From the Worcester Telegram.. regarding graduation...

By Mark Sullivan

Telegram & Gazette Staff



Posted at 8:26 PM

Updated May 23, 2019 at 10:13 PM



WORCESTER — Faculty at the College of the Holy Cross’ 173rd commencement exercises on Friday plan to wear teal stoles with their academic regalia as a mark of solidarity with survivors of harassment and assault.
The action comes at the close of an academic year in which allegations of faculty sexual misconduct have roiled the campus of New England’s oldest Jesuit college.
“Now is the time to live our mission,” reads a statement that faculty organizers of the action plan to distribute at the ceremony, a copy of which was obtained by the Telegram & Gazette on Thursday.
“Please join us in standing for and with survivors,” the statement reads.
A stole is a sash worn draped over the shoulders of the academic gown.
“Wearing the stoles is a collaborative action by faculty from various departments and ranks across the college,” Jonathan Mulrooney, a professor of English, said Thursday.
“It is as a sign of our support for survivors of sexual abuse and sexual violence,” he said. “We have purchased 100 teal stoles and expect to distribute them all.”
Criticizing what they have called a lack of accountability and transparency by college leadership, the Faculty Assembly has asked the board of trustees to retain an independent investigator into the alleged instances of harassment and assault.
“In the past year, multiple students and alumni have publicly accused faculty members of engaging in sexual misconduct,” reads the Statement of Solidarity to be distributed at Commencement reads.
“We are deeply disturbed by these allegations. Our Board of Trustees has committed to engage an independent process, though it is not yet clear what that process will entail.”
The statement encourages colleagues to contact the trustees to ask that an independent investigator be retained and that a clearer accounting be provided of the administrative handling of recent cases of alleged faculty sexual misconduct
A spokesman for the college, John Hill, said Thursday: “We all stand with survivors. We remain focused on how Holy Cross as a community can do better to prevent and investigate sexual misconduct.
“That ongoing work has made Holy Cross better, thanks in part to the calls from members of our community — students, faculty, staff and alumni — which helped to begin this necessary conversation,” Mr. Hill said. “We appreciate their voices and are grateful for their efforts to continue to bring attention to these important issues.”
In the past year, sexual misconduct allegations have been made public against James David Christie, the college’s former organist, and Christopher Dustin, a philosophy professor and former dean of faculty.
Students demanding greater transparency about sexual assault at the college created an Instagram page for posting anonymous accounts of date rape on campus, and in February staged a two-day sit-in outside the office of the president, the Rev. Philip Boroughs.
In April, Rev. Boroughs declined to retain an independent investigator to look into allegations of faculty sexual misconduct at the college, despite being urged to do so by faculty leaders.
After Rev. Boroughs announced his decision, the Faculty Assembly voted to call on the college’s board of trustees to appoint just such an independent counsel. The 92-22 vote represented a rebuke by faculty of the president’s handling of the misconduct cases.
Earlier this month, a 20-minute campus address by Rev. Boroughs on how the college might move forward from the crisis was not universally well-received. “It is clear that we remain at a standstill,” reads a faculty letter printed May 15 in the Holy Cross student newspaper The Spire. The letter was signed by 87 members of the faculty.
The letter describes frustration, in the wake of the allegations against Mr. Christie and Mr. Dustin, at the administration’s “unwillingness to answer questions central to this brewing crisis.”
Mr. Christie, influential in the world of sacred music as one of the foremost organists of his day, has been accused of sexual misconduct by five former holders of the college’s prestigious Organ Scholarship whom he had mentored.
Mr. Dustin, a professor and former chair of philosophy, was removed as dean of faculty and placed on leave after allegations were brought to light of unwanted sexual advances made upon former students.
“When were President Boroughs and Provost (Margaret) Freije first informed of formal or informal allegations against (Mr. Christie and Mr. Dustin) and what were the timelines of those investigations?” the faculty letter states.
“Why was Chris Dustin allowed to maintain a powerful role while being investigated for an alleged violation of the sexual misconduct policy, and why was he permitted to teach and advise students even after leaving his position as Dean of Faculty?
“What steps were taken to address community safety? Were there official sanctions? What were they? Who made them? How were they determined and enforced? ... Were all of the allegations pertaining to Chris Dustin fully investigated?”
The letter concludes: “President Boroughs’ ... address was premised on the idea of moving forward. That is what we want as well. Nevertheless, we cannot do the work that is needed to move this community forward without a clearer accounting of what went wrong in the past and how we will move forward as active co-creators of the future.”

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TomKane17280515

1 hour ago

been many bad hires at holy cross in the past 7 years boroughs was a big mistake

So did Fr. Swords and Fr. Brooks whose challenges were as great or greater. The "greatest generation" has passed not just in politics but in the leadership of academia around the country in general and Holy Cross in particular. Frs. Reedy, McFarland and Boroughs will not go down in history as the College's great president's despite the large building projects under their administrations. The successive boards of trustees are also accountable for their lack of oversight.

This letter does a much better job of staying on point than most of the other statements that have come out of the sexual misconduct issues

The young woman involved would room with the director's daughter (who had an adjoining room to her dad). Apparently all parties were actively consenting (including the daughter). He did, in effect, become "invisible" in HC records. Given the recent organ scandal I wonder if there is some connection between music and sexual misconduct at HC?

SoV, Enjoy the day!

Justice was often Swift but quiet back then, now it's often slow but loud.