by Caro Malherbe | Mar 15, 2013 | News
Head of Department of Political Studies, Prof Daryl Glaser
POLITICAL Studies students have welcomed a letter from their department addressing sexual harassment allegations but worry the information is too little, too late.
Students who spoke to Wits Vuvuzela said that they are pleased the department has decided to speak out about sexual harassment allegations around former head of department Prof Rupert Taylor but are unhappy about being left in the dark for so long.
Pearl Pillay, a politics studies honours student, said: “I am glad about the letter; I am glad that the department has chosen to be open with the students. It’s sad that it is an ‘at least’ situation, but at least they are doing something.”
Many shared the feeling that the department only came forward because of outcry following allegations against senior Drama lecturer Tsepo wa Mamatu.
“The letter was just a reactionary response that they felt they had to do,” said third year politics student Lerato Machaba.
Muziwandile Sangweni, 3rd year politics, said that more speculation was created because no information was provided from the department.
“I think the department handled it badly by being hush-hush. If they explained to us then we could have understood what was going on.”
Machaba said that if the politics department was legally bound from releasing information, they still should have made students aware of sexual harassment within the department and made provision for any students who wanted to come forward and report on the matter.
“It could have been anonymous,” said Machaba.
The students were responding to an open letter released on Monday by the Political Studies department regarding their approach to sexual harassment.
The department wrote that they are “deeply disappointed” by the action taken by the Wits Legal Office following allegations of sexual harassment made by Wits Vuvuzela, last year.
Political Studies alleges that the reason no information was given to students about why Taylor stepped down as head of department because the Legal Office had advised them not to take action.
“When Prof Taylor stepped down, we were explicitly instructed not to say anything about why there was a new head of department. When we raised the prospect of discussing sexual harassment with our students, we were expressly forbidden from doing so, as it might compromise the investigation,” said the open letter.
The politics department said they were “frustrated” by the lack of action taken by the Legal Office and that their response “suggest a desire to avoid grappling with the full dimensions of this critical issue and feel that a general inquiry primarily focusing upon general policy and procedure is inadequate.”
“When our students wanted to hold a public meeting to exchange experiences and handling of sexual harassment on campus, they were informed that no persons or departments could be named, that it could only take the form of a protest,” the letter read.
by Emelia Motsai | Mar 11, 2013 | News
Wits has set up a campus-wide inquiry in response to allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct, most recently against a senior drama lecturer.
The inquiry will assess existing policies and procedures to prevent instances of sexual harassment and is set to conclude in August 2013, the university said in a statement.
It will be led by Centre of Applied Legal Studies head Prof Bonita Meyersfeld and Joe Mathibe, from an outside law firm.
The investigation will also look at whether there are ‘quid pro quo’ relationships at Wits and whether staff and students are aware of sexual harassment procedures.
“It will also look at whether the process of addressing incidents of sexual harassment at the university … is fair, robust and sensitive,” read the statement.
The Sunday Times reported last weekend that senior drama lecturer Tsepo wa Mamatu was suspended after being accused of being a “sex pest” who sexually assaulted students.
Following the report, the School of Arts, which includes Drama, held forums on Monday and Tuesday to discuss sexual harassment and sexual assault within their department.
“The forum held on Monday was about hearing what the students had to say. The heads of school explained the incident reported by the Sunday Times but they didn’t name him,” said third year Drama student Cait Morris.
“But they were defensive about it and not taking responsibility,” she added.
According to Morris, the Monday forum was a “very emotional. One of the people who spoke was among the first to report him [wa Mamatu]”.
Morris said that one of the first questions that were asked was whether the head of department knew about the allegations against wa Mamatu.
“Head of Arts department Kennedy Chinyowa answered the question. But he did not give us a yes or no. Only later in the meeting did he admit that there had been suspicions,” said Morris.
Morris said that the forum on Tuesday was much better because the students felt they were more involved in finding a solution to sexual harassment in their department.
SRC member Pearl Pillay, who was present at the meeting, said: “The Tuesday forum was about looking for a way forward together, as staff members and students. What students think needs to be done so something like this does not happen again. “
She said problem areas were identified and students came up with solutions.
The heads of departments said they would take the suggestions, present them to the rest of the staff members and then get back to the students.
by Caro Malherbe | Mar 11, 2013 | News
Incoming Vice Chancellor Prof Adam Habib has acknowledged the university needs “a new paradigm” for pursuing perpetrators of sexual harassment, he said in an interview with the Vuvuzela.
“The difficulty has therefore been sustaining the case against these individuals. I understand the difficulties of doing so. But this has been a challenge,” said Habib.
“Clearly we need a new paradigm for addressing these violations.”
Referring to students’ reluctance of coming forward, Habib said he understands the difficulties of doing so, but that this has been a challenge for the university.
Habib, who will be taking over as acting vice chancellor in May, shared his thoughts on the sexual harassment scandal that has invaded the Wits campus.
He told Vuvuzela via email on Wednesday that, “The University definitely has to throw the full force of the law at anyone who has been found to be guilty of sexual harassment.”
When asked about the difficulties in addressing sexual harassment within Wits, Habib said it was crucial for the university to create an environment where students feel safe to report and charge anyone who has violated their rights.
“If we cannot create a safe and enabling learning environment, then we have failed in our primary function at the university” he said.
“Clearly we need a new paradigm for addressing these violations,” he said.
Habib added that he hopes the new sexual harassment policy will be able to address this.
He is currently away in the United States with incumbent Vice Chancellor Loyiso Nongxa.
Habib said that while they were in being away in the US with the current VC, Prof Loyisa Nongxa. IN their absence, he has asked senior female university officials to meet with students.
“The VCO [vice-chancellor’s office] has asked its senior women executives to host a meeting with students to hear their challenges in this regard, and what else we can do as an institution.”
He also said that if needed he and Nongxa will host another meeting with women students and staff, upon their return.
“In the meantime, the senate is in the process of making a statement condemning lecturers who have been involved in this.
“What is imperative is that the safety of our learning environment must be enhanced, as must the trust relationships between our academics and our students,” Habib concluded.
by Lebogang Mdlankomo | Mar 11, 2013 | News
We asked Witsies their thoughts on the sexual harassment allegations that have surfaced within the departments of the institution. Here’s what they had to say…
by Shandu Mulaudzi | Mar 11, 2013 | News
Shandukani Mulaudzi and Caro Malherbe
There has been some confusion regarding an investigation into Political Studies Prof Rupert Taylor. Pic: Facebook
It is unclear whether an investigation into allegations of sexual harassment against the former head of the political studies department, Prof Rupert Taylor, has been undertaken following a report last year in the Wits Vuvuzela.
Prof Daryl Glaser, current Political Studies head of department, confirmed that an investigation is underway against the former head of department [HOD] but stopped short of confirming the identity of the individual.
Glaser did say that it was public knowledge that someone in the department had allegations of sexual harassment against them.
Dawn Taylor, Director of the Wits Legal office refused to speak with Wits Vuvuzela and Tasneem Wadvalla, a legal advisor at the same office, said they could not respond to questions about an investigation into Taylor.
According to Wits University spokesperson, Shirona Patel, there were two investigations on sexual harassment currently happening at the university. The first, where an individual was named, was that of Tsepo wa Mamatu, while the second was a campus-wide inquiry where all people have been encouraged to come forward with allegations of sexual harassment.
Glaser indicated that no students had come forward with official statements against Prof Taylor to “the best of my knowledge but once the issue was brought into the public domain, the department wanted to be seen as acting.”
“We have invited the person to step down as HOD despite his denial of allegations,” Glaser said.
Dikeledi Selowa, the former politics first year class representative for 2012, told Wits Vuvuzela that students were aware that Taylor stepped down as head of politics. Selowa said there had been “hearsay” amongst the students about Taylor. “We knew of his history and some students were warned about him,” she said.
She said that no information was given to the students by the department and they weren’t provided with a platform to discuss the allegations.
“It is not true to say that we were aware of issues of sexual harassment until Wits Vuvuzela broke the story. The article was a revelation to most staff,” Glaser said.
“Students have not been informed of the investigation. But we have drawn their attention to issues of sexual harassment,” said Glaser. He said that the students were not informed of the investigation due to legal reasons given to them by the University.
Shahid Vawda, Head of School of Social Sciences said, “No students have come forward. All I can say is the legal office report said they have investigators. It is difficult for us to comment once a legal process has commenced. It is in the hands of the Transformation office.”
In another development, an anonymous blog which is run by an unnamed group of Wits students and known as 11th Floor Senate House (11thfloorSenateHouse.tumblr.com) responded to last year’s Wits Vuvuzela article by posting: “everyone in the Political Studies department (students and staff) knew that it was Professor Rupert Taylor.” Despite numerous attempts to contact Prof Taylor, Wits Vuvuzela was unable to reach him for comment.
by Dineo Bendile | Mar 5, 2013 | News
The story of senior Wits drama lecturer Tsepo wa Mamatu allegedly fondling and sexually harassing students, and even raping one of them, has focused many people’s attention on what constitutes as an improper relationship between a lecturer and a student.
On Twitter particularly, former students of the accomplished actor, director and playwright have spoken about how wa Mamatu allegedly used his position as lecturer to pressure students into sexual acts under the guise that it was for the benefit of their education.
Tweets from the account of former Wits student Mary Straub (@merrystrwberry) have been frequent and detail her experiences in the Drama department.
Yesterday a tweet from the account read: “We were told we are brilliant, but our unwillingness ‘to go all the way’ would cost us marks.”
In reply to Straub’s question as to whether sexual abuse at Wits had become institutionalized among lecturers, a tweet from journalist Katherine Child (@katthechild), read: “Yes, and a history of turning a blind eye. And re-hiring perpetrators students had spoken out about”.
Wits’ Head of Communications, Shirona Patel (@shirona37), defended the university’s efforts to protect students, saying in a tweet: “Wits is doing all it can- it never covers up these issues- need as much evidence as possible”.
In a speech he gave at the Wits Great Hall last year, Nobel Laureate and celebrated author, JM Coetzee urged more male students to become teachers, and said that “it will be good for society in general, particularly at this time in history when men who enjoy working with children are suddenly under so much suspicion.”
What the tweets have not answered, and a question Coetzee implies, is whether an emotional connection between teacher and student is possible in the times we live in, especially between male lecturer and female student?
Wa Mamatu, as a lecturer in a small department, had the opportunity to shape the development of his students on an individual basis, a type of impact rarely found in larger departments.
The close interaction between lecturers and students in smaller settings creates an ideal environment for highly focused monitoring of student development. It’s an environment that has the ability to remove the power imbalances between students and lecturers. It’s what could be called a professional intimacy, one where the teacher can positively influence the student. A beautiful paradox when done right, a shame when done wrong. But how are students ever to know when it’s wrong?
Like many others who misuse their power against students, wa Mamatu seems to have blurred the boundaries and used that intimacy for personal gain, turning what could have been a fruitful partnership into a show of power and dominance.
However, a stronger inter-student relationship between female students spanning generations, able to warn and protect each other from sex pests, seems to have emerged ‘organically’ on Twitter and is filtering onto campus as a result. Could this be social media’s answer to violent patriarchy?
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