Over 350 Oswego State faculty and staff signed a statement regarding harassment and intimidation as a response to the harassment taking place on campus.
The statement was signed by faculty and staff throughout every academic corner of the university and sent out to all students in a campuswide email on Nov. 10.
The letter stated, “We expect SUNY Oswego to prosecute behavior that violates the Student Code of Conduct, Section 4., specifically the prohibition of conduct that incites violence or targets individuals or groups.”
Lisa Glidden serves as the chair of the faculty assembly and had a major role in the creation and the multiple revisions of the statement.
“I had spoken via email to President Stanley and knew they were working on a statement, but I thought that it was important that the faculty and staff have a statement as well since we have so many interactions with students and we have a statement separate from the administration,” Glidden said. “Many professors want their students to feel supported and the signing of the petition allows for students to recognize their support. The petition was started when a targeted student disclosed to a faculty member about a threat received in a residence hall.”
Glidden said the faculty member was concerned and wanted a statement to be made.
Not long after the student revealed their fear, Glidden began a rough draft of what became the faculty and professional staff statement on harassment and intimidation on campus. From there, the statement went through several revisions with the help of peers, and was finalized for The Oswegonian deadline at 4 p.m. on Nov. 16, and sent out to students by the president’s office as a campus announcement on Nov. 17.
Since the initial letter was sent out, several faculty members who had previously missed the petition have added their names, making the statement a continual work in progress.
In addition to Oswego, many schools have taken similar strides to reduce harassment on campuses.
“Within SUNY every school has a few representatives depending on the number of students, and of the faculty senate they also put out a statement” Glidden said.
The need for the petition was a response from the multiple harassment cases on Oswego State’s campus during the fall 2016 semester.
