New complaints filed by two graduate students and emotional protests mark major developments in the controversy, as critics demand change

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

A sexual harassment scandal at the prestigious University of California Berkeley expanded on Monday with the filing of multiple high-profile legal complaints and emotional protests on campus demanding that the administration stop protecting professors found guilty of misconduct against students.

Graduate students Kathleen Gutierrez and Erin Bennett filed discrimination complaints with California’s department of fair employment and housing against the university and assistant professor Blake Wentworth, marking a significant development in a controversy that has roiled the renowned public university for months.

Their planned complaint was first reported by the Guardian on Sunday. The women say that Wentworth repeatedly harassed them, frequently making offensive sexual remarks and inappropriately touching them on multiple occasions.

UC Berkeley students to file state sexual harassment complaint against professor Read more

Although the university concluded that the tenure-track professor violated harassment policies more than six months ago, he has not faced any discipline and his case is still pending. Wentworth has strongly denied the allegations.

The complaints – which allege that the school has failed to protect the women from discrimination, sexual harassment and a hostile and intimidating work environment – shed light on a process that critics say protects faculty harassers, is ineffective and unnecessarily lengthy and at times is traumatizing for victims.

The packed press conference and attendant protests occurred on Monday on a busy plaza outside of Dwinelle Hall, where Wentworth’s office is located. They constitute perhaps the most intense public pressure the university has faced in the wake of multiple high-profile harassment controversies. The rally took place as students prepared to meet with Carla Hesse, the school’s interim lead for sexual harassment response on campus, to demand reforms to procedures and disciplinary policies surrounding faculty misconduct.

“It’s been debilitating. It’s completely derailed my future career and my education,” Bennett, a 25-year-old comparative literature grad student, said during an emotional speech, explaining how the university’s inaction in her case has affected her. “We’re operating in a culture of sexual violence … The process of reporting is so intimidating.”

“I want that time back,” a teary-eyed Gutierrez, 28, told the crowd. “This is a labor I didn’t know to expect when I came into this school.”

Critics of the university hope the new legal complaints mark a turning point in a growing controversy and force the school to speedily revise policies and hold harassers accountable with termination.

Geoffrey Marcy, a famous UC Berkeley astronomer, resigned in October after news reports revealed that he did not face serious discipline once the university determined that he had sexually harassed students over a long period of time.

Last month, Sujit Choudhry, dean of UC Berkeley’s highly acclaimed law school, stepped down after it was revealed that he was able to keep his job after the school substantiated sexual harassment allegations from his executive assistant, Tyann Sorrell.

Sorrell also attended the protests on Monday, telling the two grad students: “This is a game-changer what you guys are doing … We are standing together and we are saying enough.”

Choudhry’s onetime assistant told the Guardian she decided to file a lawsuit and speak up publicly to encourage others to step forward. “I believe we are not the only ones,” she said, adding: “To me, this is worse than a cover-up.”

Sorrell’s attorney, John Winer, compared the scandal at UC Berkeley to the Catholic church covering up the widespread sexual abuse by priests.

On Monday, professors said the new legal complaints should make it harder for the university to continue to drag its feet and prioritize its reputation over supporting victims and terminating offenders.

“Lawsuits can be powerful in bringing the extent of the harassment to the surface and getting people to talk about it,” said Lauren Edelman, a professor of law and sociology. “We need zero-tolerance policies and harsh and consistently applied penalties. And we need to make it much, much easier for people without power to complain about sexual harassment.”

Michael Burawoy, professor of sociology and co-chair of the Berkeley Faculty Association, said that there is growing frustration and consensus among professors that the university needs to overhaul its procedures.

“The university is concerned with its reputation. There is a temptation to try and push things under the carpet,” he said. “Many faculty are very angry … There are many conversations going on about how to move forward.”

In a series of emails with the Guardian over the weekend, Wentworth vehemently denied all of the allegations against him, saying he never inappropriately touched the women and did not make the sexual remarks included in the legal complaints.

He wrote: “I state emphatically that the accusations are unjust and unmerited.”

Choudhry’s lawyer also recently claimed that the former dean “will be vindicated in court”.

In a recent release of records, the university disclosed that 19 employees have been found guilty of misconduct by the school’s Office for the Prevention of Harassment and Discrimination. While some staff employees were terminated, no faculty members were fired for sexual harassment.

Dan Mogulof, university spokesman, noted that UC Berkeley has a newly formed committee on sexual violence, harassment and assault that is dedicated to reviewing policies and addressing concerns that faculty and students have raised in recent months. He told the Guardian last week: “There needs to be improvement in our policies and our practices and our culture on this campus.”

If you have information about this story contact: sam.levin@theguardian.com