College Agrees to Settle Computer Harassment Case
A junior college has agreed to pay two female students $15,000 each because of derogatory sexual remarks made about them on a men-only computer bulletin board.
Although Santa Rosa Junior College admitted no wrongdoing, student Lois Arata said the settlement announced Wednesday supports her contention that the school did not do enough to prevent sexual harassment.
The incident started when Arata complained about the school newspaper running an advertisement that showed a woman’s bare buttocks. She called for a boycott of the paper in March.
A former newspaper staffer informed Arata that some men on the newspaper had written sexual insults about her and her friend, Jennifer Branham, on the paper’s men-only computer message network.
The women and the staffer who told them, Dylan Humphrey, sued the school and complained to the U.S. Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights.
The lawsuit’s allegations include the charge that the school allowed retaliation against the two women and Humphrey, who also will receive $15,000 from the settlement.
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