Sexual Haras by Cheri Goldstein Sexual harassment! This is not a charge that should be taken lightly. Sexual harassment in the workplace has become corporate and pro- fessional Ame1ica’s little secret. Excuses of “oh, he didn’t mean it,” “she was only kidding you,” or “you must have taken it the wrong way” are heard all too often by the victims. Perpetrators are either carried along in their careers or possibly slapped on the wrists, while the victims are made to feel guilty and left scarred. When sexual harassment happens in the lesbian, gay, and bisexual communi- ties, it can be even more difficult to deal with. While the pain of the harassment is justas intense as that found in an instance of heterosexual harassment (and posibly moreso), greater difficulties may arise when one needs to deal with a heterosexist- ‘homophobic system or administration to report the abuse. Choosing to report homosexual har- assment may very likely mean feeling pres- sured to come out of the closet, often in a very public way. Without some form of civil rights legislation, some people would find themselves in jeopardy of losing their jobs, not so much for reporting the harass- ment, but because of their sexual orienta- tion. This makes the decision to report a difficult one with a great many risks at- tached if the victim is gay, lesbian, or bisex- ual. Even if the victim is heterosexual, it takes a great deal of courage and support to name the violence and press on with report- ing an incident and filing charges. One such case is now pending at Mid- dlebury College. A recent graduate of the school has filed suit with the Addison County Superior Court against Paul Cubeta, a former Middlebury College English professor and former Director of sment Case Raises Important Issues Middlebury’s Bread Loaf School of Eng- lish. The student has charged that Cubeta engaged in “unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal and physical conduct of a sexual nature.” The student also claims that Middle- bury College officials were aware of Cubeta’s behavior and yet did little to pre- vent it from reccuring. Allegations of sexual harassment were originally brought to the attention of the Middlebury administration in July of 1988. Complaints were filed by four different men, each of whom had previously studied and worked with Cubeta. The College did not officially hear the case until October of 1988, four months after the allegations were made. The vic- tims found themselves treated as malicious rumor-mongers by some members of the Middlebury community, and others ac- cused them of being out-and-out liars. During the October hearing the vic- tims made their charges in front of Cubeta, who was then allowed to ask them ques- tions. Cubeta, who continues to deny any wrong-doing, was later asked to resign, saving College officials from having to make an official ruling in the case. Middlebury College President Olin Robison then quietly created a fund-raisin g position, Director of Academic Develop- ment, which Cubeta assumed from his new home in Washington D.C. (He has since resigned that position as well.) Since the school never reached an offi- cial ruling in the case, no one has been willing to come forward and state whether Cubeta was found “guilty” or “innocent” of the charges. _ Cubeta was an upstanding professor with more than 25 years experience and made significant achievements during his Directorship of the Bread Loaf School of March 1991 English. Still, his teaching and profession- al abilities are not the issues here; it is his personal conduct and the administrative procedures of Middlebury College that are under scrutiny. Middlebury College officials have appointed a committee made up of faculty, staff, and students to evaluate and rewrite the College’s sexual harassment policy. While the Cubeta case is being heard in the courts, Middlebury’s policy on sexual har- assment will be under the review of Mid- dlebury’s new President, Timothy Light. Most sexual harassment policies neg- lect to understand the complexities which arise in cases of sarne-sex harassment. Some critics have argued that sarne-sex cases are much easier to prosecute under the current guidelines and that heterosex- ual harassment is too easily and thus too often ignored. In any event, cases such as the Cubeta incident point out the need for review and reform, as well as reminding us that we are all entitled to work in an envi- ronment safe from the specter of sexual harassment. Member National Lesbian and Gay Law Association ROBERT W. ZEUNER ATTORNEY AT LAW Bauer, Gravel and Watson 362 Main Street Burlington, VT 05401 863-5538 0. 100 MAIN STREET PO. BOX 247 Hoff, Age], Curtis, Pacht & Cassidy, P.C. BURLINGTON. VT 05402-0247 David W. Curtis ATTORNEY AT LAW 802-864-4531