HIRSCHFIELD: CASE REVEALS CONCERNS NATIONALLY

Copyright 1994, Southeast Missourian

A Southeast Missouri State University assistant professor of English accused of sexual harassment says his case reflects a growing concern on the nation's college campuses over the issue of academic freedom.

Theodore Hirschfield said Friday that his case demonstrates a "groundswell of reaction to a liberal overreaction."

The case of Hirschfield, who in January filed a $2.5 million lawsuit against the university, has gotten national attention.

The Chronicle of Higher Education, an industry newspaper that's read on college campuses across America, discussed the case at length in its March 16 edition.

Hirschfield is accused of making sexually offensive comments to students. Among other things, it's alleged he said in a creative writing class that "all a woman has to do is lay on her back, spread her legs and the government rewards her for each child she produces."

But Hirschfield said Friday that "probably half" of the remarks attributed to him were actually made by students in his class.

"I would say half of the things that are attributed to me came out of discussion, a free-wheeling give and take," Hirschfield said from Florida, where he is vacationing. He is on a teaching sabbatical for the spring semester.

But he said he would defend the rights of both professors and students to say such things on grounds of academic freedom.

Southeast's affirmative action officer investigated complaints made by two students and last October recommended that Hirschfield be suspended without pay for a month, undergo counseling and make written apologies to the students.

Diane Howard, a Cape Girardeau attorney representing the university, said that Hirschfield's comment attributing some of the alleged statements to students puts "a whole new slant" on the affair.

"Obviously, it would have made a substantial difference in the investigation that the university conducted," she said Friday.

Nationally, there has been an increase in the number of sexual harassment complaints that have been lodged on college campuses. As that number has increased so has the number of people fighting such charges, the Chronicle reported.

In January, the University of Houston settled a multi-million-dollar lawsuit filed by a professor who had been accused of sexual harassment. The school paid the tenured professor $200,000 for his resignation, the Chronicle said.

Lesley Francis, associate secretary of the national Association of University Professors, said her group is concerned that schools have adopted "overly broad" interpretations of sexual harassment that "reach out into areas of academic freedom, privacy, consensual relationships, all kinds of things."

Said Francis, "The more you broaden the definition of what constitutes sexual harassment, the more it trivializes the serious cases."

There have been sexual harassment complaints made on college campuses in cases involving nude paintings and the teaching of works by authors such as D.H. Lawrence, she said.

Francis said universities need to "tighten up" their sexual harassment definitions and make sure they provide due process for those accused of the offense.

Schools, she said, must be careful not to infringe on a person's right to free speech.

Professors, she said, have a right to be provocative in their speech. Francis said that's "something we consider to be a very precious commodity. That is what professors do for a living."

Hirschfield said the legal battles being waged by the nation's university professors will hopefully succeed in "righting the academic ship."

He maintained that the sexual harassment policies at many of the nation's schools don't represent the "majority opinion of the American people."

"Academics live in a little enclave and can't tell the difference between reality and their own perverted sense of realism," Hirschfield said.

Prior to filing the lawsuit, Hirschfield had filed an administrative appeal with the university.

School officials want to proceed with the hearing. "A grievance committee has been appointed and is working on attempting to schedule a hearing," said Howard.

But she said Hirschfield's attorney has indicated his client doesn't want to pursue the administrative appeal but rather deal with the issue in the courts.

Hirschfield said he'd like to see this case settled. "They have been told twice by my lawyer that we are willing to settle."