Report finds memorial university has ‘masculine’ culture

Investigation launched after allegations of unsupportive, unwelcoming environment

SHEENA GOODYEAR THE MUSE (MEMORIAL UNIVERSITY OF NEWFOUNDLAND)

ST. JOHN’S, N.L. (CUP) — A report conducted in response to allegations of an unsupportive and unwelcoming environment at Memorial University has found a “masculine culture” at the St. John’s, N.L., school.

Shirley Katz, an associate professor of humanities at York University and a member of the Bar of Ontario, conducted personal interviews, group meetings, telephone interviews, email correspondence and held an open forum.

“While some interviewed emphasized a positive environment, many of those interviewed reported evidence of a serious malaise and masculine culture,” said the report.

The report was in response to concerns about the experiences of Deepa Khosla, a political science professor at the university.

Khosla passed away in November 2005 from a brain hemorrhage caused by an aneurysm. Following her death, the university received messages from her family and colleagues alleging she felt a lack of support for her safety and an unwelcoming environment for women at Memorial.

On Nov. 3, 2005, Khosla wrote a letter to Memorial president Axel Meisen detailing concerns that she had received unwanted attention from a male graduate student.

The student allegedly approached Khosla on the street, knew her name, asked her to go out for coffee after she had already declined, and tried to register for her course despite having already taken the class with another professor.

At a Sept. 13 briefing about the report, Meisen said it concluded interactions between Khosla and the student “were brief and apparently benign.”

“Katz found that the units within the university that were approached by [Khosla] and the administrators who approached her responded with alacrity and utter good faith,” said Meisen.

The report said the administration concluded that the student posed no threat to Khosla, and her concerns grew over time because she could not find out the degree of risk.

Khosla’s sisters, Prabha and Meenal, say the administration should have told Khosla the student was not a threat.

“If they knew that the student was not a threat, then why was she never, ever, ever, told that?” said Prahba Khosla. “Isn’t that one of the appropriate things they should have done? I mean, she was an adult, she is a grown up. If they had said that and validated it, it would have reduced a lot of the stress and anxiety that she was experiencing.”

Seeing the full report would help them put the information in context, say the sisters.

They have not yet seen the document. The university is searching for someone to edit out personal information.

“If we want to release the report, in order to be in compliance with the laws of the province, the information has to be . . . blacked out,” said Meisen. “This is not a discretionary matter on behalf of the university or anybody else. This is a legal obligation.”

Meisen is unsure who will do the blacking out, but he said they will be independent from the university and have expertise in privacy legislation.

In response to her findings, Katz outlined a number of recommendations for improving the university’s climate for women.

Among those recommendations is more staff training sessions about harassment issues and a thorough review of policies and procedures related to sexual harassment.

Meisen says many of the recommendations are already underway.

“I thought the forum was a good beginning,” said Jean Guthrie, a women’s studies professor. She said she was happy to hear the promise of working groups that will probe the recommendations of the report, review policies and write new policies.

“I’m also very pleased to hear that that review is already underway in many places,” she said.

However, Guthrie says the university needs to tread carefully when selecting people to review those policies.

“Who’s going to be re-writing these policies and procedures? With references to what principles of justice? With reference to what assumptions? Are we going to turn over the review of this masculinist environment, as it has been described, to the people that have always managed and framed policy in the past, and who may see through a particular set of lenses?” said Guthrie.

Meanwhile, Prabha Khosla wonders how many other women have come forward to Katz about being harassed at Memorial, and if those allegations will be dealt with.

“There is nothing in the briefing that makes clear what is going to happen to all the men who are the ones who were involved in inappropriate behaviour,” she said.

Meisen said anyone named in the report would be dealt with in accordance with the university’s harassment procedures. As far as he knows, nobody has made a formal complaint.