The Pomona College Harassment and Discrimination Policy and Complaint Procedure proposed at last week’s faculty meeting is still under consideration due to the lack of a quorum at the last meeting.

This revised version of the current grievance policy defines more clearly the procedures of handling harassment and discrimination cases and includes students in committees judging the complaints. According to Adam Rick ’02, who attended the faculty meeting, one of the most contested issues involved student participation in handling grievance complaints.

"Faculty members were concerned that the students were on the committee and that students were not only responsible for determining the guilt, but also the remedy," Rick said.

Professor of Physics Catalin Mitescu voiced his concerns with the procedures involved in the policy at the meeting. Although he sees no problem with students being involved in reviewing grievance cases, he disagrees with including students amongst the committee that will be determining the penalties associated with each harassment or discrimination case.

"Where penalties are suggested or recommended, the argument has been that students have been here for a relatively short term whereas faculty members have been here much longer," Mitescu said. "The fact that students have not been here for a long term and in a certain sense don’t have as much life experience makes it more difficult for the students to be fully objective in a matter like this."

Vice President and Dean of Students Ann Quinley, however, feels it is important to include students in the judicial proceedings.

"I think it’s a general principal of representation," Quinley said. "Your peers ought to be part of the decision making process." She noted that students have "done an excellent job on the student judiciary committee."

At the faculty meeting, Mitescu motioned to postpone voting until the next meeting, but this did not pass with a vote of No: 37 to Yes: 26. He then called for a quorum and because one was not present, Dean of the College Hans Palmer was required to adjourn the meeting without the faculty’s voting on the policy.

According to Associate Dean of the College Frances Pohl, who worked along with the Faculty Executive Committee on forming the policy, federal and state law require that institutions such as Pomona College implement policies which "facilitate the prompt investigation and effective resolution of complaints."

"The law in many areas, including the area of harassment and discrimination, is continually changing and has become increasingly complex over time," Pohl said. "Accordingly, the College normally reviews its policies in the Faculty Handbook from time to time in order to keep them current and make improvements as warranted. The proposed policy on Harassment and Discrimination is the result of one of these regular reviews."

Although Pomona already has several policies dealing with specific types of harassment, Students Affairs Committee member Samantha Brenner ’02 said, "The problem is, we don’t have a general harassment policy."

"The new proposal would address all forms of illegal harassment and discrimination in a single, self-contained policy in the Faculty Handbook, as opposed to having these issues scattered over several different policies, as is the case presently," Pohl said.

Pohl is not surprised that the policy is undergoing further evaluation.

"It is not unusual for policies as detailed and comprehensive as this one to receive thorough consideration and discussion from the faculty in its committees, in the faculty forums, and at the general faculty meetings," Pohl said. "Often, this process can take several meetings, as it has for the proposed Harassment and Discrimination Policy."

Quinley is optimistic that the policy will be approved in the coming year.

"It’s a big step to impose punishment," she said. "People need to feel comfortable with it first. [The faculty] just wants more time to think about it. I am sure it will pass sometime this year."