* Attack on academic freedom?
Civil liberties campaigners haven spoken out over a US law
professor reprimanded for setting an exam question based on someone
having a bikini wax. The scenario used words including “genitals”,
“buttocks” and “pubic hair”, as well as a detailed description of
the differences between a modified and full Brazilian.
A spokesperson for the Foundation for Individual Rights in
Education (FIRE), a US civil liberties organisation which wrote a
letter of support for the professor, told Legal Cheek:
“A lot of law deals with bodies and body parts — exam
questions have to reflect that fact. Professors are trying to
expose students to the real world and real life
situations.”
Despite this support, law professor Reginald Robinson, who is at
Howard University in Washington DC, has been lambasted by the
university for the exam question he wrote in 2015 (embedded in full
below).
Robinson used the test question in a teaching session on agency
law. Two students then submitted complaints including: against the
use of the word “genitals”, that the question was asked simply to
prompt the students to reveal personal details about themselves,
and that the scenario was not necessary in teaching agency law.
The university recently determined that the question constituted
sexual harassment under its internal policies. The professor has
received a letter of reprimand on his file, and has been told he
must attend “sensitivity training”. Any future exam questions he
writes will have to be submitted for review first.
The case is being seen as yet another example in a trend of
accusations of sexual harassment against academics (and fellow
students) which, argues FIRE, can be traced back to guidance from
the Office for Civil Rights (OCR), which enforces the US’s laws on
sexual discrimination and harassment in academic institutions.
A spokesperson for FIRE explains:
“In 2013, the OCR in a letter directed that a very
broad definition of sexual harassment should be taken when
investigating complaints and that colleges should take steps to
prevent and address sexual misconduct. This has inspired schools
across the US to take action against professors and students and in
doing so are infringing their first amendment [free speech]
rights.”
But the OCR’s actions have also been seen as one of the triumphs
of the Obama administration in attempting to combat college sexual
assaults.
The administration also launched an awareness-raising campaign
“It’s On Us” as part of that policy, to try and reduce cases of
sexual misconduct. The campaign highlighted the role that
bystanders can play in preventing sexual assault, and encouraged
individuals to intervene before sexual assault actually
happens.
Read the bikini waxing question in full
below:
legalcheek.
* Attack on academic freedom?
Civil liberties campaigners haven spoken out over a US law
professor reprimanded for setting an exam question based on someone
having a bikini wax. The scenario used words including “genitals”,
“buttocks” and “pubic hair”, as well as a detailed description of
the differences between a modified and full Brazilian.
A spokesperson for the Foundation for Individual Rights in
Education (FIRE), a US civil liberties organisation which wrote a
letter of support for the professor, told Legal Cheek:
“A lot of law deals with bodies and body parts — exam
questions have to reflect that fact. Professors are trying to
expose students to the real world and real life
situations.”
Despite this support, law professor Reginald Robinson, who is at
Howard University in Washington DC, has been lambasted by the
university for the exam question he wrote in 2015 (embedded in full
below).
Robinson used the test question in a teaching session on agency
law. Two students then submitted complaints including: against the
use of the word “genitals”, that the question was asked simply to
prompt the students to reveal personal details about themselves,
and that the scenario was not necessary in teaching agency law.
The university recently determined that the question constituted
sexual harassment under its internal policies. The professor has
received a letter of reprimand on his file, and has been told he
must attend “sensitivity training”. Any future exam questions he
writes will have to be submitted for review first.
The case is being seen as yet another example in a trend of
accusations of sexual harassment against academics (and fellow
students) which, argues FIRE, can be traced back to guidance from
the Office for Civil Rights (OCR), which enforces the US’s laws on
sexual discrimination and harassment in academic institutions.
A spokesperson for FIRE explains:
“In 2013, the OCR in a letter directed that a very
broad definition of sexual harassment should be taken when
investigating complaints and that colleges should take steps to
prevent and address sexual misconduct. This has inspired schools
across the US to take action against professors and students and in
doing so are infringing their first amendment [free speech]
rights.”
But the OCR’s actions have also been seen as one of the triumphs
of the Obama administration in attempting to combat college sexual
assaults.
The administration also launched an awareness-raising campaign
“It’s On Us” as part of that policy, to try and reduce cases of
sexual misconduct. The campaign highlighted the role that
bystanders can play in preventing sexual assault, and encouraged
individuals to intervene before sexual assault actually
happens.
Read the bikini waxing question in full
below:
legalcheek.