Selah Yearbook 1991-92

Harassment Charges Caught Attention

By Jennifer S. Blandford Throughout October, America's eyes were glued to the unbelievable scandal unfolding. It was a nightmare which captured everyone's attention and kept them fixed on the television for several days.

The battle between Clarence Thomas, a U.S. Supreme Court nominee, and Anita Hill, a professor at the University of Oklahoma, lasted several days. A fascinated America watched as they fought and testified their way to fame over the ugly charges of sexual harassment.

Hill, a former co-worker of Thomas', claimed that a decade earlier Thomas had offended her with lewd jokes, crude comments, and conversations that were inappropriate for the office.

Thomas repeatedly denied these charges, reminding Hill of what he said were the facts.

H e reminded her that she voluntarily followed him from their first job together at the Department of Education to their next job with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

H e talked about the friendly relationship which Hill had kept up following their work at the EEOC. During this time, she made more than 10 recorded personal phone calls to Thomas' office.

She also, after accepting her current position with the University of Oklahoma, invited him to spend time with her on several occasions while he was in Tulsa on business.

Hill did all this, even though she said she found Thomas to be offensive. In fact, she thought his conduct to be so offensive that, even 10 years after the fact, she was willing to put her o w n credibility on the line to make it It is understood by most people, that a supervisor public, just as Thomas was about to reach the high point demanding sexual favors from a w o m a n in exhange for of his career. A n d why? Because, in her o w n words, she continued employment is a legitimate case of harassfelt she had to "tell the truth." ment. But what about aggressive flirting? Or un welcomed Suddenly, everyone in America needed to know the jokes? Or off-color remarks? These are also considered "truth," even though she had never before voiced or forms of sexual harassment. implied any complaints against him.

Webster's dictionary defines harassment as "to trouble, At the end of this grueling hearing, America watched worry, or torment, with cares, debts, or repeated quesanxiously as Hill's claims were finally pronounced im- tions." pertinent to Thomas' ability as a judge on the Supreme Within the last decade, many improvements have been Court. made in dealing with sexual harassment.

Although these hearings are over, they won't soon be In 1980 the E E O C stated that employment based on the forgotten. This sad case did more than question the grounds of sexual activity was forbidden by the Civil credibility of both Clarence Thomas and Anita Hill, they Rights Act of 1964. forced America to face the serious issue of sexual harass- Since then, most companies have written the definiment. tion of sexual harassment into their employee rules of Sadly enough, for w o m e n in the work place, sexual conduct. They have also included in their company harassment has become a fact of life. In a Newsweek Poll,policies the steps to be taken when harassment is re21 percent of the w o m e n surveyed said they had been a ported. victim of harassment, and 42 percent said they knew But many w o m e n feel these improvements are not someone w h o had been harassed. Other surveys taken enough. W o m e n need to come forward with their comindicate that over one-half of America's working w o m e n plaints of harassment, without having to fear losing their will face some form of sexual harassment at least once in jobs, to let m e n know that they will not tolerate their careers. unwelcomed advances or comments any longer.

Many w o m e n feel that the root of the problem is that men are rarely harassed and do not realize what it is.

They do not understand h o w a w o m a n feels when her boss, supervisor, or male co-worker sneers a suggestive comment about her figure or her appearance.

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