Task Force finds sexist social scene on campus

Author: Anthony Adragna

While gender relations across campus have generally improved over the last decade, sexism remains a dominant and controlling facet of social life, a report released April 29 from the Task Force on the Status of Women (TSW) at the College found. In the report, the group acknowledges gains made by women, but stresses the amount of work remaining for the community, while also raising broader issues, irrespective of gender, for the College to consider.

"The status of women has clearly changed in many ways in the past decade," the report concluded, "but there is still much to be done."

Compiled by a student and faculty group of 13 that was chartered in 2007 to study the state of gender relations at the College, data for the report were gathered from group interview sessions, focus groups, one-on-one interviews and an electronic survey that garnered over 900 responses.

Included in the 40-page report are 74 recommendations which President of the College Ronald D. Liebowitz and the administration will have the task of considering and implementing. Carrie Rampp, director of Resource Development & Services for Library & Information Services and chair of the Task Force hopes broader discussions about the report's conclusions will come in the fall.


Alcohol, males dominate social scene

For students on campus, these discussions could well focus on the social scene at the College, which, according to the report, revolves around alcohol and fosters sexism and negative gender relations.

Parties at the College, according to the report, tend to be organized by students who are "male, upper-class and athletic," and who sometimes use alcohol and their control of parties to take advantage of women.

"Female students also reported that in their first year at Middlebury, they were invited to parties by older classmen who they felt specifically targeted them for their inexperience with alcohol so they could make inappropriate advances," the report found.

According to Rampp, the unhealthy social scene could be attributed to a number of factors, but alcohol is one of the driving causes behind problematic elements of the social scene. "When looking at the extremely micro-level you can come up with a whole host of symptoms that you might tackle, but we noted this broader root cause behind so many of the challenges," she said.

The report additionally concluded that, within the context of this social scene, women often act in a hypersexual manner due to preconceived expectations about the promiscuity of college students. "Part of the reason they do not set boundaries," according to the report, "is that they need to fit into a social scene dominated by men, who are also often unaware or dismissive of safe sex and sexual assault issues."

Other aspects of the social scene that are faulted in the report include the sexual-themed parties on campus, which induce women to dress in a demeaning manner to gain access, and the workload, which forces many to "squeeze 5 days' worth of social interaction into a 2-day weekend," leading to meaningless relationships and unsafe sex. The report additionally found that this sexual environment results in women under reporting assaults and confusion about what constitutes a sexual assault.

"Many have been the cases when my women friends have been afraid to speak up regarding sexual assault," one survey respondent reported.

Concerns arise in the report over the current system for reporting sexual assaults which some feel "is not designed to serve the interests of the victim." The conclusions do note great improvements on issues of safety on campus over the past 10 years, including more blue light telephones, better lighting and late-night ride options.

Tina Coll '08, who served on the TSW, said the current sexual assault policy needs review and revamping.

"There seems to be much confusion about the definition of and procedure for addressing sexual assault, which leads to thorny situations for women and men alike," she said.

Rampant eating disorders, however, remain a large issue on campus. While the Parton Health Center has resources for students, many students surveyed indicated that these resources are inaccessible. Others feel it is hard to recover from an eating disorder at the College.

Assistant Professor of Sociology and Anthropology and member of the TSW Michael Sheridan said addressing the problem of eating disorders would require persistent work.

"Eating disorders relate to the extremes of the 'work hard, play hard' idea that is a deeply embedded model shaping student behavior, which means that both need coordinated attention," he said.

At the root of all of these social problems, according to the report, is the male treatment of women on campus, but additional criticism is leveled at the system that forces men to demean women in an effort to fit in.

"Heterosexual males who do not fulfill this stereotype [locker room behavior] report having to change their behavior to appear more masculine, at the risk of being 'fag-bated,' or socially marginalized in other ways," the report found.

More broadly, students cited the workload at the College as another cause of many negative behaviors

The report hailed progress made towards creating a safe and friendly campus for GLBTQ, but stressed more work was necessary. It acknowledged the additional challenges faced by women students of color and less socio-economically advantaged students as well. New initiatives like the Queer Studies House were applauded.


Work-life balance, respect top female faculty concerns

In addition to this thorough evaluation of student social life at Middlebury, the report also tackled the status of female faculty and staff members. Of concern to many female faculty members was the amount of work they faced, suggesting it was a main factor in their happiness with the College.

"I think work-life balance needs the most attention," one survey respondent said. "I feel that women have to do more at work in order to succeed at the same level as men. If women make compromises for their family, it seems to come off as being weak or not professional."

Another area of concern remains assisting female faculty members in locating employment for their spouse.

"Given we are located in an isolated rural area, we believe that as we move forward in our efforts to hire and retain the strongest candidates, particularly more female colleagues of color, the College must take a more proactive role with regard to partner employment," the report concluded.

Implicit sexism also appears to emerge in classroom settings, the report found. Female faculty members encounter aggressive male students with regard to grading and many reported receiving less respect than male colleagues in co-taught classes.

One female member of the faculty described the climate in a survey response.

"It is clear that the students have very stereotypical presumptions about the characteristics faculty should possess to be 'professorial,' especially for certain disciplines," the respondent wrote. "Many of my female colleagues feel that we have to work extra hard to prove ourselves in class."

Rampp said the report did not find significant evidence of prejudice in academic departments against female faculty.

"I believe the findings in this area suggested that even in male-dominated departments the trends of our survey were very much in line with the broader community," she said. "While I wouldn't say none exists, it wasn't a significant finding of our report."

Although the report found these trends of concern, it generally lauded great strides made throughout the College in the last 10 years. It points especially to the increase in female administrators, the greater gender
balance on the Board of Trustees and the equality of pay for men and women at the College.

Challenges remain when looking to hire female faculty members, though the College has made improvements in that arena. Childcare, though improved, is another area of concern and the report urges greater time off for new parents.

Additional work should be done to promote a healthier environment for GLBTQ female professors, to attract and retain female professors of color and to counteract a 'glass ceiling' that emerges after a female becomes 50, the report found.


Task force hopes report will help community

All of the 74 recommendations in the report address distinct goals, though they vary from broad to specific, from gender-specific to all-inclusive initiatives. Topics range from the very broad - "Be more proactive on a variety of gender-related issues" - to the very specific - "Create a signature GLBTQ event each year." There is little concrete said about how to achieve these goals, though it is not the goal of the TSW to implement them.

"As a task force, we are not necessarily responsible for providing remedies for all the challenges we find," Rampp said. "In fact, that can sometimes work against you as your readers may instead focus on the flaws in your strategy and less so in the merits of your recommendations. We haven't said precisely how to do this, but that it should be done."

Some of the most telling parts of the report came from the quoted comments before each section. Those selected for inclusion were not unique.

"None of them are abnormal, and all of them are, sometimes unfortunately, 'normal,'" Sheridan said. "We put those quotes in there precisely because they are troubling. Reading an abstract report with quantitative data can make you forget that you're talking about real people's lives."

Sheridan stressed that only time will lead to concrete and lasting changes to attitudes on campus.

"Many of the issues we describe in the report are not isolated 'problems' that can be 'solved' with quick and separate fixes," he said. "Some of this stuff is systemic and complex. So I don't think there's a single easily isolatable 'first thing' to start with if I was prioritizing."

Coll hopes the entire College community can become more involved in the process during subsequent reviews.

"I hope that more men will get involved in future task forces," she said. "They have a lot of useful insight to provide on gender issues. It's not just a one-sided deal."

Rampp suggested the report taught members of the community the universality of many of these issues.

"So much of what we found or that people brought to us couldn't be characterized as a woman's issue, or at least not any more," she said.

While many of the issues raised in the report are troubling, Sheridan thanked the community for their cooperation and thought the report will lead to positive results.

"I am particularly thankful to the many brave people who told us their stories, even when they hurt," he said. "I'd like to see this report become a tool for empowering everyone on this campus to change what we don't like about us, and to be very proud of what makes us such a good place to learn, work and live."