NU office responds
to harassment quickly
By Kara Q. Morrlton 1 1
Senior Editor
One UNL affirmative action of
ficer said Wednesday that no
sexual harassment complaint is
ignored and that if contacted, his
office is obligated to act.
“We look at the issues very
quickly regarding sexual harass
ment allegations,” Ronald Ross,
associate director of Affirmative
Action, said. “We will handle the
problem that day if the situation
warrants that.”
Ross said University of Ne
braska-Lincoln students and em
ployees who have sexual harass
ment complaints against UNL
employees should deal with them
through the Affirmative Action
office.
Faculty or staff members also
can report harassment cases to a
supervisor, he said. Ross said su
pervisors usually then contacted
Affirmative Action to help resolve
any problem.
“We encourage supervisors to
contact us when they have those
types of issues so they are handled
consistently,” Ross said.
Ross said his office also pro
vided training sessions for depart
ment supervisors so they knew
how to handle such complaints.
Supervisors are instructed how
to handle such complaints and
how to talk to someone who feels
he or she has been sexually ha
rassed, he said.
“We have had problems in re
gards to those issues,” Ross said,
“and we have (provided training
to some departments).”
Someone making a complaint
must first complete an intake form,
he said. The form asks the person
to disclose his or her name, depart
ment, persons involved and the
nature of the alleged harassment.
The person with the complaint
is also asked to describe in writ
ing what he or she would like the
Affirmative Action office to do.
They must then sign their name
agreeing to cooperate with the of
fice and verifying what they are
saying is true.
Ross said general procedure for
reporting sexual harassment var
ied case-by-case at this point.
If people with complaints want
to handle the situation on their
own, he said, the Affirmative Ac
tion office merely advise on how
to do so.
“We don’t intervene unless they
ask us to,” Ross said.
However, Ross said in some
cases, such as quid pro quo harass
ment, in which a person has been
asked to perform sexual favors for
a grade or employment benefits,
Affirmative Action strongly rec
ommends intervention.
Ross said the department would
confront the alleged harasser, but
he said the person with the com
plaint would be kept informed of
any action the office had taken on
his or her behalf.
“We keep them apprised of all
the steps of what we are doing,”
Ross said. “We don’t blindside a
person by going in with guns blaz
ing.
“We treat the alleged harasser
in a very dignified manner, and
we’re as confidential as we can
possibly be,” Ire said.
Ross also said people who had
complaints should not worry about
retaliation by their alleged harass
es.
Retaliation is considered a
separate violation even if the per
son is found to not have commit
ted the alleged harassment, Ross
said.
World AIDS Day promoting
awareness and compassion
By John Fulwlcter
Staff Reporter
Organizers of today’s World AIDS
Day activities at UNL hope to in
crease awareness of the worldwide
epidemic, a University Health Cen
ter administrator said.
Pat Tetreault, Health Center sexu
ality education coordinator, said ob
servance of World AIDS Day was
important because of the great num
ber of people the disease affected.
“The more awareness and compas
sion we can bring to this, the better
ofiF everyone will be,” she said.
Today is the seventh annual World
AIDS Day. This year’s theme is
“AIDS and Families: Protect And
Care for the Ones We Love.”
Tetreault said there was no set way
to observe World AIDS Day. Com
munities around the world choose
events that match local needs, she
said.
The University of Nebraska
Lincoln’s observance will feature a
booth in the Nebraska Union today
from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. It will
feature information about AIDS and
sexuality, Tetreault said.
Harassment
Continued from Page 1
Bartholow said.
Carole McMahon-Boies,
Brunkhorst’s lawyer, would not com
ment on Bartholow’s statement.
Brunkhorst declined to speak to the
Daily Nebraskan.
Brunkhorst called University Po
lice to report wliat she perceived as
stalkings Oct. 27 and Nov. 14. On
Nov. IS, she applied for a protection
order in Lancaster County District
Court.
Court records show Brunkhorst
called University Police the morning
of Nov. 14 and said that Bartholow
was following her and watching her
A quilt representing Nebraska will
be available for students to sign. The
quilt will become part of the national
Names Quilt, Tetreault said. The
Names Quilt, which is the size of sev
eral football fields, lias pieces memo
rializing people who have died of
AIDS.
Awareness of the disease is espe
cially important to college students,
who are in a time when they are ex
ploring" their sexuality, she said.
The booth will have “Love Safely”
packets that include condoms and
information about disease prevention.
Red ribbons will be available for stu
dents to wear to show their aware
ness of AIDS.
The booth is sponsored by Peers
Encouraging Responsible Sexuality
at UNL, Campus Red Cross, the Uni
versity Health Center Student Advi
sory Board and the Nebraska Depart
ment of Health, Tetreault said.
Union businesses also will observe
World AIDS Day. Amigos, Burger
King and Subway will give 10 per
cent discounts today to anyone wear
ing a red ribbon, Tetreault said. The
Subway discounts apply to sand
wiches only.
go to work at Kimball Recital Hall.
University Police Officer John
O’Grady looked into the Nov. 14 in
cident and, because no law was bro
ken, look no action. O’Grady did file
a report on the call. Police records
show Brunkhorst called police Oct.
27, but that no police report was filed
on that date.
UNL Police Chief Ken Cauble said
Wednesday that the information
taken by the officer did not warrant
further investigation. He said the in
cident would not have qualified as a
stalking under Nebraska’s stalking
law.
Brunkhorst and Bartholow agreed
in court Tuesday to dismiss the pro
tection order if Bartholow avoided
using the Johnny Carson Theater
doors and the adjacent area.
POLICEREPORT
Beginning midnight Sunday
7:64 am — Security alarm, unknown
cause.
12:37 pm—Larceny, 1541 S St., greek
letters taken.
6:69 pm — Security alarm, unknown
cause.
Beginning midnight Monday
1:32 am — Hit-and-run accident, Area
10 lot at 14th and Vine streets, sign dam
aged, $200 damage.
11:11 am — Security alarm, unknown
cause.
12:5* p.m. — Property damage, Area
10 lot near Nebraska HaH, $100 dam
age to vehicle.
3:14 pm — Security alarm, accidental
trip.
7:23 pm — Security alarm, accidental
trip.
10:14 pm — Indecent exposure, 1531
SSt.
10:34 pm—Hit-and-run accident, Area
2 lot at 21 at and Vine streets, $400 dam
age to vehicle.
Beginning midnight Tuesday
7:34 pm — Larceny from building, Ne
braska Union, bag and contents taken,
$197 loss.
8:60 pm — Larceny from building, Ne
braska Union, daily planner and calcula
tor taken, $120 loss.
cWor_[d_ tLay.
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AIDS and Families
(Protect And Care for Tfie Ones We Love
Two essential
ingredients
for a perfedt
date:
A date and this.
It's everyw^01^
-you wa^t to be
<D Visa U.S.A. Inc. 1994
