According to the Foothill-De Anza Community College District Student Handbook, De Anza seeks to promote “Members of a college community – students, faculty, staff and visitors – must be able to study and work in an atmosphere of mutual respect and trust. Foothill-De Anza Community College District is actively committed to creating and maintaining an environment which respects the dignity of individuals and groups.” If this statement is true, should a student be allowed to perform fellatio on a fellow student in our very own public library without any permanent record? Recent campus activity says they can.

Hush-hush now

A few weeks into the winter 2012 quarter, two athletic students were caught in a provocative oral sex scene by a library worker. When La Voz reporters contacted library officials to follow up on the story, they were pushed away.

“People are young. People are doing things, and this could go on their permanent record,” was the excuse given by library coordinator Tom Dolen as to why the indecent act need not be reported. “There are a lot of things that go on here that we don’t report,” Dolen added.

Dolen never reported the incident to campus police and, although he said the Dean of Learning Resources, Gregory Anderson, was notified of the incident, Anderson repeatedly stated that he knew “nothing about any incident” when asked, even after being confronted with Dolen’s statement to the contrary. Dolen also persistently discouraged our reporters from speaking with the eyewitness before he did. 

Dolen has determined that the library has its own policies that he can follow, circumventing both college and state policies on the issue or his chain of command. 

Trust in De Anza

Why so classified, Dolen? Was it so hard to say, “yes this occurred, here is how they were punished and yes the room was cleaned.” Now there are more questions: what is the true reason why there was no report of a sexual act to the campus police? Was there bodily fluid excreted onto library furniture? If so was it cleaned?

 This story, which could have been used to discourage students from participating in more lewd acts on campus, such as in the ATC, with a clear display of the consequences has instead become a scandal. 

The secretive manner in which the story is being held only puts De Anza’s integrity into question. 

Should such things as public sexual displays of affection be handled internally by departments? Let us take the same concept – oral sex performed publicly on campus – replace the perpetrators with international students, or students not part of the athletic department, or older students perhaps, or even people who Dolen might have a grudge against. Then would Dolen report the incident to the police? Or would he instead determine the consequences as he sees fit, without accountability or oversight?

Let us keep the peace

According to Board Policy 4640 – Discrimination and Harassment of the Student Handbook, a “‘Hostile environment’ harassment occurs when the conduct has the purpose or effect of having a negative impact upon the individual’s work or academic performance, or of creating an intimidating, hostile or offensive work or educational environment.” 

Were La Voz reporters put in an “offensive work or educational environment” when they were shunned by staff when reporting on the fellatio incident? Was the eyewitness intimidated to say nothing to our reporters? Could the same be said for the students in the library who might have witnessed the act? Would the students who now unknowingly use the same study-room the act occurred in say there is a “negative impact” on their academic performance as time is now spent wondering if the desk they are working at was the same two students had sex on? 

Not reporting lewd acts to campus police is bad enough, but picking and choosing what to report or not report smacks of a culture ripe for abuse and exploitation. We would like to ensure that there is no discrimination or harassment seeping onto campus but the only way that can happen is if guidelines are followed and oversight is allowed.

Moreover, discouraging reporters from covering the story suggests that there is a larger secret, or fear, that De Anza is covering up. Students and faculty alike have a right to know what is happening, good or bad, on the campus they attend and to know that consequences, when doled out, are appropriate. 

Reporting the incident keeps everyone in the clear. It discourages harassment toward individuals in the situation and ensures that the students face the necessary consequences of their actions. It also preserves the honesty of our faculty and the departments involved.