In a recent development, Harvard University and three graduate students have recently arrived at a settlement in a federal lawsuit alleging that the Ivy League school ignored complaints of sexual harassment by a prominent professor and allowed him to intimidate students by threatening to damage careers.
Issuing a statement, Sanford Heisler Sharp said ‘We are glad that our clients will now be able to move on with their lives and careers.’
Further, students’ lawyers commended their clients for their bravery in coming forward, sharing their experiences, and highlighting crucial issues.
But, the terms of the settlement aren’t public.
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What Exactly Happened?
Earlier, one of the students lodged a lawsuit, alleging that a professor of anthropology and African and African American studies John Comaroff, subjected the student to repeated forcible kissing and groping.
Additionally, when the student met him to discuss her plans to study in an African country, Comaroff allegedly warned her that she could face violence in Africa, due to her same-sex relationship.
According to other two plaintiff, Comaroff allegedly threatened to sabotage their careers after they complained about his behavior to university administrators.
One of them also alleged, that he had given her unwanted sexual attention while she was an undergraduate at the University of Chicago.
But the professor’s counsel asserted, that he ‘categorically denies ever harassing or retaliating against any student… He consistently made every effort to assist these students and to advance their careers.’
Talking about the alleged potential dangers present in African country, the professor claimed that his advice was appropriate and driven by genuine concern for her safety if she traveled with a same-sex partner, akin to the warnings issued by the U.S. State Department.
But, later he announced his announcement from Harvard saying that in their fight against the university, he’s being made a scapegoat.
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Issuing July statement, he also said ‘All this extraordinary attention, all the furor, all the nastiness, arose out of two brief office-hour discussions, both academic in intent and content’
He also wrote, that ‘An ugly, ferocious campaign had been waged against me at Harvard by a small group of activists, people who have no knowledge of me, of my pedagogy, or of the facts of the case as established by Harvard’s thorough, largely exonerating investigation.’
