRT office over Stephenson harassment allegations

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About 20 members of the graduate employee organization gathered outside the University of Michigan’s Office of Equity, Civil Rights, and Title IX on Tuesday afternoon to protest the ECRT’s alleged mismanagement of reports of sexual misconduct and their refusal to engage in negotiations on the subject.

Tuesday’s rally comes after GEO members voted to quit their contract negotiation session with the University on Friday during a discussion of sexual harassment allegations against Professor Robert Stephenson, saying officials at the University have denied any responsibility in the incidents. Stephenson was placed on paid administrative leave on May 11 after more than a year of investigation by the ECRT in response to complaints made by two students. The two students involved in the case have expressed concerns about the ECRT’s handling of the case and evidence, alleging bias and re-traumatization. Per University policy, the University did not comment on the details of the Stephenson case, but said the goal of the Title IX claims process is to provide a thorough and fair review.

In an interview with the Michigan Daily ahead of the rally, Rackham student Amir Fleischmann, chairman of the GEO contracts committee, said the purpose of the protest was to shed light on patterns of sexual misconduct at the university.

Were here today due to the ongoing sexual harassment crisis at this university, Fleischmann said. It’s been going on for decades now, and what we’ve seen with the latest report of the Stephenson harassment scandal broken by The Michigan Daily is that really nothing has changed.

Contract negotiations between the University and GEO have been ongoing since November, with GEO’s contract expiring on May 1. Fleischmann said that as part of their negotiations with the University, GEO is seeking protections against sexual misconduct, including better social and financial support to escape abusive environments.

What makes this so troubling is that the University’s human resources representatives refuse to extend harassment protections to cover all University graduates, Fleischmann said. What we saw in negotiations last Friday is that the University hid behind technicalities to not ensure that all graduate workers are protected. Our workers are attacked and they hide behind technicalities.

At the rally, GEO President Jared Eno said in an interview with The Daily that the allegations against Stephenson are shocking, but not surprising given the historic instances of sexual misconduct by University officials.

Were here because there is a long-standing bullying crisis and a culture of disrespect at the University of Michigan, Eno said. This recently resulted in another case of sexual harassment and abuse against two graduate students by Professor Robert Stephenson.

The first speaker at the event was Bailey Sullivan, Co-Chair of GEO’s Solidarity and Political Action Committee. Sullivan said GEO decided to hold the rally to express its displeasure with the university’s procedures and practices regarding reports of sexual misconduct.

We gathered here in front of the building that houses the ECRT to protest two things, Sullivan said. First, the university’s mishandling of countless cases of harassment through the ECRT, and second, the university’s refusal to meaningfully engage with GEO demands for extensive protections against harassment for all graduates.

Sullivan said she believes many of the institutions and processes in place to help survivors of misconduct often end up harming them further, citing the experiences of the two students involved in the complaints against Stephenson.

In a year-long battle, in which the ECRT downplayed, distorted and even dismissed the stark evidence presented by Stephenson’s survivors, victims were re-traumatized, forced to relive those experiences over and over again. again in order to prove to the ECRT that they had indeed been victimized, Sullivan said.

Rackham student Evelyn Smith, senior contract negotiator for GEO, also spoke at Tuesday’s event. In his remarks, Smith detailed the protections GEO is offering the University to include in their contract.

Let’s negotiate for a transitional funding program that would help rebalance the power between graduates and their supervisors and also help graduates escape abusive work situations, Smith said. Our program would give graduates the time and resources they need to find other sources of funding, including an alternative counselor if needed, in case they experience workplace harassment and abuse. It would also give them, and this is very important, time to heal.

To wrap up the rally, Sullivan read an anonymous statement written by a survivor of Stephensons abuse expressing frustration with the University’s response to the allegations.

I was a graduate student when Rob Stephenson began harassing and eventually assaulting me, the statement read. It is clear that this university does not care about the safety and well-being of its graduates. He doesn’t want his graduate students to have any power over the processes that are supposed to protect them. Let’s show the University who has the power.

Summer editor Mary Corey can be reached at [email protected].

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