Dear NY Times Editors,



We are writing to give feedback on a story which appeared in the October 11 edition of the NYTimes, titled "Geoffrey Marcy, Astronomer at Berkeley, Apologizes for Behavior" by Dennis Overbye. Appended at the end of this letter is a Letter to the Editor to be considered for publication.



The authors of this letter are all professional astronomers and physicists, from across the world. Women are dramatically underrepresented in our field and other sciences, in part because of the sexism and misogyny that this article reinforced.



This article epitomizes the culture that champions the voices of predators and minimizes the experiences of survivors. Mr. Overbye's piece repeatedly sympathizes with Marcy, portraying him as a misunderstood, empathetic educator. This viewpoint is captured in the title of the article, and it is reinforced by quotes from Marcy and his wife that Marcy was "condemned without knowing all of the facts" and "the punishment Geoff is receiving here in the court of hysterical public opinion is far out of proportion to what he did". Not only are these statements false (see the next paragraph), but they employ the damaging tactic of painting female targets and their supporters as overly sensitive trouble-makers.



And we do know the facts. Berkeley undertook a formal investigation and found Marcy guilty of repeated harassment over almost a decade. Marcy abused his position of power, betrayed his responsibilities as an educator, and sexually harassed students. Despite these truths, Marcy was not punished.



This article downplays Marcy's predatory behaviors and the profound damage that he has caused to countless individuals. It overlooks the continued trauma that Marcy inflicts to this day as a Berkeley professor, and it implicitly condones his predatory acts. In doing so, it discourages women from speaking out when they have been violated, and it undermines the safety and learning environment of all students.



Mr. Overbye has a serious conflict of interest in reporting this story as Overbye has a longterm collegial relationship with Marcy and has championed Marcy's work in previous NY Times articles (http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/13/science/finder-of-new-worlds.html). Overbye's bias is evident when Overbye refers to this situation as "Dr. Marcy's troubles" and when devoting three paragraphs at the top of the story on Marcy's wife's opinions of the crimes.



Moreover, Overbye omits several relevant details of the case. Specifically, the investigation found Marcy violated sexual harassment policies over a decade (2001-2010), a fact never mentioned in this article. Overbye also failed to capture the gravity of the offenses. For example, one complainant said, "Marcy placed his hand on her leg, slid his hand up her thigh, and grabbed her crotch” (http://www.buzzfeed.com/azeenghorayshi/famous-astronomer-allegedly-sexually-harassed-students). In another instance, Marcy was observed "giving an undergraduate a back massage, with his hand underneath her shirt, alone and after hours in the lab." In omitting this information and focusing on Marcy and his wife's feelings, Overbye fosters sympathy for a sexual predator and exacerbates the culture which allowed him to prey on unsuspecting students.



Marcy's story deserves national coverage because it demonstrates an extreme yet persistent problem that occurs on many college campuses and in many fields. For example, Marcy's case parallels that of MIT physics professor, Walter Lewin. Mr. Overbye mentions the Lewin case, saying "Two years ago, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology... cut ties with Walter Lewin... after finding that he had sexually harassed at least one student." There are two factual errors in that sentence: MIT cut ties with Lewin less than one year ago, and the complainant brought evidence that Lewin harassed at least ten students, not one (https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/01/23/complainant-unprecedented-walter-lewin-sexual-harassment-case-comes-forward).



We request that you retract this article based on its false information, the clear bias of the author, the omission of relevant details, and the harm it is doing to your readers. Furthermore, we ask you in the future to consider that sympathy and support should be given to the survivors, not to the perpetrator.



Additionally, we have authored a brief Letter to the Editor to be considered for publication in the NY Times summarizing the short-comings of Overbye's article:







Re "Astronomer Apologizes for Behavior", October 11: By emphasizing Geoff Marcy's apology and his wife's opinions, this article champions the voice of a sexual predator and minimizes the continued trauma of his targets. Overbye's piece repeatedly sympathizes with Marcy, portraying him as a misunderstood, empathetic educator who was "condemned without knowing the facts" and given punishment "in the court of hysterical public opinion". Furthermore, given Overbye's long history of sourcing Marcy, the piece lacks the objectivity it deserves.



We do know the facts of this case. Berkeley undertook a formal investigation and found Marcy guilty of repeated sexual harassment of students spanning almost a decade. Marcy abused his position of power, betrayed his responsibilities as an educator, and caused profound damage. By overlooking the gravity of Marcy's predatory behavior, this article discourages women from speaking out and undermines the safety of students.



This story deserves national coverage because it demonstrates an extreme yet persistent problem on college campuses. However, sympathy and support should be given to the survivors, not the perpetrator.











Thank you,







278 astronomers and physicists:



Prof. Laura Lopez, The Ohio State University



Dr. Alicia Aarnio, University of Michigan Ann Arbor



Prof. Tom Abel, Stanford University



Dr. Asad Aboobaker, JPL/Caltech



Dr. Katey Alatalo, Carnegie Observatories



Prof. Katelyn Allers, Bucknell University



Dr. Patrick Allison, The Ohio State University



Dr. Katie Auchettl, The Ohio State University



Oindree Banerjee, Graduate Student, The Ohio State University



Jennifer Barnes, PhD Candidate, UC Berkeley



Dr. Joseph Barranco, San Francisco State University



Daniel Barringer, PhD candidate, Penn State University



Prof. John Beacom, The Ohio State University



Aida Behmard, Post-Bac Student, Princeton University



Dr. Eric Bellm, California Institute of Technology



Casey Berger, Graduate Student, UNC Chapel Hill



Dr. Zach Berta-Thompson, MIT Kavli Institute



Dr. Jonathan Bird, Vanderbilt University



Prof. Elizabeth Blanton, Boston University



Dr. Laura Blecha, University of Maryland College Park



Dr. Slavko Bogdanov, Columbia University



Sudeshna Boro Saikia, PhD Student, University of Goettingen



Allison Bostrom, PhD Student, University of Michigan Ann Arbor



Dr. Mia Bovill, Space Telescope Science Institute



Dr. Brendan Bowler, University of Texas at Austin



Dr. Jessica Brinson, The Ohio State University



Dr. Esra Bulbul, MIT



Prof. Adam J. Burgasser, UC San Diego



Dr. Blakesley Burkhart, Harvard University



Nicole E. Cabrera Salazar, PhD candidate, Georgia State University



Dr. Simon W. Campbell, Max-Planck-Institut für Astrophysik



Chris Cappiello, Graduate Student, The Ohio State University



Dr. John Joseph M. Carrasco, Institute for Advanced Studies/CEA-Saclay



Prof. Caitlin Casey, University of Texas at Austin



Dr. Daniel Castro, MIT



Hope How-Huan Chen, Graduate Student, Harvard University



Prof. Ryan Chornock, Ohio University



Prof. Sarah Church, Stanford University



Dr. Jessie Christiansen, California Institute of Technology



Brian Clark, Graduate Student, The Ohio State University



Prof. Kim Coble, Chicago State University



Dr. Michelle Collins, University of Surrey



Dr. Jennifer L. Connelly, Rochester Institute of Technology



Monica K. Cook, Graduate Student, Georgia State University



Dr. Lia Corrales, MIT Kavli Institute



Prof. Nicolas Cowan, McGill University



Prof. Steven Cranmer, University of Colorado Boulder



Dr. Kevin Croxall, The Ohio State University



Dr. Kat Deck, California Institute of Technology



Prof. Wouter Deconinck, College of William & Mary



Prof. Kisha Delain, University of St. Thomas



Aleya Dhanji, Graduate Student, The Ohio State University



Dr. Aleks Diamond-Stanic, University of Wisconsin-Madison



Dr. Joshua S. Dillon, UC Berkeley



Rachel Domagalski, Junior Specialist, UC Berkeley



Dr. Michael Dunham, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics



Prof. Cova Dvorkin, Harvard University



Dr. Peter Edmonds, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics



Prof. Richard Easther, University of Auckland



Dr. Steven Ehlert, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center



Ileyk El Mellah, PhD Candidate, Paris Diderot University



Samuel Factor, Graduate Student, University of Texas at Austin



Xiao Fang, Graduate Student, The Ohio State University



Matthew Feickert, Graduate Student, Southern Methodist University



Dr. Carl Ferkinhoff, Max Planck Institute for Astronomy



Dr. Ximena Fernández, Rutgers University



Prof. Helene Flohic, University of the Pacific



Prof. Ryan Foley, UIUC



Prof. Scott Franklin, Rochester Institute of Technology



Prof. Anna Frebel, MIT



Prof. Linda French, Illinois Wesleyan University



Jenna Freudenburg, Graduate Student, The Ohio State University



Prof. Peter M. Frinchaboy, Texas Christian University



Dr. Jim Fuller, California Institute of Technology



Prof. Bryan Gaensler, University of Toronto



Molly Gallagher, Graduate Student, The Ohio State University



Grady A. Gambrel, PhD Candidate, The Ohio State University



Dr. Pamela L. Gay, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville



Diego Godoy Rivera, Graduate Student, The Ohio State University



Dr. Nathan Goldbaum, UIUC



Prof. Valentino Gonzalez, Universidad de Chile



Dr. Natalie Gosnell, University of Texas at Austin



Prof. Andy Gould, The Ohio State University



Dr. Catherine E. Grant, MIT



Dr. Kate Grier, Penn State University



Leah Griffith, PhD Student, University of Denver



Prof. Nicole Gugliucci, Saint Anselm College



Dr. James Guillochon, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics



Dr. Mark Gurwell, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics



Alex Hagen, PhD candidate, Penn State University



Lea Hagen, PhD candidate, Penn State University



Prof. Daryl Haggard, McGill University



Dr. Duane Hamacker, University of New South Wales



Dr. Amanda Heiderman, University of Virginia



Dr. Calen B. Henderson, Jet Propulsion Laboratory/Caltech



Prof. Christopher Hirata, The Ohio State University



Dr. Renée Hložek, Princeton University



Prof. Shirley Ho, Carnegie Mellon University



Prof. Jennifer L. Hoffman, University of Denver



John Hoffman, Graduate Student, Princeton University



Dr. Bradford Holden, UCO/Lick Observatory



Prof. Tabetha Hole, Norwich University



Tyler Holland-Ashford, Graduate Student, The Ohio State University



Prof. Daniel Holz, University of Chicago



Prof. Carol Hood, California State University, San Bernadino



Prof. Klaus Honscheid, The Ohio State University



Prof. Sarah Horst, Johns Hopkins University



Dr. Eric Huff, The Ohio State University



Dr. Daniela Huppenkothen, NYU



Dr. Seth Jacobson, Observatior de la Côte d'Azur



Prof. Hannah Jang-Condell, University of Wyoming



Prof. Regina Jorgenson, Willamette University



Prof. Donghui Jeong, Penn State University



Prof. Jennifer Johnson, The Ohio State University



Dr. Noé Kains, Space Telescope Science Institute



Dr. Atish Kamble, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics



Prof. Sheila Kannappan, UNC Chapel Hill



Prof. Jeyhan Kartaltepe, Rochester Institute of Technology



Dr. Sarah Kendrew, University of Oxford



Dr. Bulent Kiziltan, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics



Prof. Monika Kress, San Jose State University



Dr. Andrea Kunder, Leibniz Institut für Astrophysik Potsdam (AIP)



Kara Kundert, Undergraduate Student, University of Michigan Ann Arbor



Prof. Cornelia C. Lang, University of Iowa



Dr. Jasmina Lazendic-Galloway, Monash University



Dr. Duane Lee, Shanghai Astronomical Observatory



Prof. Adam Leroy, The Ohio State University



Prof. Yuexing Cindy Li, Penn State University



Shirley Li, Graduate Student, The Ohio State University



Joshua Yao-Yu Lin, Graduate Student, National Taiwan University



Dr. Adrian Liu, UC Berkeley



Dr. Rachael Livermore, University of Texas at Austin



Cassi Lochhaas, Graduate Student, The Ohio State University



Adrian Lucy, PhD candidate, Columbia University



Prof. Wladimir Lyra, California State University, Northridge



Dr. Katherine J. Mack, University of Melbourne



Morgan MacLeod, PhD candidate, UC Santa Cruz



Dr. Ann-Marie Madigan, UC Berkeley



Prof. Sangeeta Malhotra, Arizona State University



Prof. Massimo Marengo, Iowa State University



Prof. Sera Markoff, University of Amsterdam



Prof. David J. E. Marsh, King's College London/Royal Astronomical Society



Megan Marshall, Graduate Student, University of Maryland



Daniel Martens, Graduate Student, The Ohio State University



Prof. Paul Martini, The Ohio State University



Christopher Marvin, PhD Student, Institut für Astrophysik Goettingen



Marissa McCauley, Penn State University



Dr. Nicholas McConnell, NRC Herzberg



Prof. Elizabeth J. McGrath, Colby College



Dr. Rosalie McGurk, Max Planck Institute for Astronomy



Prof. Timothy McKay, University of Michigan



Prof. Maura McLaughlin, West Virginia University



Prof. Robert McNees, Loyola University Chicago



Prof. Sean McWilliams, West Virginia University



Prof. M. Virginia McSwain, Lehigh University



Dr. Anne Medling, Australia National University



Dr. Scott Medling, Australia National University



Dr. Peter Melchior, The Ohio State University



Dr. Stefano Meschiari, University of Texas at Austin



Prof. Brendan Miller, College of St. Scholastica



Dr. Eric D. Miller, MIT Kavli Institute



Jonah Miller, Graduate Student, Perimeter Institute



Dr. Elisabeth A. C. Mills, U of Arizona Steward Observatory/National Radio Astronomy Observatory



Dr. Saeed Mirshekari, ICTP South American Institute for Fundamental Research



Blythe Moreland, Graduate Student, The Ohio State University



Prof. Jorge Moreno, Cal Poly Pomona



Dr. Brian Morsony, University of Maryland College Park



Dr. Gabriela Montes, UC Santa Cruz



Prof. Miguel Mostafa, Penn State University



Dr. Daniel Mortlock, Imperial College London



Dr. Tony Mroczkowski, Naval Research Laboratory



Sara Mueller, Graduate Student, The Ohio State University



Prof. Philip S. Muirhead, Boston University



Dr. Demitri Muna, The Ohio State University



Dr. Nicholas A. Murphy, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory



Prof. Ruth Murray-Clay, UC Santa Barbara



Dr. Jill Naiman, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics



Kenny Ng, Graduate Student, The Ohio State University



Dr. Joey Neilsen, MIT



Dr. Clara Nellist, Laboratoire de l’Accélérateur Linéaire



Kathryn Nicolich, Graduate Student, The Ohio State University



Dr. Kai Noeske, Max Planck Institute for Astronomy



Prof. Jeff Oishi, Farmingdale State College



Gulden Othman, Graduate Student, UNC Chapel Hill



Zach Pace, Graduate Student, University of Wisconsin at Madison



Vaishali Parkash, PhD Student, Monash University



Dr. Laura Parker, McMaster University



Dr. David Parkinson, University of Queensland



Dr. Rachel Paterno-Mahler, University of Michigan



Dr. Molly S. Peeples, Space Telescope Science Institute



Prof. Hiranya Peiris, University College London



Jamon Pennicott, PhD Candidate, Monash University



Dr. Matthew Penny, The Ohio State University



Dr. Sebastian Perez, Universidad de Chile



Ashley Perko, PhD Candidate, Stanford University



Prof. Eric Perlman, Florida Institute of Technology



Prof. Annika Peter, The Ohio State University



Prof. Sara Petty, Virgnia Tech



Dr. Jonathan Pober, Brown University



Dr. Radoslaw Poleski, The Ohio State University



Prof. Matthew Povich, Cal Poly Pomona



Diana Powell, Graduate Student, UC Santa Cruz



Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein, MIT



Alexandra Rahlin, Graduate Student, Princeton University



Matthias Raives, Graduate Student, The Ohio State University



Prof. Enrico Ramirez-Ruiz, UC Santa Cruz



Prof. Lynne Raschke, College of St. Scholastica



Meredith L. Rawls, PhD Candidate, New Mexico State University



Prof. Matthew Reece, Harvard University



Prof. Emily Rice, CUNY College of Staten Island



Thomas Sean Rice, PhD student, University of Michigan Ann Arbor



Dr. Thomas Robitaille, Max Planck Institute for Astronomy



Dr. David Rosario, Durham University



Dr. Henry G. Roe, Lowell Observatory



Anna Rosen, PhD candidate, UC Santa Cruz



Dr. Gwen Rudie, Carnegie Observatories



Prof. Gregory Rudnick, University of Kansas



Andres Salcedo, Graduate Student, The Ohio State University



Prof. Paolo Salucci, SISSA



Prof. Karin Sandstrom, UC San Diego



Dr. Katharine Schlesinger, Australia National University



Dr. Wayne Schlingman, The Ohio State University



Dr. Sarah Schmidt, Leibniz-Institut für Astrophysik Potsdam



Josiah Schwab, PhD Candidate, UC Berkeley



Dr. Victoria Scowcroft, Carnegie Observatories



Jesse Shanahan, Graduate Student, Wesleyan University



Prof. Jessie Shelton, UIUC



Dr. Ken Shen, UC Berkeley



Gregory Simonian, Graduate Student, The Ohio State University



Prof. Caroline Simpson, Florida International University (and past member of AAS CSWA)



Melinda Soares-Furtado, graduate student, Princeton University



Prof. Angela Speck, University of Missouri



Alessondra Springmann, Graduate Student, University of Arizona



Prof. Krzysztof Stanek, The Ohio State University



Prof. Sumner Starrfield, Arizona State University



Dr. Leo C. Stein, California Institute of Technology



Abigail Stevens, PhD candidate, University of Amsterdam



Daniel Stevens, Graduate Student, The Ohio State University



Prof. Michael Strauss, Princeton University



Dr. Linda Strubbe, University of British Columbia



Kasandara Sullivan, Graduate Student, The Ohio State University



Ai-Lei Sun, PhD candidate, Princeton University



Noah Talisa, PhD Candidate, The Ohio State University



Dr. Joshua Tan, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile



Dr. Angelle Tanner, Mississippi State University



Jamie Tayar, Graduate Student, The Ohio State University



Dr. Richelle Teeling-Smith, Marion Technical College



Dr. Tea Temim, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and the University of Maryland College Park



Dr. Shriharsh Tendulkar, McGill University



Dr. Johanna Teske, Carnegie Institute for Science



Lindsey Thaler, The Ohio State University



Dr. Rollin Thomas, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory



Prof. Todd Thompson, The Ohio State University



Prof. Michele Thornley, Bucknell University



Anita Titmarsh, Graduate Student, University of Tasmania



Prof. Lauren Tompkins, Stanford University



Prof. Scott Trager, Kapteyn Astronomical Institute, University of Groningen



Dr. Ryan Trainor, UC Berkeley



Dr. David Tsang, University of Maryland College Park



Prof. Niescja Turner, Trinity University



Dr. Sarah Tuttle, University of Texas at Austin



Prof. Alexander J. van der Horst, George Washington University



Dr. R. Mark Wagner, The Ohio State University



Dr. Lucianne Walkowicz, Adler Planetarium



Dr. Laura Watkins, Space Telescope Science Institute



Prof. Anna Watts, University of Amsterdam



Prof. Risa Wechsler, Stanford University



Ben Wibking, Graduate Student, The Ohio State University



Prof. Ralph Wijers, University of Amsterdam



Dr. Peter K. G. Williams, Harvard University



Prof. Brenda P. Winnewisser, The Ohio State University



Dr. Angie Wolfgang, Penn State University



Dr. Jennifer Yee, Harvard University



Prof. Elizabeth J. Young, Rhodes College



Dr. Gail Zasowski, Johns Hopkins University



Dr. Seth Zenz, Imperial College London



Dr. Zhaohuan Zhu, Princeton University



Dr. Claire Zukowski, Columbia University





