The Daily Illini: Volume 144 Issue 6

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THE DAILY ILLINI 5he independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871

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Vol. 143 Issue 006

UI faces Salaita backlash

Hiring decision leaves many questioning University leadership BY JOSH WINTERS STAFF WRITER

The University is facing backlash for Chancellor Phyllis Wise and the Board of Trustees’ decision to rescind a job offer to Steven Salaita to join the American Indian Studies program this year. Salaita’s offer was rescinded due to several personal tweets he posted about the Israeli bombing of Palestine. However, in a mass email sent by Wise, she said the decision “was not influenced in any way by his positions on the conflict in the Middle East nor his criticism of Israel.� The decision has sparked statements of no confidence from several campus departments and boycotts from visiting lecturers from across the country.

Lecturers drop appearances Several scholars have followed through on promises to boycott the University. Q Aug. 20 — David Blacker, professor of philosophy and legal studies at the University of Delaware, declined an invitation to speak at the Center for Advanced Study/ MillerComm lecture series scheduled for Sept. 29. Q Aug 21 — Allen Isaacman, history professor at the

University of Minnesota, also cancelled his lecture for the Center for Advanced Study/ MillerComm, scheduled for Oct. 30. Q Aug 26 — Eric Schwitzgebel, philosophy professor at the University of California, cancelled his keynote address at a mini-conference on experimental philosophy in December. Q August 27 — Education Justice Project, within the department of education

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policy, organization and leadership, cancelled a national conference on higher education in prison, scheduled for Oct. 9 through 12. Q August 29 — Jonathan Judaken, humanities professor at Rhodes College, turned down the opportunity to discuss his work with the Program in Jewish Culture and Society at a keynote address in October. Compiled by Megan Jones

Salaita decision to continues to draw controversy Dept. of American Indian Studies

Sunday, Aug. 24: Votes no confidence in Wise. The program expressed concerns that they were not a part of the decision-making process to rescind Salaita’s job offer. “The faculty ... also joins the thousands of scholars and organizations in the United States and across the world in seeing the Chancellor’s action as a violation of academic freedom and freedom of speech.�

Dept. of Asian American Studies

Wednesday, Aug. 27: Votes no confidence in Wise, Board of Trustees “The administration’s claims to honor diversity are at odds with the marginalization of academic units ...The University continues a superficial endorsement of diversity through its contradictory actions regarding issues of racial injustice and violence.�

— AAS faculty

— AIS faculty

Department of Philosophy

Thursday, Aug. 28: Votes no confidence in Wise, Board of Trustees and University President Robert Easter “The revocation of an offer of employment to Dr. Steven Salaita betray a culpable disregard not only for academic freedom and free speech generally, but also for the principles of shared governance and established protocols for hiring, tenure, and promotion.�

— Kirk Sanders, associate professor and chair of the department

AAUP Letter

On Friday, Aug. 29, the American Association of University Professors, AAUP, sent a letter to Wise urging her to suspend Salaita with pay until the University’s committee on academic freedom and tenure, CAFT, examines his case. “Professor Salaita has incurred major financial expenses since he accepted the University of Illinois offer.�

— Anita Levy, associate secretary for the AAUP

FOLAKE OSIBODU THE DAILY ILLINI

Stephanie Skora, senior in LAS, speaks to supporters of Steven Salaita at the Wesley Foundation in Urbana on Friday. Skora also listened and compiled concerns from supporters who believe the professor’s previously rescinded job offer should be reconsidered. Skora and six other students were chosen to address the expressed concerns at a small meeting with Chancellor Phyllis Wise on Monday.

Survey finds evidence of assault in fieldwork Sexual assaults revealed after Kate Clancy investigates topic BY ALEX SWANSON STAFF WRITER

A recent survey found evidence of prevalent sexual harassment and assault of researchers performing fieldwork in studies like anthropology, archeology and geology. The survey results show that 64 percent of survey respondents had been sexually harassed, and 21.7 percent had been sexually assaulted. The survey was conducted after Kate Clancy, anthropology professor at the University, developed an interest in the topic from personal experience listening to stories about sexual assault and harassment in the field. “I was talking to an old friend and trying to figure out why she was having difficulty finishing her dissertation ... when she revealed to me that she had been sexually assaulted in the field,� Clancy said. “She actually tried to report the incident and was essentially not really believed.� Another colleague then confided in Clancy that she had been sexually assaulted in the field. She published both stories anonymously on her blog two years ago, after which she said, “the stories just started pouring in.� Out of survey respondents, 71 percent of women

said they had been sexually harassed, compared with 41 percent of men. And 26 percent of women said they had been sexually assaulted, compared with 6 percent of men. However, not all participants chose to answer the question. This survey included 666 participants and about 77 percent of them were women. The study was authored by Clancy, Skidmore College Professor Robin Nelson, University of Illinois at Chicago professor Julienne Rutherford and Harvard University professor Katie Hinde. Hinde expressed extreme emotion in reaction to the survey’s findings. “Mostly I was very, very sad. That’s really the emotion you have when you start going through these data and seeing the experiences that people go through,� Hinde said. A 2014 graduate from the college of LAS, who preferred to remain anonymous, confirmed that sexual harassment is present for women in scientific fields. “While most women, including myself, might not recognize sexual harassment (even when we’re the ones being harassed), it’s definitely there,� she said in an email. “I’ve had guys joke to me that the only reason I’m doing so well is

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because I must be sleeping with the professor or make comments about how I’m dressed and how it’s not feminine enough.� The same graduate believes women face numerous difficulties while engaging in scientific fieldwork. “Because men have traditionally done fieldwork, it has evolved as an environment that isn’t really conducive to women,� she said. “Something as simple as taking a bathroom break or, god forbid, changing a tampon is suddenly exponentially harder when you’re surrounded by a dozen guys in the middle of a treeless, flat desert.� The survey found that most of those harassed or assaulted were trainees. However, men were usually found to be abused by their peers, while women were often abused by someone higher up in their field. Clancy said hierarchal abuse is incredibly detrimental. “Evidence suggests that harassment and assault are psychologically damaging no matter what,� Clancy said. “But when the person doing it to you is superior to you in some way, or has some power over you, then the data suggests the psychological harm is far greater.� The survey results also show that women respondents were 3.5 times more likely to report sexual harassment than men. Tara McGovern, recent LAS graduate of the Uni-

Percentage of field researchers sexually harassed This study surveyed scientific researchers working at field sites to discover more information about sexual harassment that occurs during fieldwork

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quently discontinued their fieldwork. “The perpetrators were informants — members of the culture we were supposed to be studying, although there have also been cases of graduate students (not associated with the University) targeting undergraduate trainees,� McGovern said. The study reports that local community members are also involved, but remain a minority in the studied cases of sexual assault of fieldworkers. Although she does not yet have numerical data to support her claim, Clancy feels there is a possibility that these cases of assault and harassment are causing women to leave scientific disciplines. “My suspicion is that ... when women are experiencing this at a greater proportion and when the kinds of abuse they are experiencing are worse, or more psy-

The recent outbreak of Ebola in West Africa has led the University to take a few extra precautionary steps, including additional screening for students who may be traveling from the affected areas. According to Andrea Bordeau, a specialist for International Projects in the Study Abroad Office, no University students traveled to West Africa over the summer to study abroad, and none had plans to do so during the fall semester. But as a precaution, the Study Abroad Office suspended the Sierra Leone program for the fall. “Newly admitted international students are screened for compliance with immunization rules and TB soon after their arrival on campus,� said Dr. Robert Palinkas, director at McKinley Health Center. “This screening process has been a standard practice for many years due to state laws and University policies.� During the private screenings, students are asked whether they have traveled to or from infected areas, or if they have come in contact with anyone who may be infected. “They also receive edu-

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*This information is supplied by survey participants who chose to answer these questions. Not all survey particpants answered these specific questions. Percentages shown on the graph have been rounded. HANNAH HWANG THE DAILY ILLINI SOURCE: SURVEY OF ACADEMIC FIELD EXPERIENCES (SAFE): TRAINEES REPORT SEXUAL HARASSMENT AND ASSAULT

versity, has experienced fieldwork in cultural anthropology and said it can be outright dangerous for female students. “I hate to break it to all those aspiring young white suburban female anthropologists — you can only do this type of fieldwork safely if you are a male,� McGovern said in an email. “And even for males, I have my doubts.� McGovern clarified that this problem is specific to the field, not the University campus, in her experience. “No assault or harassment or anything of the like ever happened in my experience on campus,� she said. “Professors on campus are extremely careful and responsible; my criticism is that they are unaware of what can and does happen to an untrained vulnerable undergraduate in the field.� McGovern personally knows many undergraduate women who were sexually assaulted while performing fieldwork and have conse-

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