W E E K D AY E D I T I O N | O C T O B E R 2 9 - 3 1, 2 0 18 | T W I C E W E E K LY I N P R I N T | O U D A I LY. C O M
OUDAILY
For 100 years, the student voice of the University of Oklahoma
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY AUSTIN CARRIERE AND CAITLYN EPES
From left to right: Acting senior Ashtonn Thompson, acting junior Delaney Lovejoy, and dramaturgy and journalism junior Ryan Gaylor hold signs containing personal quotes in front of Old Science Hall, which houses the School of Drama, Oct. 26.
TIME OF CHANGE
In light of sexual harassment allegations within School of Drama, members strive for improvement, open dialogue
A
shtonn Thompson sat on a bench outside Old Science Hall — staring into the distance, he said he was shocked when he heard the allegations of sexual harassment within the same halls he calls home. Thompson, an acting senior, said he has been active in the OU School of Drama since his freshman year in 2015. When he discovered sexual harassm e nt a l l e gat i o n s ha d b e e n brought against a professor he knew — Tom Orr, the former School of Drama director who stepped down from the position but remained a professor after the allegations came out — Thompson said he was forced to face the reality he’s seen in the media and across the nation. “I was surprised because ... this is my home, and how did I miss that?” Thompson said. “What could I have been doing? What could I have done to talk to someone?” Like Thompson, many others have expressed shock in the wake of such across the nation allegations surfacing against people they know. O n O c t. 1 5 , 2 0 1 7 , a c t re s s Alyssa Milano tweeted to invite individuals to share personal stories of assault after several Hollywood actresses accused producer Harvey Weinstein of years of sexual abuse. Milano’s tweet went viral and countless individuals responded using the hashtag #MeToo to share their stories. Since 2017 and the breakthrough of the #MeToo movement, an explosion of sexual harassment and sexual assault allegations have been brought to light against CEOs, producers, politicians and others, causing a shift in the national culture whose effects are still being seen today. In the #MeToo era, these shifts have been evident at OU, with sexual harassment allegations against two influential individuals coming out in the last six months, including Orr and John Scamehorn, a former School of Drama donor and OU professor. Since then, there have been discussions in the School of Drama on how to address these issues,
JANA ALLEN • @JANA _ ALLEN21 but students, faculty and staff have had varying reactions. ‘WE HAVE CREATED A CULTURE WHERE WE HAVE EXCUSED BEHAVIOR.’ Delaney Lovejoy’s acting professors in the School of Drama told her professionals in the industry will desire her and sexualize her. Since professors weren’t explaining what is and is not appropriate, the acting junior said this was a conversation that didn’t feel helpful, especially to the young women who already have an understanding that they will likely be sexualized wherever they are, she said. “I think the only conversation that needs to be had is what is appropriate for a professional director or coworker to say to you and what isn’t, so that when those situations arise you can appropriately deal with them,” Lovejoy said. “But that’s not the conversation that was had with us.” L ovejoy said she believes there has been a pattern of excusing inappropriate behavior in the School of Drama. Students have typically brushed things off with the excuse that the professor is from another time, or that’s just how it is in the industry, she said. “Almost every time that I meet up in large groups of my friends, instances (of inappropriate behavior) are brought up and we all express how disappointing it is that it is that way, but we haven’t historically done anything about it,” Lovejoy said. “We just say, ‘That sucks,’ and we move on with our day, and we try not to internalize as much of that negative feeling that you can get from a conversation like that.” Costume design junior Ciara Smith said another example of an issue that needs to be addressed is students having close relationships with their professors. She said the school considers itself a family due to its small size, but sometimes this can blur the line between professor and friend. “You can’t be like a family or like a friend to a student when you control their grade,” Smith said. “And I think that line has
ABIGAIL HALL • @ABIGAIL _WAH
been blurred, I believe, unintentionally. I think that’s the line that needs to be drawn.” Drama junior Lydia Brinkmann said it is required in fine arts schools for students and professors to discuss things that classes in other departments would not be able to — for example, talking about sex and different sexual themes when it has to do with a production. But Brinkmann said there is still a line that needs to be drawn, with careful steps taken to ensure things don’t go the wrong way. “You have to be careful that we’re not looked at only for our sexuality and evaluated only because of our sex and looked
“Understanding from the community is going to make it so much easier for that person to come forward. It’s the secrets that keep us sick.” AMY OESTREICHER, ACTRESS, PLAYWRIGHT, SEXUAL ABUSE & PTSD EXPERT
at o n l y a s a s e xu a l ( i t e m ) ,” Brinkmann said. “If that’s the problem ... that is something we need to address.” Hannah Grillot, a dramaturgy senior who is currently studying abroad in Israel, used the allegations against Orr as an example of faculty members knowing students have concerns but not directly dealing with them. “I know that they kind of turn a blind eye to it, whether because they believe at the end of the day he’s helping (students), or because they believe he’s a good person, he means well, or because they just don’t want to deal with it,” Grillot said. “I don’t know, but either way, I don’t think it’s right, and I think that’s not the correct thing for them to be doing as people who are obligated to help us for the four
years of our life that we’re in college.” In the aftermath of The Daily’s story highlighting the allegations against Orr, the interim director of the School of Drama Judith Pender sent out an email to faculty saying The Daily’s story was a “smear campaign” and that it contained “outright lies.” OU Provost Kyle Harper responded by sending an email saying there was no reason to believe anything in the story was inaccurate and students should be free to share their stories of difficult situations. This divide was also represented in the student body, with some students unable to reconcile their positive experiences with the negative reports from others, said dramaturgy and journalism junior Ryan Gaylor. Gaylor said it was disappointing some students were upset about The Daily’s decision to report the allegations. “And that’s one of the things that was so distressing ... everyone being divided was so unusual for us,” Gaylor said. “It’s so extremely unlike us to be fractured this way.” Gaylor said the school is a very close-knit environment which comes with a distrust of outsiders and the desire to keep things “in-house.” “But I don’t think that serves us as a school, as a university,” Gaylor said. “That might make us feel better, that might be so much less contentious and easier, but I don’t know how much that would actually serve us.” Lovejoy said one of the most important things is for students to call out both inappropriate behavior and things that make them uncomfortable as soon as they happen. “It’s easier for lines to become blurred or crossed in the classroom setting because there are things that we know to be not appropriate for a work setting or not appropriate to an educational setting, which other people have done again and again out in the professional world,” Lovejoy said. “I think we have created a sort of culture for ourselves where we have excused behavior of students and faculty members alike.”
‘A LOT O F P E O P L E THOUGHT THIS KIND OF DAY WOULD NEVER COME — AND NOW IT’S OK TO TALK ABOUT IT.’ Professionals in the performing arts communities said the #MeToo movement highlighted a cycle of continual abuse by those in power within these communities. “The #MeToo movement has really brought that into public eye and made people much more aware of what their rights are and that’s to the good of the industry,” said Kathryn McGill, Oklahoma Shakespeare in the Pa rk e xe c u t i ve a n d a r t i s t i c director. McGill said Shakespeare in the Park implemented a sexual assault and harassment policy in 2015 to hold its staff accountable, and no issues have been reported since. Every year, the company re-evaluates necessary changes to the policy to better protect its staff, she said. “When those things happen, I think it’s really important that the administration takes a look at, ‘Do they have a policy?’ and ‘Did a different policy work for them?’ You have to take care of the people who work for you,” McGill said. “I think the #MeToo movement has been to the good of the theater industry.” Amy Oestreicher, a New Yorkbased theater actress, playwright, and sexual abuse and post-traumatic stress disorder expert, said #MeToo has had a direct impact on the theater industry, which has resulted in an open dialogue about secrecy and abuse at the hands of those in positions of power. “A lot of people thought this kind of day would never come — and now it’s OK to talk about it,” Oestreicher said. “I just see a general movement where people are feeling more comfortable talking about these things.” Oestreicher said abuse from people in power can happen in any community, but because of the vulnerable nature of the arts community, such as using the body, voice and identity to tell stories, authority figures can create cultures of secrecy and See DRAMA page 2