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Wednesday, February 27, 2019
Issue 22, Volume 84
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Harassment casts a shadow on campus CRIME MCKENZIE MISIASZEK @MISIASZEKUH
She was walking to class this fall, clad in workout gear and with her head down, when a man walked up to inform her that her backpack zipper was undone. Before she got the chance to fix the pocket herself, he was behind her, zipping it up. To be polite, she thanked him and assumed he would leave. He did not. He introduced himself and said he was walking in the same direction. “He was talking the whole way about how cute I was and how much he liked my glasses and how he just thought I seemed like a really cool person without actually
knowing anything about me,” said Amber, who requested only her first name be used. He tried to put his arm around her and followed her into the building. She attempted to say goodbye, but he insisted he was still walking in the same direction and did not want to leave. He said he wanted to keep talking to her, even after she clarified she was in a relationship. Outside her classroom, he insisted she give him her number. She was scared. She’d heard the stories of what sometimes happens when women reject men. She gave him her Facebook messenger and decided to
LIFE & ARTS
block him later. He immediately messaged her. “He had been messaging me saying he thought I was cool and wanted to meet me, and he felt like I wouldn’t be like most people and say they’ll be your friend and then never talk to you,” Amber said. “I tried telling him I had a boyfriend, but he just ignored that and just started talking about how his ex broke his heart.” She texted her sister to say she was scared that he would still be outside waiting for her, so her sister skipped her class to help. He was not waiting outside the classroom, but Amber said she remained on edge for the rest of
the week. “My sister walked me to class the next few lessons and even showed me a new way to walk so I could hopefully avoid him,” she said. Amber said she knows her experience could have gone much worse, but it is something many women, and men, regularly experience.
Options Harassment encompasses a wide range of activities. While many think of sexual harassment when they hear the word, harassment is defined as a course of conduct that harasses, annoys,
SPORTS
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alarms, abuses, torments or embarrasses another, according to Texas Penal Code 42.07. The University has multiple routes students can choose from if they are experiencing stalking or harassment, based on what their desired outcome may be. If students don’t want to pursue criminal action and would rather just make sure their harasser does not have classes with them, they can go to Equal Opportunity Services instead of UHPD. “Students who are concerned for their safety should let
HARASSMENT
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OPINION
Candidates get roasted
The opinion section pokes fun at the SGA presidential and vicepresidential candidates. | PG. 10