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SoCal Professor Takes Stance Against Sexual Harassment (Seminars)

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PhillyLass
11/21/08

In reply to SoCal Professor Takes Stance Against Sexual Harassment (Seminars)
This guy is an idiot-- if every employee is required to undergo the same training seminar, then participation does not imply wrong-doing.

That said, I think sexual harassment seminars are really fucking stupid. The sort of person likely to sexually harass a coworker is very UNlikely to be turned around by 2-hours of consciousness raising. And those disinclined to harass a coworker are forced to piss away two mind-numbing hours of their lives that could have been better spent doing just about anything else.
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jupiter9
11/21/08

@PhillyLass: "I think sexual harassment seminars are really fucking stupid. The sort of person likely to sexually harass a coworker is very UNlikely to be turned around by 2-hours of consciousness raising. And those disinclined to harass a coworker are forced to piss away two mind-numbing hours of their lives that could have been better spent doing just about anything else."

A big part of sexual harassment training is for the institution to be able to say, "we told you that was sexual harassment."

Otherwise the jerks can just say, "I didn't know that was sexual harassment. Or that. Or that. Or that." And do so endlessly, coming up with new shit every day, making it a game while getting their rocks off.

Plus if you're not a harasser, but a friend at work comes to you saying "Bob in Accounting just grabbed my ass," you'll know what your friend's options are. Because having just been harassed, your friend may be too upset to think straight.
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hussein persepolis hussein
11/21/08

@jupiter9: Exactly. If Professor McDouchey thinks he is all above this, why doesn't he just STFU, go to the training, and move on? Oh wait, because he is a colossal asshole. Right.

"...primarily designed to relieve the university of liability in the case of lawsuits," This is NOT a bad reason for holding and attending a training dickface. It also protects you unless you are a fucking harasser, which is so hard to believe given your superior intellect.

/sarcasm
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boobalore
11/21/08

In reply to SoCal Professor Takes Stance Against Sexual Harassment (Seminars)
what i'm confused about is why so many comments on there were totally ignoring that SH happens, and that we should do everything in our power to prevent it. one went so far as to say that you shouldn't punish everyone just because you were harrassed. so learning how not to harrass and hurt people is punishment? what the hell is wrong with these people? i'm a little disgusted with these people who supposedly have several degrees. aparently they didn't get a degree in compassion or empathy. fuckers.
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exelizabeth
11/21/08

@boobalore: Oh yeah, reading comments on newspaper articles will pretty much make you lose your faith in humanity.

(For a sec I thought you were talking about us here, and I was like, Hey now! But then I saw what you meant).
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Kaehoku
11/21/08

In reply to SoCal Professor Takes Stance Against Sexual Harassment (Seminars)
What a fucking asshole! I have conducted sexual harrassment training sessions a bunch of times, and here's the thing. Asshole's like this think that they are hot, and thus immune to sexual harrassment CLAIMS. They assume that their advances are WELCOME to all women everywhere. So they sit through the trainings smug in that knowledge. I always try to say something like: "It is true, if people are attracted to you, they often don't find it to be harrassment, however, don't ever assume that you are as great as you think you are. I guarantee someone will disagree, and you will lose your home due to the personal liability aspect of this particular claim".
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Hana Maru
11/21/08

@Kaehoku: well this particular asshole thinks it's his IQ that makes him unable to harass, which in itself causes me to cast aspersions on his intelligence quotient...
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bluebears
11/21/08

In reply to SoCal Professor Takes Stance Against Sexual Harassment (Seminars)
Oh Hello Prof Whiny McJackass! Welcome to the real world of work where you have to occasionally listen to inane corporate presentations. It's called live with it.
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I_can_still_pitch
11/21/08

@bluebears: He'd love my "Ethical Use of Company Network Resources" seminar.
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bluebears
11/21/08

@I_can_still_pitch: heh. I once had to sit through a meeting about emailing more "efficiently"
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Cattivella
11/21/08

In reply to SoCal Professor Takes Stance Against Sexual Harassment (Seminars)
My friend is a grad student at UCI and there's a prof there who stocks his lab with mostly asian females and then insists on having necessary items on a lower shelf so the women are constantly bending down to retrieve things. All the grad students are grossed out by him. (I have no idea what his name is, so I'm not accusing this guy.)
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exelizabeth
11/21/08

@Cattivella: Gross.
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I_can_still_pitch
11/21/08

In reply to SoCal Professor Takes Stance Against Sexual Harassment (Seminars)
Another arrogant, pompous windbag in academia. There's a surprise.
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SarahMC
11/21/08

In reply to SoCal Professor Takes Stance Against Sexual Harassment (Seminars)
I am reading On Beauty right now and this reminds me of something Monty Kipps would do.
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STICKSnSCONES
11/21/08

In reply to SoCal Professor Takes Stance Against Sexual Harassment (Seminars)
"Mary, Mary, why you buggin'...?"

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NowhereGirl
11/21/08

In reply to SoCal Professor Takes Stance Against Sexual Harassment (Seminars)
I kind of agree with him. I can at least, see his point. Being forced to attend a seminar about how to not sexually harass your co workers does imply that you are currently without that knowledge. And that's pretty insulting to someone who, even without the seminar, would never sexually harass his co workers. I think it's a pretty ridiculous thing to make such a fuss over, especially if he's going to retire instead of just taking the damn seminar. I've sat through about five of these myself, and can attest to the fact that they're pretty lame, and do little to nothing to actually curb sexual harassment. In fact, when I worked for AOL, I was sexually harassed IN the seminar. So yes, I can see his point, that being forced to attend a sexual harassment course implies that he doesn't already know how not to be offensive to his female co workers. But I gotta say, I'd just sit through it and roll my eyes and be done with it, instead of losing my job over it.
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SarahMC
11/21/08

@NowhereGirl: It doesn't imply that at all. All it implies is that there's no way for them to know, ahead of time, who's a potential sexual harasser, so they have to cover all their bases by including everyone in the training. Clearly, a lot of men (and women) DON'T know what's appropriate in the workplace, which is why the demand for these classes arose in the first place.
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braak
11/21/08

@NowhereGirl: It would only imply that if he were being singled out to do it. Since everyone has to do it, all it implies is that he is employed by a company with more than fifty employees in the state of California.
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Hana Maru
11/21/08

@NowhereGirl: I'm truly sorry you were sexually harassed, but what I get from your comment is that we need better harassment training. Also, I don't think we should take him at his word that he's not a harasser. He sounds like a grade A asshole who doesn't care if any of the women in his department are being harrassed.
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NowhereGirl
11/21/08

@HanaMaru: What I think I should have said was that being forced to attend could be construed as implying that he's without that knowledge, not that it directly implies it. I can see it from his point of view. I get the same feeling of indignation whenever I'm made to pre-pay for gas. I would never steal gas, and therefore feel like I'm being unjustly lumped in with all the gas thieves whenever I'm made to pre-pay. I still think he should just eat it and take the class, just the way that I just eat it and go in to pay before I pump my gas, but I can understand why he would feel the way he does. Does that make more sense?
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Hana Maru
11/21/08

@NowhereGirl: Yes it does, thanks. I get that you understand why he feels the way he does, though you wouldn't do the same in his position.
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PilgrimSoul
11/21/08

In reply to SoCal Professor Takes Stance Against Sexual Harassment (Seminars)
God, I am contemplating a re-entry into academia, and this is my future.
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LindsayC: doctoral hilarity ensues
11/21/08

In reply to SoCal Professor Takes Stance Against Sexual Harassment (Seminars)
Also, PCU is one of my most favorite movies ever.

CAN YOU BLOW ME WHERE THE PAMPERS IS?????
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LindsayC: doctoral hilarity ensues
11/21/08

In reply to SoCal Professor Takes Stance Against Sexual Harassment (Seminars)
Err... as someone very familiar and entrenched in university-world, I can say that this kind of protest is very very common. not just for sexual harassment issues, but for any issue that is deemed to be "PC". Professors like to proselytize on any issue they think they're smart enough to argue about.

Also, I think it's weird that he went from his little soap box straight to the whole "You must tell the world that I'm not sexually harassing anyone!" thing. That's what's crazy to me.
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hollygirl
11/21/08

In reply to SoCal Professor Takes Stance Against Sexual Harassment (Seminars)
I meant "note" to self. Superannuated is more like it.
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BrutallyHonestBabes (aka Mrs. Sarah.of.a.Lesser.Hobbit)
11/21/08

In reply to SoCal Professor Takes Stance Against Sexual Harassment (Seminars)
Hey, Professor, let me wipe that nasty stigma off of you. Right here. Hey, nice ass, baby. Oh, come on - can't you take a joke? I'm not harassing you - you don't know what harassing is!
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Hana Maru
11/21/08

@BrutallyHonestBabes: "And I'm incapable of harassing you 'cause my IQ is rilly high!"
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Political Party Girl
11/21/08

In reply to SoCal Professor Takes Stance Against Sexual Harassment (Seminars)
It's not all about you, asshole. I suspect he has his degree in Narcissism as well as molecular biology. Also, it's sexual harassment EDUCATION, professor, not an indictment. Irony FTW.
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