More worthwhile reading...

Eventually I'll aggregate all this under a single post and link to it in my header, but I came across another thought-provoking article on the subject of sexual harassment. This one is from  Katie Roiphe, a professor at the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute at New York University who writes for Slate. Roiphe delves deeper into the complexities that commonly underlie the sorts of colleague relationships that can evolve into a situation precipitating inappropriate and, ultimately, unwelcome behavior.The piece recounts the sexual harassment controversy that led to professor of philosophy, Colin McGinn, losing his tenured position at the University of Miami. It has a more conciliatory tone that focuses on McGinn's side of the story, but it is not a defense of his actions so much as a deeper investigation into his motivations. As it is, although the early stages of his relationship with his accuser do seem to entertain a certain romantic ambiguity, the final charge of sexual harassment seems to me justified based on McGinn's later actions (soliciting sex and, consciously or no, wielding the power differential to bring career-related pressure on his accuser). However, it should be noted that this was not the official charge, and that based on viewing all the emails between him and his accuser, the university made its ruling based on the more concrete misdemeanor of unprofessional conduct relating to a clear conflict of interest.
Source: Across the Bilayer - Category: Medical Scientists Source Type: blogs