April 2, 2018

Page 1

The Chronicle T H E I N D E P E N D E N T D A I LY AT D U K E U N I V E R S I T Y

MONDAY, APRIL 2, 2018

DUKECHRONICLE.COM

See Inside

Duke scores 4 straight goals to rally past Tar Heels Page 6

ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTEENTH YEAR, ISSUE 73

DUKE FOUND ONE PROFESSOR RESPONSIBLE FOR SEXUAL HARASSMENT Story by Likhitha Butchireddygari | Editor-in-Chief Photo by Jeremy Chen | Associate Photography Editor

Content warning: This story includes detailed accounts of sexual harassment. Editor’s note: The Chronicle has changed the names of students with asterisks next to their names due to the sensitive nature of their stories.

Now, he works at the University Why some students are of Maryland at College Park hesitant to report harassment Last semester, Duke found a professor responsible for violating its sexual harassment policy. Now, he’s at the University of Maryland at College Park, where he will be teaching a course next Fall. His supervisor there was not aware that he violated the harassment policy at Duke until The Chronicle contacted him. In an Office of Institutional Equity investigation, multiple current and former students and staff made sexual harassment allegations against William “Tony” Rivera, former visiting professor with the Social Science Research Institute and director of the Laboratory for Unconventional Conflict Analysis and Simulation (LUCAS). The allegations documented in the OIE sexual harassment report obtained by The Chronicle include making sex-related jokes—such as jokes about genitalia, performing oral sex and the size of his penis—and engaging in “unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature.”

In January 2018, the University of Maryland announced that Rivera would work for one of its centers. The center’s director later confirmed he was not aware of the allegations. Rivera said in a statement that the Duke investigation was not fair. “In an odd way, though, I’m glad this is public so that a) I can speak to this once for all and b) so that I can finally heal, let this go and move on to doing great work with committed students—the vast majority of whom continue to work with me because they know me, trust me and know not just my mind, but my heart (some have testified in the OIE kangaroo court and spoken to The Chronicle on my behalf),” he wrote. The Chronicle spoke with seven individuals who were both Rivera’s students and LUCAS staffers about their experiences See MARYLAND on Page 2

Students who participated in Duke’s investigation of their professor and supervisor for harassment discuss how issues of harassment could have persisted for as long as they did. Last semester, Duke’s Office of Institutional Equity found William “Tony” Rivera, former visiting professor with the Social Science Research Institute and director of the Laboratory for Unconventional Conflict Analysis and Simulation (LUCAS), responsible for violating its harassment policy. Rivera now works at the University of Maryland at College Park. One former student and LUCAS staffer, Robert*, contacted OIE in 2014, 2015 and 2017, but did not name Rivera until a fourth time, in May 2017, according to an OIE report. He said he was worried that he wouldn’t be able to get someone to vouch for his time at the lab to potential employers. After the first incident in 2014, Robert

INSIDE — News 2 | Sports 5 | Crossword 9 | Opinion 10 | Serving the University since 1905 |

@dukechronicle @dukebasketball |

actually told OIE what allegedly happened. He said Rivera took his students to an offcampus bar on the last day of Rivera’s class. Robert, who was drunk, said that he was walking back to his East Campus dorm when he noticed Rivera behind him. When they were on East Campus, Robert said Rivera told him that he wanted him and Robert felt compelled to kiss him. But, he soon regretted it and went to his room. In the 2017 OIE investigation report, Rivera said “he ‘bumped into’ [Robert] after leaving [the off-campus bar], and [Robert] kissed him unexpectedly. He did not recall placing his hands on [Robert] or telling [Robert] he wanted him.” At the time of the incident, Robert could not bring himself to name the professor. “I felt extremely worried and scared about my future at Duke because he was still here. See HARASSMENT on Page 4 @thedukechronicle | © 2018 The Chronicle


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.