Broken Silence

student accounts
of sexual violence
in STEM
 Dear Readers: Content Warning
This special issue of GQM contains narratives about real
We encourage you to share the experiences with sexual harrassment and violence and
content of GQM with colleagues, the consequent effects within the context of
academic environments.
friends, and acquaintances. We have not edited the content of these submissions, and did
not collect identifying information on the respondents. We
We only ask that you quote us exactly, encourage you to practice self-care while reading and
want to make you aware of the following
in the appropriate context,
EMERGENCY RESOURCES:
with proper attribution.
Center for Women and Community (CWC)
Thanks For Reading, 24 hrs, 7 days: 413-545-0800
Center for Counseling and Psychological Health (CCPH)
the GQM Team business hours: 413-545-2337
after hours: 413-577-5000
National Sexual Assault Hotline (RAINN)
24 hrs, 7 days: 800-656-4673
Crisis Text Line
GWIS Quarterly Magazine (GQM)
by UMass Amherst Graduate Women in STEM (GWIS) 741741
is licensed under a Creative Commons
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Please Read First
 inside this issue:
EDITORIALS
A Letter From the Editor: See us again, for the first time 1
Christie Laurel Cutting, GQM Editor in Chief
Invited Editorial: Dialogues on Sexual Violence 101
Elaine E. Liu
Extended Editorial: #CleanUpYourDepartment
Joelle A. Labastide, Ph. D., GQM Editor
A Letter of Support: Dear Graduate Women in STEM 9
Avery Alissa Fuerst, M.S., GEO Grievance Coordinator
A Visual Moment of Silence
GQM Editorial Team: C. L. Cutting, J. A. Labastide, D. Navon
SUBMITTED RESPONSES
Experiences with Sexual Misconduct
11 I: that were exacerbated by complicated power dynamics
16 II: within the work/academic environment
19 III: outside the work/academic environment that have
affected academic progress or education
22 IV: and subsequent retaliation
23 V: where fear of retaliation impacted the decision to
report
INTERLUDE: STATUS-QUO[TABLE] MOMENTS
Impacts of Sexual Misconduct:
3 27 I: on decision making around career and education
29 II: on projected future career trajectory
5 31 III: on ability to benefit from common and/or necessary
academic situations
33 IV: on ability to meet academic goals and objectives
INTERLUDE: RESPONSES AT A GLANCE
Thoughts About the Academic Environment
10 37 I: ideal academic environment
39 II: what people should be aware of
41 III: what people within can do to make it safe, healthy,
and supportive
43 IV: what the institution can do to make it safe, healthy,
and supportive
44 V: resources that would be most helpful on campus
45 EDITORIAL RECOMMENDATIONS

see us again, for the first time
Dear Reader,
We in the sphere of STEM academia are living in the middle of an epidemic of
sexual violence. Thats no exaggeration. We are literally surrounded by a problem
that should have no acceptable minimum presence in our community.
Many of us were forced to see this truth by living it or watching our friends and
colleagues live it. This special edition issue of GQM is possible because of our brave
contributors, who selflessly took the time to write down these painful experiences.
This collection of written recollections, as heartbreaking as it is to read, is a gift.
It lays bare personal, raw stories which run the gamut of the many ways this
toxic culture manifests. It is a chance you have been given to fully understand a
complex and nuanced issue which has devastating effects on our environment. We
are immensely thankful to all of our contributors. You should be thankful for this
opportunity, because it is not owed to you.
For every story you read here, know that there are dozens, hundreds more. Stories
that were too dangerous to write because of the possibility of retaliation. Stories
that we have been socialized into believing were not that bad or brought upon
ourselves. Stories that were just too painful to tell.
For many of us, the stories contained within this issue wont come as a surprise. For
others of us, the surprise may be in the differences between what we have been
socialized to believe about our own experience and the awful truth of it.
If the contents of this issue come as a surprise to you in any way, I challenge you
to take the uncomfortable step of actively making yourself aware of this problem.
Open yourself up to it, educate yourself, see the truth of it around you - because
it is provably, undoubtedly, all around you. I ask you to notice when you are being
dismissive, making excuses, trying to categorize and rank experiences, or deflecting
responsibility. I ask you to critically examine how this toxic culture has infiltrated
your thought process. I ask you to approach these instead with the same empathy
and open-mindedness that you would want to be afforded if you found yourself in
these situations. Start here, with this issue, but dont let this be the end of it for
you.
I want you to read these pieces and feel uncomfortable. That discomfort, those
CUTTING
true feelings of anger and sadness and shock and disgust that you should feel in
reading these stories, is the driving force thats going to change this situation.
I know that for some of you, your response to this issue will not be empathy.
It will be denial, judgement, minimization, defensiveness, dismissal, excuses. If this
is you, know that you are the problem. You are not just inactive bystanders, you
are accessories to the most underreported violent crime in our society. You bear
responsibility for the climate which allows people here to commit acts of sexual
violence against their students and peers without fear of consequences.
You may even be the one committing these acts. To you, know that we will be
actively finding you, fighting you, calling you out.
Know that you are not going unseen anymore.
We need change, desperately, and it needs to be big. We are not going to solve a
problem this culturally entrenched - and yes, I do mean UMass culture as well as
our culture at large - without changing things at a fundamental level. It will require
us to change the way that we think and behave. It will require us to speak up in
ways that make us uncomfortable, over and over again. It will require us to do this
not only with strangers or acquaintances, but with our friends and coworkers. It
will require changes that will affect our day to day lives here. It will require us to
live with the reality that we are working in an environment where our superiors,
our peers, our students, people who surround us every day, are not only the victims
of sexual violence but also the perpetrators of it. If this sounds unfair to you,
remember that a lot of us already live this reality. It is horrible. Its hard to live
with, and work with, but we as academics talk a big talk about embracing evidence
based truths - so now its time to walk the walk, even if it means admitting that we
have a toxic culture that we have been complicit in creating.
We can change this. There are so many people who are finding ways to solve these
problems, on levels ranging from personal interactions to university-wide policies.
Some of them are right here, doing this research and activism on our campus. If
we actually care about creating the environment we say that we want - one where
everyone here feels empowered to harness their creativity and passion and intellect
to solve some of our worlds most pressing scientific problems - we must first
make it safe to exist here. What is the use of striving towards the beautiful ideals
of science if we wont uphold the most basic ideals of human dignity?
Christie Laurel Cutting
Editor in Chief, GWIS Quarterly Magazine
Chair, GWIS Communications
ONE CUTTING TWO
 to put on a brave face. It makes vulnerability and and society wherein the victim is blamed for the
weakness seem like active choices they make because sexual misconduct. Common ways this manifests are
they arent being a survivor. It takes away the in questioning the survivors level of intoxication or
dialogues on sexual violence 101 persons right to their pain and their suffering. With
that in mind, only the person who has experienced
how they were clothed or how many sexual partners
they have had or their sexuality. In recentering the
(or how not to be an asshole...) the violence can define whether they prefer victim issue on how the victim incited the attack and not the
or survivor. Listen to how they talk about themselves attacker, the victim is being blamed for a violent attack,
by Elaine E. Liu or others with similar experiences. If it doesnt
seem clear from how they talk about themselves,
which is just plain wrong. This is victim-blaming. While
the general agreement is that survivor is a more
Talking about sexual assault, harassment, and rape is hard. Theres just no two ways about it. In a society ask. Maybe they dont care, maybe theyre like me acceptable term for those who have experienced
that makes talking about sex shameful, these conversations are awkward and uncomfortable. Finding the right and are adamant that they are a SURVIVOR (in all sexual misconduct, victim-blaming is the commonly
words is always difficult when dealing with intense subjects and here, particularly, you are walking in a mine caps), maybe they feel they are a victim, and all of accepted term for this phenomenon.
field. In my mind, there are so many phrases and words that are triggering to many survivors that talking those things are okay. The most important thing here
about sexual violence requires preparation. Without this, you can do damage to someone youre intending to is respecting someones identity and how they want
help. This is in no way meant to be an all inclusive list, but just a starting place for dos and donts when talking to be seen. As an aside, I would say that, when talking
to survivors about their experience or sexual violence in general. about a large group of people who have experienced A secondary survivor generally refers to friends,
Here are some terms and concepts you should know: sexual violence, survivor is a safer way to go because
it inherently acknowledges that they are more than
family members, or partners of rape or sexual
assault survivors. I would amend this to specifically
sexual activities requires positive affirmation from their assault. include people in a survivors life who are actively
both parties, which is frequently referred to as a part of the survivors journey of recovery and
affirmative consent or yes-means-yes. A person survival. Those who hear the stories and accounts
You know the definition of rape, right? Maybe not. cannot give consent if they are under the influence firsthand, who handle the panic attacks, who are
Rape actually describes an act of unwanted sexual of any recreational drug. Being drunk or high may generally there for the ups and downs of surviving
penetration, although is generally extended to include remove a persons ability to fully comprehend or Most of us have been told about fight or flight, but sexual trauma are experiencing the traumas in their
all unwanted sexual intercourse, and does not require respond to their situation and therefore they cannot frequently the third option, freeze, is left out. The own right and are secondary survivors. In this way,
(a) a penis, (b) a vagina, or (c) a stranger. To clarify: consent. This is also considered true for coercion and freeze option is just that, freezing and not reacting; many survivors are also secondary survivors because
all people of all sexes and genders can be raped; frequently extends to any situation where there is think about playing opossum. Simply, in the face of they serve as supports for others who have survived
people can be raped by intimate partners, friends- a power imbalance (e.g. student/teacher, employee/ danger a person threatened doesnt act. An in-depth trauma. For example, a close friend of mine who had
with-benefits, friends, acquaintances, relatives, employer) because the power gradient can lead to explanation for the neurological reasoning for this been assaulted was a huge resource to me after my
teachers, strangers, etc. A penis does not have to unspoken coercive situations. can be found here. attack because I knew that she would understand.
be used for unwanted penetration, which means that In this way, she is both a primary and secondary
rape includes people who have been penetrated with survivor.
other body parts or objects. While some survivors of
this type of violence may not consider themselves to All in all, listening is the most important part of any
have been raped, they may also consider themselves This one confuses people regularly and can warrant These seem to be a hotbed of debate recently, but discussion about sexual violence with a survivor. So
a victim/survivor of sexual assault or rape and that very extreme reactions from concerned parties. As they actually are pretty simple. A trigger is something many discussions surrounding sexual assault question
should be respected. In addition, men who are forced far as I am aware, survivor is a safer term to use that brings back a traumatic experience and, in the the validity or truth of a survivors narrative that
to penetrate someone without giving consent have when referring to someone who has experienced context of sexual assault, is usually related to PTSD you need to be careful to avoid doing so. These acts
been raped. Anyone who has experienced sexual sexual violence. It places the focus on the fact that and PTSD-related symptoms. Triggers bring traumatic of violence drastically change peoples lives and having
violence deserves space and time in our discussion they have survived and will continue to survive instead experiences, like assault or a suicide attempt, to the the validity of that questioned can only be damaging.
and none has a more real experience. of focusing on the victimization that they have forefront of a survivors mind such that they relive Be aware of what implications your words might have.
experienced. Victim can make someone feel weak their traumatic experience.
If you want to be an ally, the first step is listening and
and passive. Personally, I am highly offended when believing people who have these experiences. This is a
I am referred to as a victim because it takes away charged topic and even with the best intention things
from what I have done, what I have accomplished in can go awry; be understanding, be gentle, be loving,
Another basic, right? Well, this is the center for debate surviving my traumas and their fallouts. Conversely, This term refers to the general practice in media and most importantly, be open.
in many peoples minds. For our purposes, consent to others feel that the survivor moniker forces them
LIU THREE LIU FOUR

#CleanUpYourDepartment,
and please, do it now
Have you ever noticed how much time university officials spend
making excuses for themselves? I have. Ive determined its
at least as much time as they spend actually doing their jobs.
Even at that, the list of things that arent their jobs seems
to be extensive, and always right on the tip of their tongues,
while repeated queries of the form what can you do about
this? are seldom met with straight or punctual answers. So
I know what youre thinking, what kind of requests are these?
Are they being passed off or politically avoided because they
are unreasonable, or somehow unimportant? I will entertain
that question just this once, because you havent yet read
the rest of this GQM special edition filled with the pained
stories and urgent-but-unmet needs of graduate women.
But unless you believe that asking the officials in charge of
running the university to create safe and healthy working
environments for bright and dedicated students constitutes
an unreasonable request, then the answer is resoundingly no.
Im glad we cleared that up.
So Whisky Tango Foxtrot, command, whats going on here? If
university officials dont hold the power to change the things
that they claim to be committed to, then what is it that
they do here, exactly? If all these powerful people are so,
so committed to diversity, then why does almost every high
ranking officials meeting look like it could just as easily be held
in the mens locker room for a Scandinavian swim team? If
theyre so committed to equity and fairness in education,
why arent graduation and attrition rates representative of
the matriculated population, far less the general population?
If theyre so committed! to healthy and safe working
environments, then why are the people who endanger, abuse,
and harass their students still here and at large? Are they
utterly useless? No, that cant be it, right?
I think its time to call this like it is: these things are the way
they are because someone, somewhere (and maybe lots of
ones, everywhere!) like things the way they are.
gasps. (?!?!?!?!?!)
Go ahead, but Im not the first person to point this out.
Think about it for a second. An entire universitys worth
of distinguished and Named professors, department heads,
program directors, deans!, vice provosts!!, chancellors!!!,
presidents!, and all their staff, and all their money, and all Here goes nothing...
LABASTIDE
their best intentions cannot pull this off? Are the problems
facing society actually just too hard for The Academys
finest? Award-winning critical thinkers. Card-carrying
professional problem solvers. Logic masters. Magicians. Clear
and unimpassioned seekers of Truth. Indeed, if our university
websites homepage is to be believed, our little middle-of-
nowhere oasis is home to some of the finest minds found
anywhere. So why then, at a time in our existence when were
closing in on the universes best kept secrets, can we not
find the solution to the social equation that provides safe
and equitable treatment for people on our campus? When
faced with the consideration that the sum total of all our
educators cannot exert any lasting influence over the culture
of discrimination, exploitation, and violence on their campus,
it seems much more likely that the vast majority of them
just arent trying. HEARTBREAKING. Even more so when we
consider that those that are trying (thank you) are too few
to overcome the inertia of systemic inequity, rendering them
exhausted and us, somehow, almost exactly where we started.
I have truly heard it all. Conversations that consist of
forthright solutions that arent options and complex
workarounds that are so tied up in red tape that they
might as well be passed along in the academic last-wills-and-
testaments of students whose careers died waiting for them.
I cant. its not that simple.. this is not my job, and its has become very clear. Incentives exist to convince people to Step Two: STOP hiding behind consenting adults arguments.
not yours either. lets have a meeting about this at about
half past never I have to run it by ___ first, who will ignore
me, and then I will ignore you its just not in my purview
to these things take time for reasons we cant discuss. These are things that may or may not affect you directly, particularly vulnerable to being abused by their advisors
Bullshit. Bull. Shit. We have all seen how fast they move
when they really want something done. Dont believe me?
Measure the time between your late bursar bill and your
involuntary class withdrawal. Clearly making appointments,
waiting patiently, and asking nicely doesnt get this job done.
Because lets face it, were rightfully pretty pissed off about
being made to sit here and wait on our own all-too-probable
encounter with one of their self proclaimed Bad Apples
while they hold meetings on how to protect the university
brand from our complaints about things that should NEVER
HAPPEN. Lets try something different: furious unbridled
honesty, because its high time we all took a long, hard look at
the tree from which these apples keep falling.
FIVE
Dear university leaders of all types and at all levels, disappointing and stereotypical mistakes. Id like to think
that the theatrical look of grave indignation youre currently
Real (not metaphysical, hypothetical, or metaphorical) women giving me indicates that theyre beneath you; youll forgive
on your campus are minding our own business, working me if Im not willing to take that chance at this particular
harder and with more urgency than our male counterparts moment.
to obtain our educations, and are having our lives and careers
completely derailed because were being sexually assaulted, Step One: STOP pretending youre surprised to hear the news.
harassed, and raped by male members of this community, There is a foot path on this campus called the rape trail.
including but not limited to your male faculty. Your system There is a federal task force based out of the damn White
is rigged with red tape that protects predators. Before you House created specifically to combat the sexual assault
think this is another plot from the feminist agenda of anti- epidemic on college campuses. Obama knows whats going
establishmentarianism, (which, contrary to popular belief, is on, and he doesnt even live here. THIS university, as well
truthfully not a thing), this is not a war on tenure, or the level as a long list of others, is the subject of a federal Title IX
of autonomy and benefit-of-the-doubt allotments bestowed investigation. Federal funding agencies have had to adopt
upon those who are supposed to be the best of us. The policies stating that they will withhold or rescind grants for
problem at hand is with those youve already offered a job investigators or institutions in violation of Title IX. Law and
for life, given young minds to mold and turn into little, painfully Order SVU has had twenty fucking seasons because they
accurate renderings of themselves or use up and toss out never run out of material to make shocking and compelling
with the trash. If youre too mad to keep reading, feel free TV, and a LARGE number of their episodes are based on
to direct your inevitable expletives to my email. If you really college campuses! PLUS YOUR STUDENTS HAVE TOLD YOU.
want to make a dent in this problem, and restore the trust You are not actually that surprised. And if you really, really
of your students, I suggest you keep reading, and seriously are, thats SO MUCH worse.
consider immediately executing some of the objectives on this
list. Sexual harassment and assault of (particularly) female
subordinates is a common-to-the-point-of-expectation
Step Zero: Stop asking me to sell you diversity and equity as workplace hazard, and is even a point of pride at the worst
products. of these institutions. The free-format platform of academic
This is not the fucking home shopping network, this is your education based on honor, respect for responsibility, and
house and you should be invested in its safety and integrity good intentions, along with very little oversight, makes for
because YOU LIVE HERE. intimidatingly uneven power dynamics between students and
educators that can be, and are too often, exploited. I am not
A friend of mine who is much more evolved and literate in telling you something that you dont know. You know this. Stop
social justice than I am told me once that we cant incentivize insulting our intelligence with your surprise.
allyship. At the time I didnt understand why, but recently, it
do something they wouldnt otherwise want or need to do for Even outside of a sexual context, the vast majority of
the benefit of someone else. Like have a blanket to save the graduate student reports, analysis by medical professionals
puppies! or here, have a pink coffee mug so you can show off regarding graduate student mental health concerns, and
to all your friends how much you care about breast cancer! general common sense tell us that graduate students are
or that you can avoid thinking about by closing the door or because someone holding your entire future in their hands is a
changing the channel. But this is not that situation. This is not lot like them holding a gun to your head. Havent you ever said
charity. We are not someone else. We are your students and yes between your teeth to something you feel gross about
colleagues, and without us, there is no career for you. So no, or that goes against your wishes or moral inclinations under
I am not going to sell you a donut in return for your donation threat of professional ruin or other retaliatory outcomes?
to the clean-up-the-department-fund. Im asking you to get Words spoken and actions carried out in situations where
off your ass and clean up your department because ITS the consenting party is under duress or feels like they
YOUR DEPARTMENT. I repeat: YOU LIVE HERE. Clean up your dont have a choice are not the choices that individual would
department, #cleanupyourdepartment, because its your have made autonomously, and therefore are not consensual.
community, and its health and quality are a reflection of you Thats the problem here: in relationships between parties of
(yea, personally) and thus are your responsibility. Because unequal power status, including but not limited to professor-
you live here. Because your friends do. Because your lifes student, adult-child, priest-alterboy, cultleader-pledge, boss-
work and your reputation do. employee, alphawolf-wolfpack, or sun-earth interactions, the
party with greater power has the ability to FORCE something
While youre on your newly minted mission to that looks like consent, and therefore must be held responsible
#cleanupyourdepartment, consider NOT making these for abuses of that power. The less powerful party needs to
LABASTIDE SIX
be protected from potential abuses of power, in recognition Step Five: STOP pretending there are good reasons for bad opportunity to press charges, it is not an option. Are you requires effort. If we could do it for you, we would. But
of the fact that the acquisition of power is accompanied by a behaviour wondering why your attrition rates are so high right now? were not professors or permanent members of the ivory
greater responsibility to wield it ethically, and if were lucky, Your colleague doesnt compulsively comment on students Would you stay in a place where youre being harassed or tower and never will be, at this rate, and were certainly not
mindfully. Its a very simple concept, dont use your power physical attributes because hes european and his hands threatened and can see no way out but to remove yourself in the boys club, so it is up to you.
to negate someones autonomy in a way that is inconsistent dont travel all over her body during the hug he initiated because the person who harassed you is untouchable? Does
with their wishes. The law recognises it, why doesnt the because hes latino. Its not cultural (and what do you know the phrase I left graduate school because I was raped Believe me when I come to you with a problem. Use your vast
university? about that, anyway?), its harassment. Even if its cultural mean anything to you? How about the fact that I hear it all scientific mind to think of a solution that would be acceptable
the first time you see it, it HAD BETTER NOT BE the second the time? to you if you were in my situation. For instance, can we
The statement that the University does not wish to interfere time. There are standards for conduct that need to be upheld declare conflicts of interest for our evaluations? You can
with private choices regarding personal relationships when and you should feel responsible for upholding them, or else Ill Step Nine: STOP pretending that women do this for attention. when you write a grant, submit a paper. Why not? Also, find
these relationships do not interfere with the goals and policies be forced to think you like it. And dont use my statement as What are you talking about? No self-respecting woman who ways to proactively make the educational process more fair.
of the University ignores the very pertinent fact that the an excuse to sex-shame women for their appearance. Seeing came here for a Ph.D. wants to have her reputation dragged Blind exams? Pre-set evaluation rubrics? Check your biases,
power differentials involved in these relationships are almost something you like doesnt entitle you to grab it. If you dont through the mud and open herself up to being shamed and and your privilege. FOR GOODNESS SAKE, get yourself some
exclusively the result of university infrastructure and would believe me, test my theory at a jewelry store. I hope you get further traumatized for a little minute in the spotlight. No education. If no one offered you training on social justice and
be generally irrelevant if the same two people just met on the arrested. one is trying to extort you. Even if they were, this would the more subtle aspects of sexual harassment, go get some.
street or in a bar and had no working or advisorial relationship, be a bad way to do it, considering reporting is currently Call GWIS, we will be so delighted to help you become less
and the statement that for the personal protection of Step Six: While youre at it, STOP pretending the system much more risky and expensive for the victim than it should toxic to our friends in your department. Make these changes,
members of this community, relationships in which power works. be. Instead of being an asshole, realize that much more make them permanent. Write them into policies, and enforce
differentials are inherent (faculty-student, staff-student, Yes there are technically systems in place to deal with things harassment takes place than gets reported, because so many them. Start with a less embarrassing statement on sexual
administrator-student, supervisor-supervisee) are generally like this, but the risks and outcomes are ridiculous for victims. women want their Ph.Ds so badly that theyre willing to put relationships between members of unequal power on your
discouraged is inappropriately weak and takes the onus So this is how it goes: your colleague sexually harasses his up with more than they should have to, and if theyre talking campus. Something with teeth, that acknowledges the ways
off of the university to regulate the power differentials student. The student is then removed from her first choice to you about it, its far past what they can put up with. There in which these betrayals of station occur and the magnitude
inherently created by its own environment. research group. She is then forced to look for another is no ulterior motive, this is not fun for anyone. IDGAF what and reach of their impacts. Look and think hard about your
opportunity, often without help from you or the department. you saw on tv, get educated. environment, and dont say no one told me so I didnt know.
Step Three: STOP pretending this is a private, isolated She has to take any old opportunity she can find -off grant The signs and indications of distress and toxicity are ALL
situation involving only the people directly involved. funding cycle- while trying to stay afloat, maybe trying not to What Now? around you- you just need to recognize them. Review your
The effects of sexual harassment or violence can be mitigated lose her visa, and trying to deal with the psychological trauma. Ok so, when youre done working on how not to make things hiring practices, since apparently fame, fortune, and the
temporarily by relocating or removing the student from the Shes also probably trying to pass exams, do homework, to be worse, Im happy to talk with you about ways that you can ability to create more of both dont define a good person or
immediate scene of the crime, but this does not solve the a fully functioning graduate student. UNACCEPTABLE. actually try to make things better. Heres a start. even a competent educator. Clearly there are large cracks
problem. Dont believe me? Walk into any department with a through which the poison seeps in. As I have said before,
single bad apple and ask around. The worst offenders have Press charges? SURE, put her word up against a pillar of You have the power to change the culture on your campus. your demographics directly reflect your priorities. Thats a
strong and widespread reputations for their behaviour. Ask the community while institutional sexism paints her as an Youve already shown us that what will thrive is what you conversation Ill be very happy to have; Im only a phone call
the first year students which buildings they dont work alone untrustworthy slut. Risk the degree that shes been putting revere, and what you condemn will die. So what should you away!
in at night because stories of how to protect themselves have up with all this to try to get, all so she can see the molesting do? GET MAD, then CLEAN UP YOUR DEPARTMENT. Treat the
been passed down from older students like frightfully accurate motherfucker strolling through the hallway with a breeze in person who is targeting your students like the predator at One thing is for sure: you have to find a way to decouple rape
urban legends. A sexual predator in your department affects his hair like NOTHING FUCKING HAPPENED. the park snatching up neighborhood children. There is nothing and red tape. Because no progress can or will be made until
ALL the people with vulnerable and marginalized identities collegial about a person who abuses their position of power acts of violence are more expensive for the perpetrators
in that place, and in some cases far beyond. If theres a So STOP with the system. It sucks. COME UP WITH as an educator and advisor and erodes your students trust in than they are for the victims. If youre doing nothing, youre
list (and believe me, there are several) of people graduate SOMETHING ELSE. Yes, this requires your immediate ALL educators and advisors. That person is hurting you, too. the problem. If you blame students who get hurt for not
women warn each other to avoid, and several of your faculty attention. Yes, special action like the kind not usually taken Before you distance yourself and get offended that people protecting themselves against the people that society and
are on it, then these faculty have already turned our work is necessary, and NO an acceptable solution does not require would lump you in with this bad apple, (aka what you do their parents and the goddam university code of conduct and
environment into a place that we feel threatened and need to the victim to go any more out of her way, lose any more to minorities every chance you get) remember, this persons the law told them they could trust, you are the problem. You
avoid. How can you expect excellence and creativity when the time, cause her any more anxiety, compromise further her profile looks a lot like yours! They share your credentials, HAVE to fix it, or academia will never be a safe place for us.
situation requires damage control and avoidance? You try education, or humiliate her. So many of you utter the word job title, level of perceived credibility, and maybe even your You have to fix it because our patience is up, because we can
working under those conditions. You cant. unacceptable and in the next breath say something akin to physical appearances. Dont blame the victims, your students, no longer live like this. Your negligence is a loaded cannon, but
hang in there. The word unacceptable should not be followed for not recognizing the difference; the only thing we are its pointed at you. I hope Ive helped you see that a bit more
Step Four: STOP pretending you dont know what to do. with anything that requires us to accept that thing for even guilty of is trusting our educators. The fact that some of us clearly. So stop saying youre working on it and just. fucking.
This is not a new problem, and even if it was, so what? Youre one more minute. will live to regret the trust weve placed in you is already too do it. #cleanupyourdepartment, and please, do it now!
a freakin scientist, are you not? And guess what? There is so much of a price to pay for trying to get an education.
much expert research, much of it by our own faculty-YOUR Step Seven: Also, STOP pretending your hands are tied.
COLLEAGUES- that states clearly the interventions, their Ive seen you move mountains when theyre in YOUR way. Take personally the betrayal that this person has committed
merits, and the consequences of continuing as we have been.
On top of that, weve been incessantly telling you for years. Step Eight: STOP treating women as disposable.
against you. If you apologize for them, youre the problem. If
you make excuses for them, youre the problem. Rescind your Joelle A. Labastide, Ph.D.
Read the New York Times, talk to one or all of us, listen to the If it takes the better part a decade to prove a pattern of
faculty you hired to study exactly this. COME ON! If theres behaviour for your harasser, thats several womens Ph.Ds. If
camaraderie because this person has abused the privilege
that is your friendship. Get mad, then get rid of that traitor. Editor, GWIS Quarterly Magazine
one thing were NOT lacking, its information. it takes a woman having to drop out or lose her educational You need to make a conscious effort to up the bar. Yes, it Chair, GWIS Advocacy
LABASTIDE SEVEN LABASTIDE EIGHT
 Dear Graduate Women in STEM,
I was one of those girls whose best (and favorite) subject was math until I hit puberty. My
dream was to be a mechanical engineer. Now, I am a graduate student at UMass but I do not
work in a lab. This is probably because I did not think I was good enough at math and science
compared to my male peers, and felt like I was doing better and getting more validation in my
non-science, non-math subjects.
So now I work in the realm of social sciences; working with people and supporting them in their
empowerment, especially in the realm of their working lives. My advisor and supervisor do not
have much control over my well being or my career. While my supervisor and advisor dont have
much control over me, I am still familiar with harassment, and I do know how it is to be stalked
and be scared to go to work, or anywhere for that matter. I know what catcalling feels like and
how it is to have so many friends and colleagues be sexually assaulted and raped.
Harassment and assault are scary enough as it is, but in the workplace (or classroom),
being done by someone who has power over you and your career
. well that is a more egregious abuse of power.
I wanted to write you to let you know that we at the Graduate Employee Organization
(GEO) want to support you in the myriad of ways you navigate not being a man at work. You
have the right to feel safe at work and otherwise. I want to support you in figuring out how
to deal with the belittling, ignoring, sexual innuendos, advancements, and other things that may
happen to you, especially at the hands of your supervisors.
What you are experiencing is real and it matters.
Those, like me, acting under the umbrella of the Graduate Employee Organization
only represent graduate employees. We have no responsibility to the university or to your
supervisors/professors. Our only responsibility and mission is to support all graduate workers
and uphold our right to a safe workplace, free from sexual harassment, other forms of
harassment, racism, discrimination, and micromanaging.
We want to support you.
If you would like support, please contact your departmental GEO steward or someone who
works in our office:
GEO (Graduate Employee Organization) Office
Student Union room 201 (Student Union basement down the hall from the Craft Center)
Sincerely and in solidarity,
Avery Alissa Fuerst, M.S.
GEO Grievance Coordinator**
** Editors note: Congratulations to Avery on Graduation! The new grievance coordinator is Anna-Claire Simpson.
You can contact her at: afsimpso@english.umass.edu
FUERST NINE EDITORS TEN

S ubm i tt e D R e sp onse s
write about an experience with sexual
misconduct that was exacerbated by
complicated power dynamics.
I am not proud of this story but I think it is helpful to tell as a warning
to other girls. I am very embarrassed about my part of it and I still
feel like it is my fault.
One of my undergrad math teachers was my favorite of all time. He
was funny and sensitive and always complimented my work. He would
call me out in class for doing well on homeworks and exams and always
made me feel special and smart. I know that sounds stupid because I
have always been smart with math but this amount of recognition was
unexpected in a pleasant way. I was ahead of the class and I would go
to office hours to get advice on how to plan ahead for the class and
work out problems I would do on my own. Soon we were spending a
lot of time together, and he made me feel so great and I am stupid
so I got a crush on him. It was such a bad thing that I tried to hide it
but he made it hard by always complimenting me all the time. I would
blush so much sometimes because when I was thinking about some-
thing he would laugh at me and tug on the end of my ponytail lightly to
shake the thoughts loose he said. I really liked this and thought it was
because we were close.
Eventually he kissed me in his office. He said I was the smartest
student he met in a long time and my thoughts are irresistible. He also
said he was willing to take the risk of being wrong because I was that
irresistible. I am embarrassed now but at that time I thought it was
the best day of my life. We started dating and things were perfect
for some time. I wanted things to keep going and he was treating
me the same in his class. The only thing that upset me was we were
spending the time in his office not doing work and I felt like I was
getting behind. Also he asked me to come and see him every day and I
was falling behind in other classes too because of this. He wanted more
and more until he wanted to have sex in his office. I knew our relation-
ship would get to that eventually but his office did not seem to be the
right place. I told him this and he laughed and said I was right and I
thought things were fine.
The next day in class things were not fine. He was so rude to me and
embarrassed me because I made a mistake. English is not my first
language and I used the wrong word. He knows this so I was very
confused with how he reacted so I asked what was wrong and he said
SUBMITTED RESPONSES
I used to be his best student and I was very disappointing recently. I
was shocked that he would say this and I left class. Later he told me
to come to his office because he wanted to apologize and it was a
joke. He said I was the best thing in his life so when I rejected him he
did not know how to handle it. I was flattered but also mad because
I thought he was going to do it again if I said no to him. He pulled on
my ponytail and I pulled away because I was mad. We were fine for a
couple of weeks and we even had sex a few times at his house.Things
went back to normal in class but then I was busy with a big project
for another class and I stopped coming to see him in his office and he
got meaner and meaner. Finally he gave me such a bad grade I had to
complain about it. He did not respond and finally I went to his office.
He apologized and gave the same story about rejection. I said I wanted
to end our relationship and he did not take it well. He grabbed my hair
so hard that I tried to grab his hand away but he pulled me onto his
desk and forced my head down. He said he was tired of playing games
and I had to drop the good girl act and called me a bitch. He unzipped
his pants and said if I show him some respect then we could get back
to normal. I was shocked by how rough he was being and tried to move
but he held my head there and put it in my mouth. I did what he asked.
When he was done he wiped it in my hair and told me he is so happy
because I came back to him. I did not go to his office anymore and I
thought I would fail the class but he did not bother with me anymore.
I felt very disgusting and I cut my hair but I was ignoring it until one
day I walked by him after class with a different girl. He was pulling
on her hair and she was laughing at him when he said he was going to
shake the thoughts loose. I tried to tell her what happened but she
said I was stupid and if I was not such a whore then I would not be in
that situation. I was worried about her and I told my friends but they
all said they now know why I was getting better grades and stopped
talking to me. I never told anyone after that. I hope that girl is okay.
- Anonymous
A meeting I was in got sidetracked by two male faculty members of-
fering advice about when I should have children and how it will help my
career (unsolicited). The conversation got detailed and they paid no
regard while I was uncomfortable and I couldnt say anything because
one was my boss.
- Anonymous
ELEVEN
I never had a crush on my adviser. I thought I was lucky to work
with him and felt we had a great working relationship. But that didnt
last longer. One day he hit on me and I was completely shattered. He
asked me to go on walks with him. He offered me rides and meals. I
felt something was not right but didnt think much about it because I
trusted him. I never thought he would do something like this to me or
use his power of adviser against an international student. The truth is
I became a victim of unwanted advances, unwelcome touching, inap-
propriate comments and questions, and persistent phone calls.
I asked him to be professional, made it very clear to him that I am
interested only in a professional relationship. I felt he understood but
I was wrong. He started isolating me. He started to use my culture
against me and attack my support system. This is when I decided to
speak out. I couldnt take it anymore.
- Anonymous
A well-known older, white male scientist was invited to give a seminar
to our department. He is one of those researchers who has a reputa-
tion as a maverick and loose cannon whose research interests have to compare and contrast their genitalia in extreme detail. I was a
strayed from his area of expertise but who is indulged by the scientif-
ic community of (old, white men) because of his previous brilliance. He
now seems to be very interested in the pseudo-science and evolution-
ary psychology behind honor killings of women in Middle Eastern and
other (other = non-white) cultures. In addition to the dog-whistle
racism during his disorganized and rambling talk, he began out of the
blue describing the graphic murder of a Middle Eastern woman whose
death had been in the news at one point. It was creepy and disturbing
as hell. His tone and words made it clear that he did not consider the
humanity of the woman who had died. Instead he emphasized how
her male family members had brutally and violently killed her, going on
and on about gruesome details of her death and suffering and trying
to approach it from a scientific lens. As a person who has experi-
enced sexual violence as well as the smaller, accumulating violences of
existing as a female in traditionally male spaces, it made me sick to my
stomach to hear this oblivious man drawing out the violent description
of some faceless woman. I wanted to scream at him to stop. I wish I
had been strong enough to get up and walk out of the room and slam
the door behind me. Instead, I sat there with my head in my hands. I
felt like I could not move. NO one said anything, although one or two
female faculty members did walk out as soon as the talk was done.
This person had been introduced by a respected and liked male pro-
fessor in my department as a personal friend and mentor. Hes written
books. Hes won grants and prestigious awards. Afterwards, nothing
was addressed within our department about this gut-wrenching, sci-
entifically-unsound lecture. I spoke with many female peers after the
lecture and they were all appalled, especially a few women of color.
My guess is, most of the (white, male) senior faculty members dont
understand how hurtful and unacceptable his behavior was, apart from
feeling that it was mildly uncomfortable. They dont understand what
its like to hear a powerful man describe an act of sexual violence with
SUBMITTED RESPONSES
the same relish as someone telling a ghost story around a camp fire. I
didnt know what to do or who to report it to, or even if I could. So I
didnt.
- Anonymous
A senior graduate student in my group thought it would be funny to
start a joke (that went on for weeks) insinuating that I was dating a
professor in the department, which he talked about in front of many
people in the department. I was afraid to call out the joke in front of
others because this student is much more well-known and well-liked in
the department than I am, and I also didnt feel I could report it to
my PI because this student is senior to me and generally regarded as
my PIs favorite student.
- Gayle
A former (female) supervisor who I was alone in the field with told
me that I had to have sex with all my male professors, and that until
I was, I was a failure. Then she went on about all the professors she
had had sex with (at the University I was currently at) and proceeded
freshman and really really wanted research experience and needed
the money. So I had to listen.
- Anonymous
I tried to report being assaulted and was told there was nothing fac-
ulty could do. It took reporting to many people before they referred
me to the Dean of Students office, who treated it the same as if my
assailant had been caught drinking underage. After he was found not
responsible, faculty members in my department suggested that I just
leave school because they said they could not help me.
- Elisabeth Baseman
I have been in multiple verbally abusive menteeships during my time at
University and in graduate school. These alone are extremely prohib-
itive to academic progress and difficult to address partly because
of their prevalence. The culture among graduate students especially,
which is also strongly reinforced by the behavior of certain profes-
sors, generally tolerates if not condones abusive situations. In my ex-
perience with multiple offices, ombudpersons have been very useful in
addressing these problems, particularly in directing myself and other
students toward or away from legal advisement.
- Alex Dubois
In this situation, I felt uncomfortable because I felt indebted to the
funding source for the opportunity to conduct research. I did not feel
comfortable communicating the issue to my advisors, or the funding
agency, which I would have needed to do to leave the hostile environ-
ment. In this case, the power dynamic was more of a distant relation-
ship, but still affected my ability to get out of the situation.
- Anonymous
TWELVE

IMO, sexual misconduct is always about power dynamics- I think even
more than its about sex. In my particular case, it was about someone
not being able to handle not getting what he wanted.
I was one of 3 girls in my undergrad engineering class, and It was
a highly vulnerable position. During my very first moments with my
classmates it became clear to me that I had very different physical
characteristics and that caused all eyes to be on me almost constant-
ly. Within a week of the semester start, I went to visit my parents
and asked them to get me new clothes because everyone in class was
looking at me funny and I didnt fit in. My parents were having none of
it, saying Your clothes are fine. You know how to put yourself togeth-
er, so whats the problem? My parents are not American and had no
idea what I was talking about. I resigned to find the least attention
grabbing items in my wardrobe and only wear those. By the way, if
youre thinking that the reason I got funny looks is because I walked in
in a crop top and booty shorts, think again.
My first year was basically full of severe isolation, but things started
to get a bit better once I proved that I belonged there by doing well
in classes and being helpful on projects etc. I had even started to relax
a little, and allowed myself to join a study group, go to select social
events, and spend more time in the computer lab with my classmates
doing homework. Besides seeing way too much of the same people
(sometimes 18-20 hrs in a row) as homework got longer and harder to
complete, things looked like they were getting better.
The next year we had to take tech electives outside of our major,
which led to mixing of different graduating classes. There was this
one senior engineer who seemed to be the most comfortable in the
room, most lusted after (both romantically and bro-mantically), and I
took one look at him and thought who does this dude think he is. He
answered my question quickly by boldly commandeering the seat next
to me that I was saving for my friend, stretching out and asking me
to hold his coffee while he took his damn time getting out his notebook
and a chewed up pen which he put in his mouth, then winked at me and
said, awesome, thanks.
As the semester went on, he incessantly hit on me despite my very vo-
cal objections, blocking his path to sit next to me, and explicitly avoiding
him. One day after class, he actually pinned me up against the wall at
the back of the room and just held me there while I struggled lightly,
then smiled and said ok, ok, I know youre late for your next class
ms-goody-two-shoes, I just wanted to make sure youre going to the
comp lab later because I need help with this homework. I said I might
be there but I might work at home. He said he would definitely see me
later and let me go. I walked around the hallway for a few minutes to
make sure he left and then went to talk to the Professor (an over-
confident white male, obviously). I explained that he was bothering
me and wouldnt take no for an answer when asking me out, and asked
if he saw me pinned against the wall moments earlier. The professor
SUBMITTED RESPONSES
laughed, shook his head, and said yea, that boys got it bad for you I
think **more laughing** has he proposed yet? I bet some of your lady
classmates are pretty jealous! See you on Wednesday! It was clear
that he wasnt going to help me, so I left and cried in the bathroom
for a hour, missing my next class. I didnt go to the computer lab later,
and as a result didnt finish my homework.
This went on for several more weeks, the advances became more
forceful (you have ANOTHER boyfriend? When is MY turn?), and
I avoided my way into a serious situation with my homework load
backup. Finally I was given an ultimatum about it, and was told to turn
them in or I would fail. So, forced into the computer lab, I sat at the
back behind the screen and started working, hoping to be unnoticed.
Apparently my senior admirer asked the professor if he had seen me,
and the professor told him I was probably working all night to finish
my late assignments, and so the senior came to the lab looking for me.
He found me sleeping on my keyboard and brought me a coffee, sitting
next to me sweetly and asking if I was ok. I said I was really tired,
and needed to work, so he left the coffee and said, Im sorry this is
happening babe, Ill leave you to your work.
I drank the coffee and started to feel woozy sometime later. I
thought I was too tired so I got up to head home and fainted. I came
to and he was carrying me out of the building. I asked what happened,
he said he was worried because I passed out and he was taking me
home. I said ok. He drove me to my apartment and asked for my
keys, I gestured to my backpack, and he put my upstairs in my bed. I
remember feeling dizzy and grateful at that moment. I fell asleep. I
sort of half woke up sometime later to him having sex with me and I
wasnt sure what was happening. I tried to complain but didnt have
any energy and I dont remember much more. The next morning I
was mostly alert, and he was gone, but then he came back with more
coffee (from my kitchen this time) and handed it to me. Then he
kissed me on the forehead and reminisced fondly to me about how we
had sex not just the one time I half remembed but 4 times that night.
I said I didnt remember, he laughed and playfully said ouch!, Ill have
to make it more memorable next time. He said we would be late for
class, so I got dressed and we drove to campus. When I walked into
class I stumbled, and he put his arm around me. The professor smiled
like we just made his day and said its good to see you two together
finally! This charmer wore you down, ey? I ran to the bathroom and
threw up.
He told everybody we had sex, and they all congratulated me on my
achievements. I refused to go back to the computer lab. I failed the
class and almost dropped out of the major, but he graduated the next
semester (with honors) so I stayed. When he graduated every one
offered their condolences to me that he was leaving, and asked if we
were going to stay together. I shrugged and walked away mostly, or
changed the subject. I didnt see any point of telling the truth; this
story had taken on a mind of its own. - Anonymous
THIRTEEN
This experience happened about me, but I was not actually present. I
was informed by a friend (present) that a faculty member had taken
a number of students out, and asked them questions about which
graduate student they thought was most likely to conduct themselves
inappropriately with respect to relationships with faculty. More bluntly,
they debated at length whether or not I might consider sleeping with
a professor. I found this extremely detrimental to my mental health
and sense of security my department. Friends found out and said they
would report it if I did not discuss the incident with my own advisor,
who was very upset.
- Anonymous
The faculty member who I was a teaching assistant for would walk up
behind me while I was teaching and put his hand on my shoulder with-
out alerting me that he was there first, and then keep his hand there
for our entire conversation. This happened in almost every interaction
and in front of students; I was very uncomfortable with it but scared
to say anything since he was my supervisor and my students would
hear whatever I said and his response.
- Gayle
write about an experience with sexual
misconduct that was exacerbated by
complicated power dynamics.
Residency in surgery. My cutwork was reduced to none because I was
a troublemaker.
- Coco
was going in a new direction and he worked in that field. We had a
During my undergraduate degree I had classes with the (at the time)
head of the physics department (of the institution that I studied). As
I was interested on work led by his laboratory, I decided to interview
for an intern position. During our third meeting (after office hours,
due to supposed schedule conflicts), the professor locked the lab door,
and grabbed me, and touched my breast. I yelled at him, however the
building was apparently empty. He seemed scared by my attitude,
apologized and let me go.
Few days later I came back to his office with my boyfriend at the
time, and had a long conversation with him, saying how inappropriate
his attitudes were, and that I was going to sue him for sexual
harassment.
Was a difficult time for me, I dropped his class, I couldnt eat, and I
SUBMITTED RESPONSES
realized how much this was affecting me. I made my mind, and decided
to dont go forward with legal actions (as I was 19 at the time), and to
forget that it even happened.
- Anonymous
I had a professor who used to have a double standard between me
and my lab partners. The boys were allowed to joke around or be faux
competitive but if I joined in to their jokes, I was seen as a bitch.
- Anonymous
Twice a post doc in a lab where I worked asked me to participate in
sexual activities with them that I wasnt comfortable with. Once as
an undergraduate researcher at a regional conference, and once as a
masters student. Additionally, as an undergraduate, one of the post
docs in my lab would constantly tell me sexually explicit jokes and try to
get me to look at pornographic images on his computer screen. I didnt
know how to tell him to stop, and I was afraid to report his behavior
to my advisor. I was afraid anyone I told would rationalize these mens
behavior as simply cultural differences. It made the working environ-
ment very stressful, and scary at times.
- NotTheOne
I scheduled an evening meeting with a professor I used to respect to
ask him about being added to my thesis committee since my project
good friendly relationship and I was comfortable talking to him. I had
a crazy experiment that day that ran long, so I emailed him to ask if
we should reschedule but he said he was still working so just text him
when I was done and he would be there for a few hours. When I got
to his office he said it was dinner time, so we went to eat and talk
about my project. He agreed to be on my committee, gave me really
great ideas on my project. He said he would drop me off at home be-
cause it was late. Some people saw us walking together at night and he
pointed it out to me. He said thats ok, people will have to get used to
seeing us together if we are going to be dating. He put his arm around
me and kissed my forehead and I was so surprised and uncomfortable
but I did not know what to say without causing a problem so I just
laughed. I tried to change my project but my advisor said no so I just
pretended the experiment didnt work so I wouldnt have to see him.
- Jess
FOURTEEN

When I was in high school, I was propositioned by my drama teacher.
He was young and attractive and an incredibly popular and well-loved
teacher by all students. As I was involved in the leadership of our
drama program, I worked very closely with him. Our relationship was
one that was incredibly close. I viewed him not only as a mentor, but
as a friend. At some point, however, he must have thought that barrier
had been broken, and he propositioned me. I had no experience with a
human of the opposite sex being attracted to me other than when I
was sexually assaulted on a bus ride home in middle by the bus drivers
son. I began to think this was normal, and this was supposed to be
how men displayed their affection. I greatly trusted this teacher, and
thought, well, hes an adult, he would know whats best; this happened
on multiple occasions. He clearly took advantage of his authority over
me and the trust that I inherently had in him as an authority figure,
and the fact that I had previous experiences with sexual assault that
made me assume this was ok. It was not ok. It was a clear abuse of
power, authority, and trust.
- Anonymous
Ive heard accounts about professors who want to help students out, for their activities and would hopefully not return to disturbing the
but they just use the opportunity to say or do inappropriate things.
- Anonymous
I knew when my advisor said misogynistic things that he would not be
receptive to any constructive feedback on my end. In fact I tried to
argue against what he was saying on theoretical grounds, but he was
quite convinced that he was correct. Upon talking to other faculty
in the department, I was advised to just find a way to get through
my program and finish up, since it was unlikely (in their opinion, he is
their colleague) that my advisor would change his behavior based on
my feedback. His behavior did not cross the line into legal harassment
- more of the microaggression variety - so I didnt feel I had any
recourse. I also felt like I had to hide what was happening so as not to
appear vindictive. I felt even more powerless due to the fact that my
advisor was not open with me about my long-term funding status and
I was concerned that if I upset him he could easily find a way to stop
funding me without making it obvious it was retaliation.
- Anonymous
My PI hired this obnoxious postdoc while I was in graduate school
and he made everybodys life a living hell. He was racist, sexist, made
considerable effort to be physically intimidating, and had a disgusting,
sexually explicit sense of humor. During his tenure there were several
write about an experience with sexual
misconduct that was exacerbated by
complicated power dynamics.
SUBMITTED RESPONSES
women in the group, all of whom were intensely affected by his pres-
ence and stopped coming to work after a while, specifically to avoid
him. Our PI never figured this out, despite being told on several occa-
sions, and proceeded to admonish all of us for our lack of work ethic.
Along with taking up massive amounts of physical space, helping himself
to others belongings, and wearing very little clothing at work, he would
routinely insert female coworkers into his sexually themed jokes. On
more than one occasion when he could not find something he would
make jokes about the women hiding the equipment in places where
he should not go and get it without asking our boyfriends first, and
would refer often and publicly to his friends sexual relationship with
an african american woman as excursions into the darkest of places.
He also had a very public, very sexual relationship with a woman from
another department, and many of their PDAs occurred in our work-
space, and sometimes literally in our paths. Being made to walk around
them while they were groping one another was one thing, but walking
into the lab at night to them having sex on your desk is another thing
altogether. When we intimated the details of our work environment
to others, they were relieved to hear that theyd found a new venue
whole department with unruly sex in her office. Eventually we were
resigned that there was no place for us in the lab, and continued to
quietly make space for his ever-expanding territorial existence. To our
dismay, he and his girlfriend became permanent fixtures in our routine.
It didnt help that my PI was generally impressed with his cartoonish
bravado and kept inviting his girlfriend to group events. Even after he
left the group, we tried to convince our PI of the kind of person he
had hired, but to this day he remains resolved in his admiration.
- Anonymous
My advisor thought that I was as equally in the wrong as the person
who was harassing me (because I did agree on dating him briefly),
wanted to be fair, and did not want to treat one of us as a victim. He
understood that the person was touching me or my underwear was
a problem but did not understand that his other behaviors were as
damaging to me psychologically (following me, and texting, emailing, and
handing me letters). Him not taking the situation seriously from the
beginning led to the person escalating his behavior.
- Anonymous
I was forced to report my sexual assault to a staff member who had
previously dismissed earlier concerns. The staff member used their
- Anonymous
power to shut down my voice.
FIFTEEN
S ub m i t t eD R es p on s e s
write about experiences with sexual
misconduct in your current work/
academic environment.
I worked with an advisor that thought it was ok to put his arm around During my graduate career I have heard both my advisor and
me and hug me even when I moved away to avoid him. I also encountered peers in my graduate degree program talk openly about how af-
a faculty member that wanted to conclude every conversation with a firmative action has made it easier for women and minori-
hug despite my putting my hand out for a handshake. He made sexually ties to get into the program, get jobs after, etc., and also express
explicit jokes in my presence. He liked to show photographs on his phone the belief that women and minorities are frequently awarded de-
of things that looked like penises to students. He physically blocked my grees or provided special treatment so that they get a degree,
exits in the hallways, conference rooms or my office, and he found in part so that the department doesnt look bad for failing them.
excuses to get me into his office. He would lean in and whisper in my ear - Anonymous
so close that our cheeks were touching. I was going through a difficult
time and I felt that I didnt have many allies in the department, so I
was very afraid to tell him to stop. He finally made a joke about me Frequently touched unnecessarily and commented on physical appear-
being a porn star. I was very upset feeling like he might be thinking ance in an uncomfortable way
about me naked, having sex on camera for money, while he physically - Mary Anderson
pleasured himself. I reported the behavior, but Im still afraid very little
will be done to make these faculty members as uncomfortable as they
have made me. Its not fair, and I am afraid that their behavior has 1. One of the members of the first year guidance committee in gradu-
already escalated to hurt more women. ate school asked me if I had a hard time focusing in class because I was
- NotTheOne Daydreaming about my boyfriend, even though I never said anything
about my dating or personal life at the meeting.
Second hand accounts about professors saying inappropriate things to 2. A lab mate repeatedly asked me out/ texted/ touched me even after
students. Ive never witnessed it, but it happens to a lot of people. telling him I wasnt interested. He manipulated into being alone with in
- Anonymous rooms and sometimes touched or kissed me without consent. Things he
did: he picked me up from behind, grabbed my t-shirt and forcefully
kissed me, and unlocked my phone while I was working in another room.
Undergraduate students in the lab I taught made an inappropriate
sexual joke involving me to my face. I reported the incident to the pro- 3. My adviser did not take it very seriously when I reported this person
fessors who mentor the graduate TAs, who immediately escalated the (from 2)s behavior. He defended the person saying, hes young and in
situation to disciplinary offices without my consultation. love. He cant help himself. I had to go to the Equal Opportunity and
Diversity office to have my adviser to be strict on the person not to
- Jennett Chenevert come close to, talk to, or contact me.
4. When I was talking about problems being a female scientist to my
I spend my first year in a small major as one of 6 girls. It was very male friends, he said, then quit grad school and have babies!
- Anonymous
difficult because I always felt like a fish out of water and that every-
one was always looking at me. Im into fashion and dressing well so I
remember picking the dullest outfits possible because I knew a lot of
people would look at me when I walked into class. I dont recently experience this. Where I work now is not my first
- Anonymous choice but I work for a woman. - Anonymous
SUBMITTED RESPONSES SIXTEEN
Here is my experience at UMass to the best of my recollection. I was The former head of department has, not only to me and my peers,
It was only much later that I realized this qualified as assault and re- Constant innuendo and objectification by peers, and faculty always
at the time a grad student and GEO member. I was also the Google but also mentees and mentors, repeatedly hugged, touched, stroked,
gretted not pursuing it further, not so much for my own sake (though pointing out the token women.
Student ambassador.
I would have liked to get some closure or resolution for my own sake), massaged, and made inappropriate referenes to breasts, butts, and - Elizabeth Baseman
but also because this is obviously unlikely to be an isolated incident, and the role of women.
During early spring 2013, I led an event in my capacity as Google Stu-
the message it sends that its OK for people to do such things and get -Anonymous
dent ambassador. It was held at the UPub. The event went fine. It was This white dude in my class keeps accidentally touching my boobs
away with it.
a trivia event and I was leading it in collaboration with another student and my butt when he walks by me. I always look at him and he says
org. I chatted with a few guys at the bar, nothing out of the ordinary. I have had negative experiences while doing research. This was not at sorry hon. Lately he touched between my legs and I hit him in his
At this point though, Im pretty sure most of the people involved or
I handed out swag and took photos and videos to document the event. UMass, but during my time at a different institutions, doing the same arm and he said oh hey whats up and still walking.. I cant believe
who might have helped identify this guy, are likely gone from UMass or
As I was packing my stuff to wrap up, one of these guys, apparently type of research I currently do. that people just dont say anything around me. I am sure it is not an
wouldnt remember anything anyway.
drunk, passed by on his way out of the pub and grabbed my buttock. -Anonymous accident anymore.
I probably said something like hey! or Whoa!, just a shocked reaction. -Anonymous
This is not the only negative sexual experience Ive ever had, but its
The guy walking with him (also from the bar) was seemingly ashamed
the only one Ive had at UMass. I have also experienced a negative
at his friends behavior but said, its ok, hes gay as he ushered him My most salient experience in an academic environment occured at
professional experience at a different workplace, which could arguably
away. (As if that somehow makes his behavior less hurtful.) another institution while I was working toward a masters degree. I Thankfully since starting my PhD program at UMass Amherst I have
be considered sexual harassment; and another assault situation which
was not in a professional setting. If you are interested in those, I could was close to my (male) advisor and we spent a lot of time togeth- never experienced or witnessed any sexual misconduct.
I was in complete shock. So I didnt think to get his name or anything. er (100% platonically; Im a woman and he is gay). However, another - Anonymous
share more details about that as well. These both preceded my arrival
It all happened very quickly and then they were gone. professor on the campus just assumed we were sleeping together, and
at UMass.
- Minsang kept making veiled remarks when he saw us together. One time, I saw
There was a girl standing next to me and I asked her if she saw it - she him near my apartment [which was close to campus]; at the time my After telling him that I do not want to have sex, my roommate told me
said no but could see from my reaction that I was very shocked. I told (male) boss was dropping off an on call phone for work, so was on that I will someday want to and told me sexually explicit stories about
her what happened but she had been looking the other way and only my doorstep. I saw the creepy professor at the campus center a few himself most nights before we went to sleep. He also made rude com-
Thankfully my current environmental is incredibly aware and respect-
heard my exchange with them after the fact. days later and he asked me who I had been talking to. When I said it ments about my partners clothing, although I do not think he realized
ful and I have not have any sexual misconduct experiences at this Uni-
versity was my boss and attempted to explain that he was dropping off some- that his comments were sexually coded.
I knew I had taken a photo of this guy during the event. So after a cou- thing for work, he cut me off with: oh, so hes *also* your supervisor. - Anonymous
- Anonymous
ple of days of trying to figure out who to contact (I didnt want to go This same professor also made some explicitly sexual comments to my
to the police) I contacted some university office. To be honest I dont advisor (directed at him). Im not positive that the creepy prof was
remember which office (though I could probably find out with some spreading rumors, but I had to correct a lot of misperceptions about Percentage ofWhoRespondents
Percentage Who
Have Experienced This Havein Experienced
Behavior an
There havent been any recently, thankfully, because I specifically These Behaviors in Setting
Academic an Academic Setting
effort, because I exchanged some emails with them). Maybe student the nature of my relationship with my advisor. My advisor later told
chose a safe environment this time around. It was hard to find, but
affairs or something but Im not sure. me in confidence that a different faculty member thought that I was Sexually Themedthemed
sexually Jokes or References
jokes or 93%
I decided that I was either going to find a safe place to work or not references
continue with science. interested in [that faculty member]; I had simply been friendly toward Innuendo
I went to talk to them and talked to some woman there. She was pret- that faculty member because they were new, and I wonder to what innuendo 90%
- Anonymous
ty dismissive in the sense that she said they couldnt do anything unless extent potential rumors might have influenced their impressions. Inappropriate references
inappropriate References to Your
to
Appearance
appearance 76%
I filed a police report. And even then nothing much was likely to happen.
Objectification
I said I wanted to try and resolve it without police involvement. I didnt
None right now. Previous institution, there was a lot of it. - Anonymous objectification 72%
want to create a permanent stain on this guys life for what seemed
- Coco
Being Hit On or Propositioned
being hit on or propositioned 65%
like a stupid drunk mistake. But I did want to see it addressed in some
manner. But they basically didnt do anything. This despite the fact that I work in EMS, a predominantly male field, and have had peers com- Unnecessary Physical Contact
unnecessary physical contact 62%
I had the guys photo and sent it to them. I was pretty sure at the ment on how I look in my uniform and make sexual jokes about women Negative Reactions to Pointing Out Sexual
While I have not myself been a subject of sexual harassment, I have negative reactions to pointing 56%
time that by asking around e.g. at the pub or asking anybody who was in front of me. Additionally, male patients frequently remark that I our Misconduct
sexual misconduct
heard first-hand reports of it in both my own department and more look good in uniform. Sexually Threatening Language
at that event, they could probably figure out who the guy was. sexually threatening language 54%
frequently in others. I find that in all cases, the subjects of the - Anonymous 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
harassment seek and struggle to find trustworthy peers for advice as
I ended up talking with some friends and they said maybe I could take
to how to address it. This is not easily taken or given in my experience.
write about experiences with sexual
it up with a different /other office, like the ombuds or something. By
I have personally only heard reports of sexual misconduct when one
that time I was pretty disillusioned from the dismissal I got and not
person involved is of a higher rank or position in the workplace. I have
being able to pursue the matter without police involvement, which I

misconduct in your current work/

also experienced a sense of discomfort with the general social and
wasnt comfortable with. Simultaneously, I had just found out I was
academic environment at the university which I have not experienced
pregnant. Since I needed all the energy I could get and this whole
at other institutions I have attended.
academic environment.
issue was emotionally draining, l decided not to pursue the matter any
- Alex Dubois
further.

SUBMITTED RESPONSES SEVENTEEN SUBMITTED RESPONSES EIGHTEEN


Subm i tt e D R e sp onse s
write about experiences with sexual
misconduct that have occurred outside
your work/academic environment that
have affected your academic progress
or education.
I was raped by a peer in my graduate program who I was dating at
the time.
- Elisabeth Baseman
I overheard disgusting conversations and jokes about transgender
people in the physics building of a community college, which caused me
to not be open about my gender identity. As a result of not coming out
at the community college, I was misgendered frequently, which caused
me to avoid the college and not work with my peers. At a different
college, some students got in an argument with me after class about
discrimination about transgender people, and the professor told me
that the conversation was not important. I have also had sexualized
slurs yelled at me from a car while I was biking home from work at a
summer internship.
- Anonymous
I always feel uncomfortable socializing at conferences, especially in
the evening events. Most of the social activities involve alcohol, and
frequently many people are intoxicated. Almost all of the work-related
sexual misconduct I have experienced has occurred at conferences,
so I stopped going to evening social events. Unfortunately, the evening
social events are where much of the networking occurs, and I feel like
I have missed out on research opportunities and summer jobs because
I havent been at the parties.
- Anonymous
I usually ignore the advances and catcalls that occur out of the
streets. Usually Im with friends who will stand up for me and so I
feel safer. It was actually safer for me outside the classroom with my
friends than it was in class where there are only 2 other girls out of
30 and they were also fighting for respect/inclusion. My professors
were always rolling their eyes at me because I would make up any
SUBMITTED RESPONSES
excuse to not be in class if it was possible and thought me to be lazy/
undedicated when really I was just intensely uncomfortable there.
- Anonymous
When I was 18, I was sexually assaulted at a house party. On the
dance floor, a larger guy came up behind me, pinned my body to him
and started kissing me. While I did not want this, I was fairly desen-
sitized to this type of male entitlement to my body. I didnt respond,
but I didnt object until he shoved his fingers into me. I have no idea if
he knew that I was struggling to get away or not, but he did even-
tually let me go. Three years later I went over to a friends house
to work on a problem set. It was the same house. Needless to say,
that problem set did not get finished that evening nor did any of my
other school work. Instead, I spent the evening combating aggressive
flashbacks and crying. At 21, I was raped repeatedly by someone I
was seeing casually. I didnt know how to label what had happened to
me until weeks later, just after my graduation from college. The first
rape occurred days before I had to defend my honors thesis. I was
unable to sleep regularly and closed doors gave me anxiety, which
made defending my thesis to a man very difficult. To this day, being
alone in a room with a man is very difficult. When seeking advice from
my program director I had to be alone in his relatively small office. I
had trouble articulating my concerns and issues because as soon as
the door closed I wanted nothing more than for the meeting to be
over. Similar things occurred when I had to be trained on equipment in
the department. Because men are predominantly in positions of power
in the science departments I am regularly faced with the challenge of
being alone with them in closed rooms. It becomes difficult to focus
on the information being given to me because I am solely focused on
getting out of the situation.
- Elaine
The retaliation for repeated physical assault was that 1. I was accused
of lying, then 2. The perpetrator started talking shit about me and
NINETEEN
my family, and how we were bad people and going to hell. Not having
people believe you and then having to move schools to avoid the evil
eye of the neighbors (and or being excommunicated from part of
your family) isnt exactly an ideal way to advance your education. Its
so distracting!
- Anonymous
I was raped by a professor at a conference. We were staying at
the same hotel the conference was and he invited bunch of us out to
dinner after poster session. He said over and over that we could leave
and go to bed but we would miss valuable advice about our careers
and advancement by not networking. He got very drunk and kept buy-
ing us drinks. He did not take no for a answer when we said we did not
want to drink anymore or we want to slow down. He said we were not
fun and no one wants to work with people when people are not fun.
After the bar was closing he said we should drink in his room because
the department was paying for the room and it was big. He said he
wanted us to be professors so we can have a good time at confer-
ences too. We went to his room and everybody was drunk and fell to
sleep. He said I was the most fun and he wanted to have even more
fun. He said he liked to know me even better. He kissed my neck and
put my hands on him. I did not know what I should do. He said I should
be more fun or he would think I do not like him anymore. He made us
have sex and then fell to sleep. I saw him again the next day but he did
not look at me.
- Anonymous
Abusive relationship caused me severe anxiety, that I have had for 7
years now. I am always paranoid, and very easily startled. Every day
I am worried about what is going to happen, even though in reality,
things are fine.
- Anonymous
unwanted sex with a peer while unconscious, sex without a condom
against my wishes
- Anonymous
In a previous masters program, I was TAing for a faculty member
that was always helpful and friendly. Once during a late night exam we
were proctoring, he grazed my nipples with his fingers as he took a
stack of collected exams from my arms. He apologized. I didnt want
to seem embarrassed, so said oh, thats ok, afraid to look him in the
eyes, and I walked away. Later he offered me a ride home for my
safety. He did not do any of this to my male TA peer. I didnt feel
that there was anyone I could report this behavior to. I decided not
to pursue a PhD at that institution.
- NotTheOne
SUBMITTED RESPONSES
I recently had to seek a restraining order against someone I dated
briefly while in undergrad. After we broke up, he alternated between
being very angry and very conciliatory, and repeatedly left flowers
and notes on the windshield of my car and even broke into my locker
at work to do the same. Eventually I stopped responding to his calls,
emails, and texts, and they slowed down (although they never stopped
completely). I figured when I moved to UMass I would be much safer
than when I lived in the same city as him. However, earlier this year I
received a text from an unknown Nebraska phone number that turned
out to be him, and he told me that he knew I was studying here and
that its really not so far from where he is, and hes looking forward
to spending some quality time together. At that point I went to the
police, who advised me strongly to seek a protection order.
I ended up having to go to court three separate times and faced two
judges who were quite reluctant to grant me the order, although I did
manage to talk them into it. When this person showed up to defend
himself (day 3 in court), he begged the judge not to grant me an
extension because he wants to enlist in the Marines and is worried that
the order will prohibit that. The judge granted me a 6 month extension
rather than the full year because of that.
Earlier this week, I found out Im being summoned as a witness in a
criminal case against him. Hes on probation for unrelated charges and
theyre accusing him of violating the probation based on my RO as
well as a few other things. Not only have I had to take three days off
of work already for this craziness, I now also have to take anoth-
er day (if not more) for the trial. And of course, the day that Im
being summoned to court is a day that Ive had scheduled for a very
time-sensitive experiment (I need to do something every four weeks,
so this has been on the books for almost two months now). Im in-
credibly frustrated and upset that this got in the way of my course-
work during the spring semester and is now getting in the way of a
very critical part of my research. Im lucky that my adviser has been
extremely understanding and sympathetic about the situation, but
Im starting to feel like the problem child of the lab. This is the second
summer in a row that Ive had personal problems that were getting in
the way of my graduate career, and it feels really crappy to have to
continually have these kinds of conversations with him.
- Dina
After finally realizing and admitting to myself that I had been previ-
ously assaulted, my PTSD symptoms made it almost impossible to think
about anything else. I almost failed 3 high school classes because I
couldnt concentrate. My GPA plumetted right before college admis-
sion season. I was told that trying to explain my situation to potential
colleges would probably cause admissions officers to view my charac-
ter negatively and make my chances of getting accepted even more
unlikely.
- Maggie
TWENTY
A member of my family sexually, physically, and verbally abused an-
other close family member of mine for a long period of time outside
my knowledge, and at least 8 years after the abuse ceased, I still deal
with the associated guilt and and trauma of the abuse.
- Alex Dubois
I was a junior in high school and I was raped by one of my friends
boyfriends friends who was a freshman in college. I have not told my
family about what happened which has caused my depression to wors-
en and I was put on anti-depressants.
- Anonymous
Child molestation
- Coco
When I was in my freshman year of college here at UMass, I fell head
over heels for this one senior, who shall remain nameless for privacy
reasons. He was in a fraternity that my sorority didnt always hang
out with, so it was a nice break from the norm I always expected on
the weekends. At first, our relationship was picture perfect. We were
practically best friends, and noticed that we both had strong feelings
for each other. However, we understood that the age gap and also our
racial backgrounds would never permit it, being that he came from a
culture that didnt accept mine. Once I started to drift away for my
own sake, it became a nightmare. When I would take my friends out
to pizza on the weekend, I would get a dozen texts just asking where
I was, and questioning who I was with. It got to the point where I
would have to shut my phone off just to enjoy my night. When I would
return back at his apartment later that night, I would get yelled at for
hanging out with the opposite sex, and was told that I would never
find love because I dont have respect for myself.
- Anonymous
Thankfully life has been better recently. I see my friends going
through things and it still affects me.
- Anonymous
write about experiences with sexual
misconduct that have occurred outside
your work/academic environment that
have affected your academic progress
or education.
SUBMITTED RESPONSES
Thankfully, the worst Ive seen is a few eye-roll-worthy situations
and some fatherly-type behavior from people who should be peers.
Amherst is a good place compared to a lot of the country.
- Anonymous
I was raped in undergrad by a friend. It distracted me from my stud-
ies and was constantly on my mind in the following semester.
- Anonymous
I had a close friend who was sexually assaulted in our dorm fresh-
man year and she used to come and talk to me about it. It was very
troubling to listen to but it was important that someone else knew. She
never told anyone else other than me and some other close friends.
- Anonymous
I was sexually assaulted by a peer at the beginning of my freshman
year. I was drunk, and it took me over a year to come to terms with
what happened to me. Although the next day, I did realize what had
happened was not consensual, I continually denied it to myself and
didnt talk about what it was until over a year later. Because I was
drunk, I often blame myself for what happened. Was I being too
flirty? Did it seem like I wanted it? I said no and pushed him off of
me, but he did not listen. I was not incapacitated when we left the
party together, but I was by the time we were in bed. I have these
blaming thoughts a lot, and they often affect my mental health and
prevent me from reporting the assault. He is in the same major as
I am, so I have classes with him every single semester. I hate being
around him. Sometimes I have to work with him, and that makes me
feel terrible, like I cant breathe. - Anonymous
Mostly Ive experienced men telling me that Im only successful in en-
gineering because Im a female and people want me around to look at,
and then they proceed to try to flirt, grab my ass, etc. Its unpleasant
and I leave the situation immediately but it makes feeling confident in
my abilities difficult at times. - Anonymous
TWENTY ONE
S ub m i t t e D R e s p o n s e s
write about any retaliation you
experienced as a result of this/these
incidence(s).
After I resorted to starting a website and speaking out to my peers Yes. My PI loved this person, and punished me for reporting him. I was
because nothing else I tried resulted in any response, I suddenly mistrusted, cut out of projects, and deemed incompetent and undedi-
received an email saying that changes had been made to my CICS cated..
account. It could have been an accident, but it made me very uncom- - Anonymous
fortable. Also, after I reported the assault to the police, the police
detective tried to contact the Dean of Students office for information
about my case. The office not only refused, but tried to find out my One of the faculty that had harassed me have pulled me into his office
name from the investigator. and asked me if I had any hard feelings and wouldnt let me leave his
- Elisabeth Baseman office until I said no.
- NotTheOne
Members of my own sorority came up to me and accused me of be-
ing malicious to that specific fraternity or group of men, only because
Other teachers at my school lost respect for me, stopped socializing
I refused to participate in certain activities with them for my own
with me in the same ways we had previously. It was clear that the
wellbeing.
staff was upset with me, and instead of supporting me, they judged
- Anonymous
me and shunned me.
- Anonymous
I started on anti-depressants. I see a therapist and I have no motiva-
tion to be loved by any male at this point in my life.
My friend who I confided in has victim blamed me. She said that she
- Anonymous
thought I wanted to be with him and leave with him, and that she tried
to stop me but it seemed like I wanted to be with him.
- Anonymous
I was doing residency in surgery and my cutwork was completely
blocked. I was declared a troublemaker. My chief didnt make me the
chief resident as the people who were involved in harassment were
My teaching assignment was changed in the middle of the semester to
the ones voting for the chief residency and they knew I wouldnt get
move me away from my harasser, which was a huge relief. However,
intimidated and might cause actual trouble for them since people pay
since people didnt know why I had been moved so suddenly, it became
attention to someone who is in power.
a huge topic of gossip around the department.
- Coco
- Gayle
I currently face experiences where any concerns I bring up are often
brushed aside due to my earlier attempts at making reports. This isnt really retaliation per se, but was a detrimental effect of
- Anonymous
sharing my story - I told someone who was once my best friend that
I had been raped and she told me it wasnt rape because I went there
willingly. She asked why I didnt talk to my rapist and explain why I was
I had to find a whole new thesis project after a year of work uncomfortable. This has basically ended our relationship
- Anonymous - Elaine
SUBMITTED RESPONSES TWENTY TWO

S u bm i tt e D R e sp on se s
did fear of retaliation affect your decision
to report this/these experience(s)?
Yes, the person who harassed me had a tendency of blaming me for
his behavior and he previously told me that he did the things he did to
get back at me. He said that I wasnt clear that I didnt want his ad-
vances and it was my fault for him not being able to control himself. He
also said that the reason he wanted to make me suffer was because
I made him suffer a year ago by telling him that I just wanted to be
friends and nothing more.
- Anonymous
I did not want to report the sexual joke made by my students because
I was afraid that they would use the incident as a justification for
saying that my grading was biased, and I would lose my TA position,
which funds my education.
- Jennett Chenevert
Definitely, I was often alone with this person at odd hours of the
night, and he held several positions of power over me. For starters, he
was the gatekeeper for the actual barrier keeping me from leaving the
building, and he was a large, tall man who could easily over power me.
I was very worried that my complaints against his incessant roman-
tic propositions would fall on deaf ears if reported, and worse, the
reports would get back to him and cause him to know of my rejection.
I do not know how he would handle rejection and did NOT want to find
out at 10 pm, alone in a closed concrete structure. - Anonymous
Absolutely. Since it wasnt legally harassment I felt I would be per-
ceived as making a big deal about nothing and that the negative
memory of any complaint would surround me and not my advisor. Many
women know that retaliation is rarely obvious and provable; Ive had
many conversations about how it can be impossible to tell if you are
being mistreated because of your gender or race, or if someone would
be an asshole to you regardless of these statuses. Not knowing if being
treated poorly is connected to bias adds a level of stress to daily life.
- Anonymous
Yes - even writing this might be giving off too much information. More
importantly, I dont want the other two female grad students dis-
cussed in that conversation to experience retaliation, either.
- Anonymous
SUBMITTED RESPONSES
Now that I think more about it, it wasnt really fear of retaliation in
the usual ways, but more of a feeling of pointlessness since no one
would take me seriously, or would blame me for soliciting it somehow.
Also fear of being further ostracized for reporting the popular guy
who has many more friends and much more social currency than you
do.
- Anonymous
In my experience, where I was falsely rumored to be sleeping with my
advisor, I told. my advisor, but I think we both felt wary of inviting
scrutiny, and of potential repercussions. I know that male professors
can be viewed with a lot of suspicion in regards to female students.
I didnt want to put my advisor under the microscope. For myself, I
was concerned that people might think I was being too sensitive or
overreacting. In some ways I felt like the rumor that I was sleeping
with my advisor was less potentially damaging to my career than me
making a complaint and risking retaliation [given that the rumor was
100% untrue].
- Anonymous
Yes. I was scared of how my mental illnesses, sexual history, and level
of intoxication would be viewed had I chosen to report. In addition, I
was aware that there would be almost no physical evidence, so I would
have faced the difficulties of the school hearing/trial and received no
justice. - Elaine
Who do you talk to when this happens? - Anonymous
Yes. When my parents found out, they told me I had to report it to the
principal. I did not want to report it, though, as at the time I thought
it had all been consensual. I also knew that everyone would hate me
for reporting him, as he was a generally well-loved teacher. My mother
ultimately encouraged me to report it though, because of the experi-
ences she had with sexual assault. It wasnt until I reported it and was
being interviewed by the school district officials that I realized how
abusive he had actually been. I am thankful I reported it now, but at
the time the fear of retaliation was palpable - Anonymous
TWENTY THREE
Yes. He would fight the accusation because Im sure he thinks it was
consensual, and because I was drunk, my view of the situation being
not consensual would not be enough.
- Anonymous
Yes, absolutely - when I decided to report the sexual harassment I
was experiencing I was constantly imagining all of the ways I could be
retaliated against. They ranged from fairly likely to extremely unlikely,
but I couldnt stop obsessively thinking about all of them. Ultimately I
was too afraid of retaliation to file an official complaint, although even
the interim measures that EO&D took to remove me from the situation
opened me up to more possibility of retaliation than I was comfort-
able with.
- Gayle
I did not want to report, but cannot really express the reasons for
this. It was not fear of retaliation, but fear or discomfort more
generally.
- Anonymous
Yes I thought I would fail class.
- Anonymous
Yes. I was afraid that his fraternity would exile me out of their lives,
and my own sisters would look down on me. We both had dozens of
mutual friends, so whenever there was a fight, people would know
about it within hours.
- Anonymous
No. Retaliation happened. I stopped complaining because nobody lis-
tened. Or cared.
- Coco
Yes. He was the head of the department, and the professor of one of
Not really. I didnt want to deal with any consequences of reporting
however and I was confused about my feelings for my assaulter as a
friend and as someone who assaulted me.
- Anonymous
did fear of retaliation affect your decision
to report this/these experience(s)?
SUBMITTED RESPONSES
Yes. I dont want to gain a reputation for rocking the boat in my
program. I dont want to be seen as someone who is oversensitive or
cant handle discussion. And most of all, I dont want to have the
people in power gaslight me into thinking that it wasnt as bad as I
thought it was, and I should just get over it, and Im being unreason-
able, because then Ill probably cry from rage and my reputation will
be even more unstable.
- Anonymous
I could not fully report the experience because the school had threat-
ened me with mental institutionalization if I reported.
- Anonymous
Yes, absolutely. I let this person harass me for four years because I
was worried that if I sought a restraining order it would be seen by
him as an escalation and that he would respond in kind. So even though
I felt very uncomfortable about his continued attempts to get in touch
despite making it clear I wanted nothing to do with him, I tried to just
put up with it for as long as I could.
- Dina
Yes, I did not want to bring my family into the hostile environment.
- Anonymous
I was afraid that I would not be able to find a supportive faculty
advisor & committee members if I reported the harassment. I also
fear that it will affect my ability to get a job.
- NotTheOne
Yes. I confided in a female faculty member who said she would re-
spect any decision I made, but wanted to reinforce that the conversa-
tion between the perpetrator was grounds for reporting harassment.
- Anonymous
the main courses that I was taking that semester.
- Anonymous
Yes. I was completely dependent on my coworker for various tasks.
- Mary Anderson
TWENTY FOUR
 Status-
I hope people believe you youre worthless. You would be nothing if it werent for me
and you do not get in
you look like shit today, did you put on any makeup?- Professor
trouble Well youre my girlfriend, you have to have sex with me
Professors do absolutely nothing to help, and in fact contribute to the boys-club rape-y atmosphere. If one were to
why didnt she get up and walk away? you have ANOTHER boyfriend? When is it MY turn?
fix this problem, theyd be who I start with.
youre a white male. Youll have a hard time you should know by my tone Im glad I found this thing. I was about to ask if you hid it someplace
finding a job after you finish your degree. then quit grad school and have babies! I shouldnt go looking. Well, at least without asking your boyfriend
-department head -American peer to international student first.-male postdoc to female grad students on missing equipment
This, this is calculus. Do not panic!- Male professor to an all female thermodynamics class
how have you been systematically oppressed?!- Male Professor to female student of color in one on one meeting
its ok, hes gay - said about a guy who grabbed my butt at a UMass event
I thought you wanted it!-my friend Aww, he likes you so much. He just wants to be with you all the time. He cant help it! -advice about the

Quotable
person harassing me
either you shut up or no one will have a problem with me choking
you with my cock until you do! - ex-classmate
you were in Prof []s office for a long time yesterday. Were you on your knees? Male classmate
Who cares? If it helps you get ahead, you should just do it!

you know, I fought for your application to be accepted to this program we may be able to conduct a survey to see if there really is a problem.- Department
are you going to see your professor boyfriend? or should I call him your work flirt? Chair, after being told that I was raped you have a lot to learn young lady!
Im trying to excite you, Gayle! About science I mean- I have to be careful what I say! -Male Professor in front of whole class
youre a girl. youre not supposed to have [intelligence, opinion,
if [student] and I break up, shell cry, but thats ok!- male prof about student in class
voice, questions]. youre not supposed to be here!
sometimes It feels like absolutely no-one is listening I left grad well, I really dont see the threat in what he said to you- Judge
Dont think it wont happen to you, because I thought the same thing.
school because I I hope to see you later- male graduate student, with
shes so uptight. Let me loosen her up for you. Then well finally get was raped
somewhere maybe- Male postdoc about a grad student IE are bitches though. More like imaginary engineers - guy on date. his hands on my hips, after discussing my science at a
youll never find love because you dont have respect for yourself come on, we both know this is consensual conference

moments
aggregation is like pregnancy, you either are or you arent - Professor at a group presentation by predominantly women
You need to stop buying into the victim narrative- Male professor to me, a
rape survivor, in a 1 on 1 meeting be careful - special edition respondent

S ubm i tt e D R e sp on se s
how have this/these experience(s)
affected your decision-making about
your career and education?
When considering schools, I only applied to departments that had a
female professor in non-life related studies because I wanted access
to a female in my field. This seriously limited where I was willing to
apply, but I had to prioritize having a female potential advisor/mentor
over vast school selection.
- Elaine
I wanted to learn a new technique but I had to give up because it
required contacting/communicating with the person who was harassing
me.
- Anonymous
Not really. After it happens enough times and with sufficient support
from close friends, you learn that the people doing this stuff are gen-
erally jealous, insecure, and crazy. You kind of learn to pity them. And
honestly, in most cases what goes around has come around (divorce,
sudden death, loss of employment for other reasons...). And there are
enough good mentors out there that it is OK.
- Anonymous
It definitely has been difficult being in the same biochemistry classes.
I am switching my major to biology, but Im not sure if my assault had
anything to do with it.
- Anonymous
No I have a clear plan of what I want and where Im going.
- Anonymous
I left my PhD program with a masters degree because no one would
support me after I was sexually assaulted.
- Elisabeth Baseman
Yes, this made me reconsider going to graduate school. However,
I have had no further experiences to this extent at UMass. I have
experienced some issues, such as a flasher, catcalling, excessively being
hit on, etc. while traveling for research but this is something that I
SUBMITTED RESPONSES
experience outside of academia as well. While I have decided I will put
up with the risks and problems of traveling alone as a woman, both
for research and non research related travel, I worry that this may
be a deterring factor for other women in academia, especially when
going certain places. I feel that this is a major issue not discussed in
my discipline, because I have often been made fun of (mainly by male
colleagues) for choosing to travel to safe places. I dont think they
understand the factors that are likely shaping me unconsciously to
choose to avoid certain places.
- Anonymous
I was considering transferring schools because of it.
- Anonymous
I switched my research focus, and lost interest in that discipline. I also
experienced trouble focusing on the class the following semester (I
retook the class, offered by a different professor).
- Anonymous
I left surgery despite being very good at it. I could not beg for oper-
ative work or play by their rules where harassment or inappropriate
touching was OK because I was given a laparoscopic cholecystectomy.
- Coco
Of course I will never be in a relationship with my teacher again.
- Anonymous
I almost quit graduate school many times, and became very de-
pressed. I had decided to leave academia altogether when a PI who is
a great person convinced me that their lab was a safe place where I
could do science without having to deal with disgusting bullshit.
- Anonymous
I had to switch groups. I will consider switching fields if I feel uncom-
fortable in my present department.
- Anonymous
TWENTY SEVEN
Im going to make sure I never read or cite anything by that re-
searcher. Im so suspicious of old white men who are lauded as
scientific visionaries, even though some of them truly are brilliant and
kind and nice. I dont know if I can hack it in academia but I hope
I can because someday I want to be powerful enough to put a stop
to things like this. I want to be the person in power who says, this is
unacceptable.
- Anonymous
I did my masters at a much less reputable school because of sexual
misconduct that I experienced with some potential advisors.
- Anonymous
This person was not and is not affiliated with either my undergrad-
uate or my graduate institution. I was relieved to be leaving my
undergrad city because of the situation, but I wouldnt say that its
affected my decision making about my career or education.
- Dina
My husband was angry and would not allow me to come back to the
university.
- Anonymous
It has made me want to help the people with no voices. I want to
speak up for people who are afraid or cannot speak up.
- Anonymous
I eventually did go to graduate school, and get a Ph.D. Most people
in grad school were in relationships and didnt bother me, although I
was accused of trying to break up some of their relationships just by
physically existing.
- Anonymous
I have been trying to come up with ways to disclose my gender iden-
tity to professors and employers before meeting them so that I can
find out if the class/workplace is safe before entering it.
- Anonymous
how have this/these experience(s)
affected your decision-making about
your career and education?
SUBMITTED RESPONSES
Has given me resolve to never work with that person again and make
sure that, at all costs, that person and I never interact socially
- Anonymous
My path to a PhD has been a lot longer and more complicated because
I changed institutions and professions as a result of early sexual
misconduct I experienced..
- NotTheOne
It did not affect decisions about my career or education but it defi-
nitely affects how I perceive sexual violence and my belief in the need
for awareness and education.
- Anonymous
I pulled back from interacting with the individual, which I think had
a negative affect on our advisor/student relationship. Other things
happened over the next several months to lead to a souring of our
relationship, which the advisor eventually picked up on, and then was
resentful of. So there is a big black spot on my time at UMass. If I
hadnt had an outside job that was fulfilling I dont know what I would
have done.
- Anonymous
Well, it contributed to a round of therapy that ultimately led to very
positive outcomes. But it raised, for me, some serious questions about
whether I should alter my appearance when searching for a job and
led me to discuss, with trusted advisors, how to get men to take me
seriously in academia.
- Anonymous
Coworker who performs sexual misconduct has already been repri-
manded/investigated but continues to work here and be inappropriate.
This has contributed to my disappointment with academia overall
- Mary Anderson
I decided it was never worth being surrounded by men in my work
environment which meant I had to switch fields out of science.
-Anonymous
TWENTY EIGHT

Subm i tt e D R e sp onse s
how do you think this/these experience(s)
will affect your future career trajectory?
My experience is with objectification. Because of it, I am often self
conscious about my physique and wary about being ogled and treated
as an object rather than as a person when I deal with men, includ-
ing those with power. Nonetheless, I am pursuing my dream. I am a
humanitarian respecter of human rights and expect the same in return
so it is disappointing to deal with this. I have had to speak up in the
workplace (non-academic) in the past, and sexism in all of its forms
is prevalent in the world, so there is no benefit in allowing it to affect
me in a way that would negatively impact my future, I believe that we
cannot allow it to do so. At the end of the day, we have a lot to do to
educate the world about how to treat one another, regardless of any
perceived difference, including sex or gender. I see humanity rather
than categories personally, but there is a lot of hatred in the world.
In any case, womens issues are massive and profound in terms of
violence on so many levels, so we have to fight the good fight and stay
strong.
- Dream
Its hard to say. Part of me doesnt care because I thought this
person had questionable judgment and was slightly shifty before this
incident even occurred.
- Anonymous
I am not ever going to be part of a department where Im a vulnera-
ble minority, and now I know better than to trust professors.
- Anonymous
I am not sure. I will make better decisions.
- Anonymous
No I have a clear plan of what I want and where Im going.
- Anonymous
I changed majors for a few unrelated reasons but part of me regrets
it because I miss my first major every day.
- Anonymous
SUBMITTED RESPONSES
Meetings will always be difficult for me. Decisions to attend confer-
ences will also be determined partially based on how my mental health
is. Because of my PTSD crowded places where I will be unintentionally
touched can be devastating and must be avoided at times. College cam-
puses can also be difficult, which is a problem given that I want to be
a professor.
Im sure there will be more ways that my career will be deterred by
this, but these are the only ones I can think of.
- Elaine
I dont work with men unless I have surveyed many people on their
behaviour first.
- Anonymous
I dont know.
- Anonymous
I think that skipping conference parties had led to fewer opportunities
for me to collaborate, and has resulted in me having a much smaller
publication history than male members of my cohort.
- Anonymous
I was pretty sure I didnt want to go into academia anyway, but expe-
riencing how large of a role sexual misconduct plays in the culture of
STEM academic settings has hugely reaffirmed this. Ive already ex-
perienced it in small ways in my short time in graduate school, like how
so many jokes and sexual advances are considered completely normal,
and so, so many women I know here have experienced much worse. Im
worried that if I were to stay in academia it would just be a matter
of time before those much worse stories become my own stories.
- Gayle
I will go into the field of therapy for teen girls
- Anonymous
TWENTY NINE
I think I will always have to be aware of rumors and be mindful of
how people might perceive me/be talking about me. I also dont think
Ill ever apply to work at my old university.
- Anonymous
I probably wont ever finish my PhD.
- Elisabeth Baseman
I was sexually harassed as a child. As a result I prefer to not work
with male mentors. I have only one and Im still distant just to be on
the safe side. Because I expect that there will be many men in my hir-
ing department post graduate school, this could cause some conflicts.
Ive heard that older senior male professors sometimes feel entitled
and expect junior faculty to ask them for their opinions and advice
on works in progress. Ive also heard (from women senior and junior
professors) that women that do not go this route may be labeled and
regarded negatively. If such is that case, I may face some difficul-
ties due to this trauma I have experienced with men. I am not too
concerned, however.
- Anonymous
Absolutely. I refuse to ever be in that degrading of a situation again.
If there is nowhere in academia where people can be respectful and
sane, then I will leave. Eventually everyone will leave and psychopaths
will run the world, but maybe thats already happening.
- Anonymous
As it has been 10 years since this happened, I believe this is now back
on the past. I did fought several demons to arrive at the point that I
am right now.
- Anonymous
Never going into academia. Going straight to industry. I cant work in
an environment where people arent held accountable for their actions.
- Anonymous
It has shaped my awareness of the capabilities and lack thereof
how do you think this/these experience(s)
will affect your future career trajectory?
SUBMITTED RESPONSES
concerning faculty and administration at large Universities. When I
enter the job market, I know that the Departments capability to deal
with allegations of abuse will be an important factor in my estimation
of their character.
- Alex Dubois
I do not see these experiences having a direct impact on my future
career but they have impacted my person in other ways.
- Anonymous
I dont know yet. I hope they wont harm it.
- Anonymous
They wont.
-Anonymous
Not sure. I am very resilient and strong but even a strong, resilient
person cannot fight a system of harassment. One thing I am sure
about is, I am not going to stop fighting this injustice.
- Coco
I worry constantly about what my physical appearance will mean
for me on the job market. These people objectified me, not knowing
anything about me other than what I look like, a few exchanged pleas-
antries in the hallway, and my academic record, and yet they felt the
need to discuss, in no uncertain terms, my sex life. I get it - I suppose
I dont look the part of a professor, but that doesnt mean I dont
take my career and academics seriously. My parents would call when
I was at college to try to convince me to actually ATTEND a party,
for goodness sake. If my own colleagues treat me this way, how will
someone hiring me ever take me seriously? Before the incident, I had
never considered these sorts of fears.
- Anonymous
I wanted to go into academia as a professor, but I no longer think I
can tolerate working in that environment if this is the way my col-
leagues behave without consequence.
- NotTheOne
THIRTY
 Su bm i tt e D R e sp onse s
How have these experiences affected your
ability to participate in common and/or
necessary academic situations?
I am afraid to work on the same floor with the faculty that have
sexually harassed me. I am unwilling to take courses from them, go to
networking events with them, or ask them for academic advice rele-
vant to my research area, because all interaction with them comes at
a cost (a hug, a touch, a sexually explicit joke...)
- NotTheOne
I dont trust professors or other physically powerful white men.
Theyre everywhere
- Anonymous
Group work in my classes with him makes me incredibly anxious
- Anonymous
I point blank refuse to interact with the professor in question and the
students he invited on that evening. I have slipped multiple times and
said that I despise this man and will not attend events where he will
be, and I keep a healthy distance from the students involved.
- Anonymous
I jumped ship on a project early to avoid having to continue to work
with a collaborator
- Anonymous
My teaching assignment was changed to move me away from the pro-
fessor who was harassing me, but my new teaching assignment and my
office hours are in the same (relatively small) building that he works
in. I am constantly checking around for him and extremely anxious
anytime I have to be in this building - which is 4 out of 5 days every
week. I already suffer from chronic anxiety, so this feels like such a
burden to add on to all of the stressors I already deal with in grad
school. Even though the stressor of actually being in class with him was
removed, it feels like there is no way Ill be able to stop experiencing
this secondhand anxiety as a result of what he did while Im still here
at UMass.
- Gayle
SUBMITTED RESPONSES
Im always self conscious of having to limit the way I talk as to not
come off as too direct or bitchy
- Anonymous
I did poorly at the community college because I did not study with the
other students.
- Anonymous
Again - I see that there is a power differential where resources (net-
work opportunities and raship etc) are more at the disposal among
older male white faculty. Im sure my inability to connect with these
people has limited opportunities for me in some ways.
- Anonymous
I have a much smaller academic network, and I know fewer people in
my field
- Anonymous
I just dont want to owe this man anything, and since I severed ties
after the incident, Im less worried about it. Im angry with him for so
many other reasons, whats harassment on top of it?
- Anonymous
Well, I stopped going in to the department except for necessary
meetings and classes, and eventually left.
- Elisabeth Baseman
I am more cautious and reserved about interactions in these types of
academic situations. I try to make it very clear that my interests (in
speakers, etc.) are purely academic. I am almost exclusively consider-
ing female postdoc advisors/supervisors. - Anonymous
I do not go to meetings in offices.
- Anonymous
THIRTY ONE
I have seen that nothing as it seems. I used to look at things from a
big picture standpoint, but now I look at everything under a micro-
scope, fine-tuning every detail.
- Anonymous
I wish to avoid being patronized, and even women faculty can do that,
but when sexualized and objectified, I wish to avoid such things at all
costs and it is a prohibitive concern. In terms of the latter two forms
of experience, I do not want the attention. I try to accept that it
happens, but how would men like it if we stared at them in that way
and constantly sexualized or even patronized them? I avoid events at
times, and talking to some faculty for any of these reasons, for I do
seriously hate feeling patronized, even if it has happened remotely or
slightly, and I feel that it limits my education and ability to network. I
force myself at times, but other times I avoid
- Dream
I feel like literally no one cares about me at all. I feel like my male
counterparts get so much feedback, constructive criticism, and
collaboration opportunities, while professors dont listen to what I
say, or even acknowledge my existence sometimes. I feel like all my
research is completely ignored.
- Anonymous
I did not go to lab meetings or talk to my other lab mates about my
projects because I was afraid of seeing the person
- Anonymous
Yes. One-on-one meetings with male professors and group work can be
very challenging for me, particularly with more aggressive male peers.
- Elaine
I am more careful, and I always trust my instincts. I also feel that I
can be sometimes less personable when in a work setting.
- Anonymous
How have these experiences affected your
ability to participate in common and/or
necessary academic situations?
SUBMITTED RESPONSES
Editors Note
To our advisors:
You have the capacity to change how you interact with us. You
have the ability to fundamentally improve our experiences as
graduate women. But first, you need to recognize that these
problems are pervasive and impact many of the students you
interact with on a daily basis.
Notice your own assumptions. If someone is consistently miss-
ing from lab meetings or working unusual hours, ask yourself
why that might be. Id bet the answer isnt shes lazy or she
doesnt want to be here.
Maybe shes avoiding someone. Maybe shes withdrawing be-
cause she has trouble interacting with people who hurt her.
Maybe the environment she works in makes it impossible for
her to be there. Stop tossing accusations, and start from a
place of concern.
Remember - you are in a position of power here, and you can
steer the conversation and dictate its tone. There is no better
time to start than now. Your students are counting on you.
Mindfully yours,
Dina Navon, GQM Editor
When evaluating, consider:
Some form of sexual
misconduct was experienced by
of our respondents,
within their current work or
academic environment
THIRTY TWO

Su bm i tt e D R e sp onse s
how did this/these experience(s) affect
your ability to meet your academic
goals and objectives?
I dealt with the process of reporting a professor for sexual
harassment while in the middle of preparing for a crucial oral exam
that would determine my PhD candidacy. I was lucky to have several
advocates and a solid support system during my reporting process,
and compared to some stories I have heard my reporting went
smoothly. However, despite all of that, reporting made me a nervous
wreck. I was constantly imagining ways I could be retaliated against
and possible confrontations I might have to have with my harasser.
I couldnt stop doubting that reporting him was worth it and that I
wasnt just overreacting. I was sleeping poorly because I kept having
nightmares about him. All of this would have been grueling to deal with
even at a time when I had an average workload, but going through
this during my oral exam was hell. The anxiety and self-doubt and
depression and uncertainty caused by preparing for my exam fed into
the feelings brought up by reporting, and vice versa. I spent almost
two months feeling completely miserable and not myself at all. When
I finally passed my exam and finished reporting, I didnt even feel
accomplished. Part of me wished that I had failed the exam because
I was so unhappy being here and that would be an excuse to leave
without feeling like I was just giving up.
- Gayle
I didnt meet my goals. I didnt get my PhD because I was raped.
- Elisabeth Baseman
I am switching projects completely having gone 3/4 of the way to
finishing what would be my dissertation.
- Anonymous
Not being able to work with this person delayed my progress
significantly because my PI allowed him to insert himself into all of my
projects and collaborations. I was excluded from a paper and another
project altogether, which later died for lack of maintenance.
- Anonymous
Took forever to pass the cumulative exams, because it was so difficult
to find someone who could really help me. Luckily another student
tutored me, and with their help, I passed. - Anonymous
SUBMITTED RESPONSES
Avoiding being in the physical spaces where my education happened
delayed my graduation and ruined my GPA. I was very distracted and
really depressed for some time, which affected my ability to do the
tough engineering curriculum. I felt too worthless, and found little point
in putting in too much effort. - Anonymous
Had to ignore experiences to accomplish work tasks
- Mary Anderson
Like I said before, this has definitely gotten in the way of my
research and other schoolwork. There were a few weeks, just after
I was granted the emergency restraining order, where I had a lot of
trouble sleeping because I was terrified he was going to retaliate. Im
a single woman living alone in a place with an entire back wall made of
glass - it wouldnt be that hard for him to break in. There was a point
where one of my friends and her husband stayed with me because I
was sleeping better with someone else in the house. I still get spooked
at night sometimes when I hear things downstairs, even though I live
in a complex and share a wall with other people (so hearing things at
night isnt exactly an unusual occurrence). The lack of sleep due to
fear really hurt my ability to concentrate at work. And thats not to
mention the sheer amount of time and energy its taken me to figure
out the legal system and represent myself as best as possible. Ive
I could not finalize my thesis and couldnt go for board certification.
had to do research on lawyers. Ive had to take time off work and I
very rarely get to dictate when that happens - the courts hand you
a day and a time and if you dont show up youre screwed. Often, I
would be called in at 9am but they wouldnt actually call my case until
noon or later. Once I got out of court, I wasnt really in an emotionally
stable place and often had to take a few hours to decompress before
I got back to work. Its exhausting, and every time I think I can maybe
start to move past it, something else happens.
- Dina
It is really just one extra damn thing I have to be aware of/pay
attention to. I already have to appear competent and also be seen as
nice/warm, but now I have to be extra careful that being nice/warm
isnt misconstrued.
- Anonymous
THIRTY THREE
Everything takes more effort because Im scared of a lot. It will most
likely slow down my progression towards my degree, make interviewing
significantly more difficult, and decrease my success rate at confer-
ences.
- Elaine
The research was more difficult to complete. I was not able to focus
very well, and had to avoid many situations. I continue to be more
cautious than my male colleagues.
- Anonymous
I feel proud that I have a supportive women led team of mentors. I
have met my goals with their help.
- Anonymous
I will not let things such as patronization or objectification affect
me in an ultimate sense academically or professionally, as I am the
agent of my destiny. However, it makes me angry and disgusted to
experience these things, and I do feel that sometimes I am limited
due to my avoidance of events or talking to people at times, because
I wish to avoid these types of interactions. The potential is too great! self conscious and try to hide in the shadows then I get criticized for
Choices are a part of life, and I will not allow poor behavior to cloud my lack of confidence . Its really hard to network in a group of all men
my future!
- Dream decide to make you the object of unwanted sexual advances or violence.
It delayed my graduation date (I had to take an extra semester).
But life went on after this happened, and I did not gave up. I also had
a good support network, and I also did a great amount of therapy.
- Anonymous
- Coco
Having fewer options for academic mentoring, networking
opportunities and access to equipment has an impact on the types of
research I can comfortably work on.
- NotTheOne
how did this/these experience(s) affect
your ability to meet your academic
goals and objectives?
SUBMITTED RESPONSES
I could not go to lab for about a month and had to delay my project
because I was scared of what the person could do.
- Anonymous
I place a lot of blame on myself - Anonymous
After I was assaulted I struggled to complete my academic assignments
in the immediate week after. It was also an impediment to my interviewing
for grad schools and final semester of college as it very often intruded
my thoughts.
- Anonymous
The combination of being assaulted and harrassed and being implicitly
blamed for those things has completely eroded my self confidence and
any feeling that I could ever exist in an academic position. My friendly
personality is seen as inviting to sexual advances, my clothing is seen as
too sexy (when it fits) or unprofessional or sloppy (when its baggy),
the same outgoing networking stategies that men employ are considered
flirtatious... I could go on, but it mostly means I cant win. I walk around
(which usually happens in my field) when any or many of them could just
People say dont put myself in that position, well, I guess that means I
dont get to do science. I know they will say I chose to leave because
that confirms what they always thought about me anyway.
-Anonymous
I was removed from a joint project between my research group and
one in another department because I refused to go to meetings alone
in the other professors office. My PI was always traveling and the
other professor was known for touching and speaking inappropriately
to female students , including me. I was willing to interact with him in
public, but wouldnt go to a closed-door meeting in his office. My PI
told said he was removing me from the project because he was disap-
pointed that I couldnt tow the line while he was away, and put his
(male) postdoc on it instead. It was great science; I would have liked
to be a part of it.
-Anonymous
THIRTY FOUR
 personal
violence
80

Almost Daily Frequently Sometimes Rarely Never

Respondent 70

7 5 experience inside
Demographics 60
9
16
24
19
current academic
environments,
13 26
30

by university
31
50

HFA MED
12

by frequency
23 11

UMass Amherst 40
23
15 19 6

SBS CNS 30
17
> 50% of our respondents
Ages that Respondents Experienced
24
17

17

Other Schools 20
experienced every one of
23 17 14

10
14 Sexual Misconduct
21
these behaviors 10
10
8

Other 5 College 4
2
8 6
8
2
8
11
7

Campuses COE
0
Sexually
4

Innuendo
some behaviors were
Sexually Themed Inappropriate
3
Unnecessary Being Hit On or Objectification Negative

Other UMass Campuses Threatening

Language
experienced by >90% of
Jokes or References to Physical Contact Propositioned
References Your Appearance
Reactions to
Pointing Out

by college respondents Sexual Misconduct

by stage of education CICS when in life did the reported

Ph.D. Candidate (Post-qualification) experiences occur? 17
37 27
7 6
Junior Ph.D. Student (Pre-qualification)

Junior Undergraduate
1
Completed Ph.D.

more than 5% of responses

elementary middle high under graduate post
Sophomore Undergraduate
34% between ages 18-22 school school school graduate graduate
Senior Undergraduate
(23) came from each of these 4
Master's Student
52% between ages 23-29 departments in CNS:
Completed Master's
(35) Biology, Psychology, Chemistry, A similar number of instances where is sexual violence happening?

Post
of sexual violence occurred both

Midd
Elem
Post-doctoral
13% between ages 30-48 and Polymer Science & 1 in every 4 respondents has been sexually

High
Post-baccalaureate
(9) in academic work and academic

-Gra
Grad
Engineering

Und
social environments assaulted in the academic environment

le S
Freshman Undergraduate

enta
45

Only 1 in 6 and 1 in every 2 has been sexually assaulted

Scho
by
0 5 10 15 20 25

ergr

duat
uate
choo
Instances of sexual violence were 40
at some time in life

ry S
instances of
94% female more often witnessed in social

o
sexual violence

adua
by gender 5% male

e
35
settings

l
choo
were reported 30

1% agenderflux through official

te
35 total instances of assault

l
channels occurred among our respondents, 25

More than half of these incidences 35 but we do not have 35 written 20

accounts of assault in our issue.

were committed by a person 30 relative to respondents, the 15

with power over the respondent persons engaging in sexual Even in this anonymous forum,
(a supervisor, faculty or staff 25
many respondents were not able 10

member, older peer, mentor, or 20

misconduct are: to fully share their stories 5

relative (51%, 49/97) ) fear of retaliation? 0

Verbal Physical Assault None of these Witnessed Heard Firsthand Other
15
Harassment Harassment Happening to Accounts

And close to 30% 10

Only 12% were not afraid In a Classroom, Workplace, or Lab on Campus
Others

In a Social Setting Related to School In Any Other Context

involved a person in an official 56% were afraid when

numbers
position of power 5
considering whether to report
(a direct supervisor, mentor, or 0 More than 1 in 5 experienced
faculty or staff member) A younger
peer
A peer An older peer My
subordinate
My direct
supervisor
A mentor A relative A faculty or
staff member
Other
retaliation for reporting (21%)
 I would like there to be less of a hierarchy, real or perceived.
Su bm i tt e D R e sp onse s I am in a good environment now, but my ideal environment is full of
kindness and respect and does not revolve around ego or hierarchies. - Emilie
There is excellence in focus and productivity as well. Absolutely no

what does your ideal academic patronization or nonsense. A place where I can get my education without being subjected harass-
- Dream ment or discrimination - Anonymous

environment
environment
looklook
like?like?
howhow
does
does
it differ
it More women in science and less of it being a boys club.
- Anonymous
I have personally never experienced a situation in which a student with

differ
from from
your your
currentcurrent
environment?
academic
I would like to see faculty advisors get more supervisory training and
training in how to have difficult conversations. I think more support
needs to be available for graduate students. Right now, in my depart-
ment, students are completely isolated within their research groups.
If you leave your advisor, you are basically leaving grad school (some
programs are not like this). Students without external funding like NSF
are extraordinarily beholden to their advisors and most are constantly
worried about their future funding. It makes it harder for everyone
to deal with any negative situation. What is heartbreaking is that the
average advisor will recognize the bad behavior in other advisors, but
then turn around and treat their own students badly. I think it comes
from a lack of any experience managing people where there are
consequences for mistreating subordinates and where people are not
so desperate to get a degree that they will put up with bad behavior. I
know a bad story about nearly every advisor in my department. Many
of them have been wonderful to me personally. The ubiquity of these
stories leads me to believe that supervisory skills are horribly lacking in
UMass faculty, a problem that extends beyond my own department to
others on campus, based on experiences others have shared with me.
And I dont see it ever changing.
- Anonymous
One thing I realized I really appreciated was when I attended a talk
at Smith College. The speaker used female pronouns instead of male
pronouns when making general statements. I think that a more bal-
anced use of pronouns in the classroom and in talks would be reassur-
ing and make us females feel closer to equal in these traditionally male
dominated roles. - Anonymous
Problems are addressed head on rather than passive aggressively
dealt with or joked about - Mary Anderson
I wish there was a moral clause to the academic environment. You are
caught harassing students? Then that can terminate a contract.
- Anonymous
My ideal academic environment is more diverse! I wish there were
more people from different backgrounds at UMass. I wish my pro-
gram would recruit from schools with diverse student populations. I
wish they would do a better job recruiting women/people of color/
LGBTQ+ professors and students and supporting them once they are
here!!! - Anonymous
- Anonymous
Safe and anxiety-free
I have the fortune of working for a fantastic advisor in a very sup-
portive environment (when not with certain people outside my lab).
I just wish there was some kind of anonymous reporting system for
misconduct so HR or something can keep track of violations and act
when there are enough of them. Because it is not always a big enough
violation to make a big deal of, but there are repeated violators and
they should not be promoted to dean if they have a known track re-
cord for harrassment. Even if the other people in charge enjoy playing
golf with them. - Anonymous
My undergraduate program (Simmons College) was almost everything
I wanted in a learning environment. My only criticism is that Simmons
could be more intentional with its institutional support for women of
color and trans* students. - Jennett Chenevert
In terms of sexual misconduct in my actual academic environment at
UMass, I havent really had any negative experiences, other than some
minor issues with my students being disrespectful. Other than teaching,
I find the more hard to prove issues, of being overshadowed or cut-
off in class discussions and department events. However, I worry that
the situation may be worse for those who work in labs. In terms of
my own department, it is more this general lack of awareness that is
problematic. However, Im not sure that UMass can do anything about
it. The problems I notice here are part of broader societal issues. For
me, the problem is that men often do not see the disparities. I believe
this is genuine on their part, since they do not have the same expe-
riences/worldview that we do. For example, I have been directly told
that gender is not a relevant factor that impacts academic achieve-
ment, but that race and class are. It was even suggested that (white,
educated) women are given advantages that white men are not. This
was in a group discussion of myself and 4 men. I felt that I had to
shrug it off and agree with them, even after offering several ex-
amples that they dismissed. I did not mention my past experience with
assault, but other things, like sexist advisors. This was really discour-
aging, because this is a department in the social sciences in one of the
most liberal universities.
- Anonymous
I love UMass. Its great. My potential and my work ethic matters, not
my chromosomes or my anatomy.
- Coco
More women and POC in senior positions, more women and POC invited
to lecture for the department seminar positions, more support for
each other and less idolization of people who are seen as brilliant
visionaries but who are actually just jerks.
- Anonymous
less status engaged in abusive behavior over a prolonged period against
a faculty member or senior graduate student. Thus, I believe strongly
that the abuse is exacerbated by the high-stress work environment
and tenure protections that are characteristic of academic work. I
feel that departments should take into account the ability of applicants
to address and to avoid abusive relationships in the workplace, that
the university should update its training programs markedly, and that
programs with a track record of abuse should be treated with less
credibility by the administration. - Alex Dubois
Well, I am lucky enough to stress that I am living on my ideal work
environment, with supportive colleagues and advisers. My adviser is
fair, and supportive, he is always pushing me and my lab mates to do
our best. He also treats us as part of his family, and I never experi-
enced any difference of treatment from him to his students (we are
a diverse group, 50% male and 50% female, I am the only one from
different nationality, but we already had visiting fellows from China
and Iran). - Anonymous
A place where people stand up for what is right and do not encourage
harmful actions. A place where women are treated like equals and not
chased out of their labs by hypersexual men. - Anonymous
In my ideal academic environment, all of the good male faculty mem-
bers wouldnt have to be so careful about interacting with me. I know
a number of men in academia who tell me that they are afraid of
having personal (platonic) relationships with junior/early career women
because they are concerned about how it might be construed. I know
that there are creepy faculty of all genders out there, but they are
definitely in the minority. I wish that I (and other female graduate
students/trainees) could have the same relationships with male faculty
members [who are still gatekeepers in a lot of contexts] that male
graduate students and trainees can have. - Anonymous

I would like more older women mentors - Anonymous what does your ideal academic
environment
environment
looklook
like?like?
howhow
does
does
it differ
it
All assignments have content warnings and professors explicitly
mention that they want their classes to be a safe environment for all I would like a 50/50 gender balance in the faculty. I would like to see
students, including students who face oppression due to their sex/sex-

differ
from from
your your
currentcurrent
environment?
academic
higher percentages of black faculty. I would like to see LGBTQ faculty
uality/gender identity. represented.
- Anonymous - NotTheOne
SUBMITTED RESPONSES THIRTY SEVEN SUBMITTED RESPONSES THIRTY EIGHT

Su bm i tt e D R e sp onse s
what would you like people in your
academic environment to be aware of?
That women are dedicated and hard working people who want to suc-
ceed and want academia to thrive. We also put up with a lot, unless its
unbearable. If were avoiding people or places, theres a reason, and
you should pay attention.
- Anonymous
Intersectional identities, and how the invalidation of these identities
interferes with peoples everyday existance.
- Jennett Chenevert
That the STEM environment is still so far away from being represen-
tative of the actual population. It is still so skewed towards prioritizing
white men. I wish they understood their implicit bias and would try to
work past it. I wish they would think about the students they accepted
and try to come up with ways to support them through out their time
in the program, rather then accepting them, saying oh we have such
a diverse incoming class, but then just ignoring them, and leaving them
to fend for themselves once they are here.
- Anonymous
I would like everyone to be aware that transgender people exist and
how they should treat us.
- Anonymous
If a grad student says to an incoming student that they are making
a mistake joining a lab, they mean it. There needs to be protocols for
rapid transfer and support for rapid transfer of advisors, no ques-
tions asked.
- Anonymous
Just because I look like I have my life together, I do not. Never as-
sume someone is okay. - Anonymous
My body is NEVER up for discussion. To the extent that my personal
life comes up, it is never okay to discuss my body, ever. Sometimes,
harassment comes in the guise of well meaning advice. That advice
is nothing more than patriarchal, patronizing dribble that I am so sick
of hearing - Anonymous
SUBMITTED RESPONSES
the ways that we teach men to take what they want at the expense
of others
- Anonymous
I would like the men in my workspaces to be more aware of the sexual
violence all women face. If they understood and acknowledged this, I
think innuendo and inappropriate jokes would decrease and be toler-
ated less, making the workplace more inclusive. Also, coded language
needs to be identified and eradicated. Chill environment means male
friendly and/or female exclusionary and low-key means freely
waste female members time and/or ignore female members. Things
that keep women safe in work environments are frequently written
off as being uptight or just annoying. - Elaine
Microaggression. Learn how to identify what it is and how to gently
correct those who do it. Its ~usually~ not conscious or malicious but
its still incredibly harmful. - Anonymous
How daily sexual misconduct affects overall work environment
- Mary Anderson
Thoughtfulness and kindness are most important, also boundaries and
men need to know that women are far more than their physical prop-
erties. I do not want to receive unwanted sexual attention, thank you
very much. - Dream
The circumstances of sexual assault and the need for education on
what constitutes consent.
- Anonymous
Placing students in groups by counting off or randomly doing it is awful
because you never know the relationship between 2 students. This has
been triggering for me.
- Anonymous
People are not who they are acting to be. People will not be on your
side if you make bad decisions.
- Anonymous
THIRTY NINE
academy and that this issue must take priority over some matters
Friendliness is not flirtation. [repeat times infinity]
- Anonymous
of business that are matter of course there (such as funding new
GSOs).
- Alex Dubois
How its like to be harassed and to be a women in graduate school.
Most men I talk to do not understand what are the limitation women
Everyone is not like you. People have different experiences that make
face in choosing to be in academia. Most of them say what are you
talking about? Everything is equal! most men participate in child rear- some things harder for them, but that doesnt make them less valuable
ing. I know many people who give birth in their 40s! or less human.
- Anonymous - Anonymous
That sexual misconduct is not an abstract problem - its something I want people to know about this professor and his inappropriate
that many of the people (especially the women) that you work with actions. - Anonymous
every day have experienced and it informs their interactions.
- Gayle
Women and Minorities are not valued equally in this field. The internet
Ambition and dreaming can be encouraged more. No limit to that. has all kinds of information for understanding how unconscious gender
- Coco and racial bias often plays out. Do some research, please.
- NotTheOne
I believe some of the older faculty members are not aware of gender
Yes, please help me carry this heavy and unwieldy object. No, you dont
gap issues, that does not affect me directly, but I believe it affects
need to hover over my shoulder and look concerned when I use the ta-
their students.
ble saw. Physical strength and technical competency are not the same
- Anonymous
thing.
- Anonymous
Do not let your social life get in the way of your academic life. You are
in college for one reason only--academics. Once that is compromised,
Its not explicitly hard its implicitly hard. Like it used to really bother
there is no reason why you should still be at school.
me to be one of six girls even though I had been one of four in high
- Anonymous
school. You just dont realize how intimidating it can get after a while
when youre the odd man out.
Awareness is less of an issue than inaction. I feel that GSOs and the - Anonymous
GSS should be more involved in addressing and preventing abuse in the
1 in every 4 of our respondents has been sexually assaulted in the academic
environment, meaning the results of our survey are similar to reported national
statistics
among our respondents, 1 in every 2 has been sexually assaulted at some point in
their lives, having an effect on their experiences within academic settings.
The editors would like to remind the readers that the vast majority of our
respondents have male-dominated academic enviroments
what would you like people in your
academic environment to be aware of?
SUBMITTED RESPONSES FORTY
 be responsible and ethical humans. take people seriously when they Go talk to people. Surround yourself with the positive and the whole
Su bm i tt e D R e sp onse s report things hearted. - Anonymous
- Anonymous

what could people in your academic Required sexual assault education.

I wish somebody warned me. That is why I wrote this when your
editor asked me about it. I hope it can be helpful.

environment do to create an environment

- Anonymous
- Anonymous

that is safe, healthy, and supportive?
Think before opening their mouths. Rape jokes just arent ever funny
no matter who says them, but especially out of the mouths of men in
positions of power.
- Elaine
Call out people who say racist and misogynistic things. Educate stu-
dents and faculty on bias, harassment, and inclusion. But faculty have
to walk the walk and actually believe that its important to address
these issues, or well just get sarcastic versions of anti-harassment
training at department orientations. It should be front and center and
there should be frequent reminders. - Anonymous
I really dont even know. Confront their implicit bias, and try to under-
stand peoples situations. Be more supportive of ALL students.
- Anonymous
I have always felt fortunate that my department exhibits gender and
racial equity and taken that for a explanation of the comparatively low
number of abuse narratives coming from my peers. However, I know
that it is not the case in other departments that diversity equates to
harmony. I feel that graduate life is conducive to isolation and strong
pressures to deliver on research. Given this environment, a stronger
sense of camaraderie and empathy is necessary to address the cli-
mate of precarity at this institution.
- Alex Dubois
Educate them about sexual harassment. Educate especially men about
- Anonymous
what its like to be a woman.
Be aware of these possibilities - Anonymous
Stop teaching us that were inadequate and start addressing the very
real obstacles to our success. - Anonymous
Be an ally to those who are experiencing sexual misconduct. If you see
it happening, dont support it or engage with it, and dont just let it
happen - say something, ESPECIALLY if you are someone in a position
of power like a faculty member. Do this even in situations that seem
minor, like a joke or an offhand comment about someones appearance.
Also, DONT TOUCH OTHER PEOPLE IN YOUR WORK/SCHOOL EN-
VIRONMENT! Even if you think its just friendly or not a big deal. some level of passion that made us want to come here to excel in our
Thats not for you to decide. Just dont do it. Especially not to your
subordinates, who likely wont feel that they can tell you to stop. Liter-
ally just DONT. FUCKING. TOUCH. OTHER. PEOPLE. AT. WORK.
- Gayle
Have more intentional conversations about identity, and why it matters
to everyone in the world. - Jennett Chenevert
Learn to be less competitive and support one another as opposed to
tearing each other down. - Anonymous
The department head, graduate student program director, and faculty
could do some personal research on sexual harassment in STEM and be
vocal about how it will not be tolerated in their department.
- NotTheOne
I would like there to be mechanisms in place such that advisors who
abuse their power over students repeatedly can be terminated. We
should not be engaging in Catholic Church-style shuffling of students in
order to remove them from their harassers influence.
- Anonymous
I dont even know anymore.
- Anonymous
Aside from fixing this because you should just want to be a decent
human, people in power need to understand how much potential theyre
wasting by making marginalized folks deal with this bullshit. Imagine
how creative and motivated and dedicated and excited and innovative
we could be if we werent being harassed! If we didnt have to live in
fear of violence IN OUR WORKPLACES. Everyone here has - or had -
tion) and long after I left. And of course my colleagues, friends, and
field. And it is so incredibly fucking sad that we can barely scrape by
and survive here in grad school, much less excel, because you cant
even give us a safe working environment. So maybe the administration
should recognize what an utter failure that is on their part and start
from that perspective in deciding what to do about these problems.
- Anonymous
Best tactic I think is for male coworkers to call out fellow male co-
workers. When a woman calls a male out it seems to be ineffective
- Mary Anderson
They listen. They dont just dismiss you (except one class). They are
always willing to help. - Coco
what could people in your academic
Stop thinking you own anyones life but your own. You have control over
your body, no one elses. - Anonymous
Actually, I want to shout out to all the people (mainly folks at UMass
and my undergrad institution) who got it right in this case. My adviser,
for one, who has handled all of it with his usual good-natured your
safety and well-being comes first, and whatever you need I am 100%
here for you and so is the rest of the lab attitude. The folks at the
UMass police department who devoted a significant amount of time
and energy (and their resources) to taking my statement, liaising with
Amherst PD as well as my undergrad PD, immediately issuing a tres-
pass order against the person harassing me, making sure I had rides
to and from court, making sure I felt that I had their support and
backing, and generally helping me feel as safe as possible during the
situation. My undergrad institutions PD, who were similarly helpful and
supportive, both while I was there (and directly under their jurisdic-
family, who were similarly understanding and supportive, even when I
wasnt being super logical or rational. - Dina
Dont be creepy. Dont make assumptions about other peoples rela-
tionships, particularly when they involve power dynamics.
- Anonymous
Treat others as equals and with respect. Listen more carefully. Put
humanity first.
- Dream
DO SOMETHING. Instead of just listening. - Anonymous

People need to understand that just because the school administrator

environment do to create an environment

Have girls only discussion sections. Like more of a coffee hour where declares a perpetrator not responsible, thats not the end of the
you could go and talk to other girls about homework or how they feel story for the victim. Its well known that there are serious problems

that is safe, healthy, and supportive?

in the class. I know I felt separated bc it was hard to meet any women with the official disciplinary process for rape in almost all educational
outside my lab group of guys. institutions, so faculty members must understand that support can
- Anonymous come from anyone. - Elisabeth Baseman
SUBMITTED RESPONSES FORTY ONE SUBMITTED RESPONSES FORTY TWO
 S u bm i tt e D R e sp on se s
how could the institution help to create
an environment that is safe, healthy,
and supportive for you?
Believe victims. - Anonymous
Take a more proactive, constructive approach to handling and dealing
offenders. Right now, really, the best advice is just live with it.
- Anonymous
If the university or graduate school publicly came out in support of
students, we students will have courage to speak out against sexual
harassment. however, this is not the case. University doesnt even allow
me to share my experience with my close friends in the department-
confidentially laws. People should know what happened so that no one
else in future will have to suffer.
All the faculty should undergo a sexual harassment training every year
(similar to lab safety training). They should know that they can be
disciplined for any sexual misconduct.
Every department should have a sexual harassment committee. Victims
of sexual harassment should be able to approach this committee with
no fear. This committee should act as a support system for the victims.
- Anonymous
Take more minor sexual misconduct concerns seriously to keep things
from escalating. Investigate sexual misconduct allegations more quickly
- Gayle
Require people to go to workshops and seminars about sexual
harrassment - Anonymous
Create more spaces where people can actively talk about triggering
topics such as domestic violence. Many people are affected by it, and
its hardly brought up unless a fraternity or sorority advocate for it.
- Anonymous
More mentoring and support groups. - Anonymous
A confidential advisor in each department would be enormously helpful.
Transparent procedures for dealing with conflicts within a department
SUBMITTED RESPONSES
would also be enormously helpful. Reducing the risk of retaliation by
removing names from exams or any form of student evaluation would
be helpful. - NotTheOne
There is literally no guidance here. Its just fend for yourself.
control your white men and offer consequences for their misbehavior.
- Anonymous
Make people more aware of the situation by emotion, and stats. Peo-
ple will think twice if they become emotionally invested.
- Anonymous
The institution should have more thorough orientation for new faculty
when they are incoming. Hold workshops to teach new and senior ac-
ademics how to communicate to others with respect and how to teach
and become more accessible. Also, teach about boundaries; there is
a way to criticize productively, and way that is personal and abusive.
Also, there needs to be a definition for amount of work beyond hours,
and a need for the graduate student to be able to discuss overwork.
The sad, deplorable irony is that many of us are mistreated at institu-
tions for higher learning, so lets change the way things are done.
- Dream
Dismantle harmful cultural norms that exist within departments.
Disrupt the status quo. - Anonymous
I feel that departments should take into account the ability of appli-
cants to address and to avoid abusive relationships in the workplace,
that the university should update its training programs markedly, and
that programs with a track record of abuse should be treated with
less credibility by the administration. - Alex Dubois
Dept- specific women in stem coffee hours - Anonymous
Have open conversations among students and faculty concerning what
prejudice looks and feels like. Also, micro aggressions.
- Anonymous
Stop pretending I dont exist. - Anonymous
FORTY THREE
S ub m i t t e D R e s p o n s e s
what on-campus resources would be most
helpful in dealing with these issues?
They should have professors trained to deal with issues like sexual We should make it a priority to offer students long term therapy.
misconduct or bullying, so students would know who to talk to when Local therapists get booked up and then the rest of us are left
these incidents occur and could get some level of support or guidance. wondering where to go.
- Maggie
- Anonymous
Im not sure. - Anonymous
Title IX posters everywhere on campus and in every lab, along with a
list of all the offices that can provide support. - NotTheOne
Whomever is in charge of graduate training.
- Anonymous
The support groups - Anonymous
None - Anonymous
I dont know. no one ever offered me help, just congratulations.
- Anonymous
Seriously, dont hesitate in going to the UMass PD if someone is
bothering you. They took me seriously and were extremely capable
Center for women and community - attended an excellent rape
about getting me in touch with other people who could help in other
trauma support group. CCPH - helped get me in touch with CWC and
ways.
into the group - Elaine
- Dina
The administration needs to institute training for new faculty on not sure
the level of communication and dealing with human persons, as well - Mary Anderson
as holding review training, maybe every five years for all faculty.
There also needs to be a feedback mechanism for graduate students Support groups, trained counsellors.
to report to their programs and departments. We should institute a - Anonymous
mechanism by which the grad student evaluates the advisor annually,
with confidentiality and the freedom to express any grievance that
Make it more clear, and remind us more frequently, what our
can range from treatment to overwork to perhaps feeling that one
is not benefitting or learning anything but hard lessons from the
resources are for dealing with these issues.
- Anonymous
experience. If they do currently train faculty, it needs improvement.
Also, I have heard about some grad students abusing undergrads,
so graduate students could also benefit from such trainings, and Advisor, counselor/UHS. - Coco
undergrads should be able to evaluate their grad mentors. In my
opinion, with such things in place, we may change the cycle of poor
behavior that can exist. Not all faculty are terrible of course, but if (More) discussions involving both women and men on how to deal with
the bad behavior is stopped early, maybe one day academia wont be misconduct and how to be an appropriate ally. - Anonymous
such an unpleasant place to navigate...
- Dream CCPH. - Anonymous
SUBMITTED RESPONSES FORTY FOUR
 Edi to ri al Re c omme nd at i o n s
Center for Women and Community (CWC)
use these resources, but thoughtfully. 413-545-0800 (24/7)
The following are the on-campus resources which are available at UMass to deal with issues of sexual harassment
Equal Opportunity and Diversity (EO&D)
and violence. We hope to make you aware of these offices, but also encourage you to research what they are
responsible for, their level of confidentiality, and peoples first hand experiences with them before seeking their help.
413-545-3464
In making recommendations on what to do if you or someone you know experiences sexual misconduct or violence,
we at GWIS feel that we must take care in providing you with resources that can give you the help you need while eod@admin.umass.edu
not steering you in a direction that could cause you further harm. We wish we could unequivocally recommend a
particular resource or office to you, but that is not currently the case. As evidenced by the stories you have just
read, experiences with on-campus offices can vary hugely. These offices can provide services like immediately
removing you from a harmful situation, interim funding, or confidential counseling, which can make a huge difference
University Health Services (UHS)
in improving your circumstances and allowing you to continue your education. However, these systems are still 413-577-5000 (24/7)
problematic - retaliation remains a huge concern, the burden still falls disproportionately on the survivor to change
their circumstances, and the interests of the university sometimes run counter to the actions which would help the

Center for Counseling and Psychological Health (CCPH)

student.

We remain hopeful that the relationship between students and these on-campus offices can improve in the future.
GWIS is working to make the university aware of the issues we are facing and to mend the gaps to make sure these
413-545-2337
systems serve the people they are designed to help. We believe that increased transparency would help to rebuild
trust and give students an idea of what to expect when reporting their experiences; for example, we have requested
that the university report aggregate statistics on the outcomes of Title IX investigations, such as time needed to Dean of Students (DOS)
complete investigation and disciplinary results.
413-545-2684
Besides university resources, one measure which can help is to document your experiences - write things down
for yourself, or tell or email a friend after something happens. Even if they seem minor at the time and you dont
think you will ever report it, having a documented record can make a huge difference. If you are a member of the UMass Amherst Police Department (UMPD)
Graduate Employee Organization (GEO) union, they operate separately from the university and can help represent
you and file grievances for you. 413-545-2121 (non-emergency)
In the course of reporting, know that you deserve to be met at every step with empathy and helpfulness. You are
413-545-3111 (emergency)
not required to reveal any details to anyone unless you are comfortable doing so. You can ask for information about
what a particular person or office can do, who they report information to, or anything else you want to know before
revealing any specifics about your experiences. GEO, CWC, and UMPD can provide advocates to accompany you to Graduate Employee Organization (GEO)
413-545-0705
meetings. Know that you should never be made to feel responsible for acts committed against you. If you are not
being met with respect or taken seriously, know that you can walk away and find another avenue to navigate this
process in a way that is safe and helpful for you.
EDITORIAL RECOMMENDATIONS FORTY FIVE EDITORIAL RECOMMENDATIONS FORTY SIX