INDY Inside: Sexual Harassment in the Workplace
By Faith Owen
There has been an increased focus on sexual harassment in the workplace due to the national buzz following the #MeToo movement and the Brett Kavanaugh Supreme Court hearings.
The Independent recently spoke with a female Fort Lewis College student who experienced sexual harassment from her manager while working at a local Durango restaurant.
The student, who wished to remain anonymous, experienced sexual harassment at her workplace for about a year, starting in 2017, she said.
There were no issues when she first started working there, but problems began to occur when the new general manager was hired about three months into her working there, she said.
“I never felt completely comfortable or accepted by him,” she said.
The way he would handle things was unprofessional, she said.
“He would say some really sexist comments and if I tried to bring it up to him, he was unresponsive,” she said. “The way he even looked at female customers was predatory.”
For example, the manager would make inappropriate sexual gestures towards female customers at the restaurant.
One specific comment that he made towards a female customer who was wearing her hair in a ponytail made the student uneasy, she said.
“He said her ponytail would be ‘good to grab,’” she said. “I was working in the food industry - every girl there would wear ponytails. He was talking to me when he said that.”
No one should have to work in an environment like that, she said.
“I told him that this made me very uncomfortable,” she said. “He responded that I take things too personally, like every woman does.”
The general manager at this establishment also had anger issues, she said. The student knew he had anger issues, so she was afraid to fully confront him, she said.
“He would have to go into the walk-in freezer and scream in order to not yell at customers,” she said.
The Independent also spoke with two female co-workers who worked under the manager and experienced similar treatment. Both of these other female workers quit their jobs because of the experience.
When the student worker did confront her manager, he immediately decreased her hours each week, she said. After this, the manager did not acknowledge her again until he fired her, she said.
The manager was transferred from the Durango store due to the opening of another store location. The student has a new job and is much happier now, she said.
Professional Guidance at FLC
Molly Wieser, the Title IX coordinator at Fort Lewis College, will talk with any students who have been affected by sexual misconduct, she said.
Some people hate the sexual misconduct they were involved with, but they don’t necessarily want the person confronted, Wieser said.
“I reach out to students and just ask them, ‘How are you, what do you need right now, and what would you like to see come of this?” Wieser said.
On campus, Lotus is a student-run organization on campus that is a safe space for students to discuss any sexual victimization that they went through, Wieser said. They currently meet once a month.
“Lotus is still up and running, helping support victims in any way possible,” Alix Atsye, Lotus’ co-coordinator said. “If need be, we are always free to meet up with victims that are unable to meet at our monthly meeting or need extra support.”