An open letter against harassment at the university

An open letter from students, graduate students, teachers and graduates of Lomonosov Moscow State University and concerned staff and students of other universities against sexual abuse and harassment in the university environment

An open letter from students, graduate students, teachers and graduates of Lomonosov Moscow State University and concerned staff and students of other universities against sexual abuse and harassment in the university environment

We, students, graduate students, graduates and teachers of Moscow State University named after M.V. Lomonosov, as well as caring students and employees of other universities, appeal to our colleagues and to the leadership of all faculties individually, the Faculty of Philology in particular and the entire University in general.
We treat our alma mater with great love and therefore are extremely concerned about the problem of sexual relations between students and teachers, which have become a frequent and even common practice within the University. Such relationships place students in a vulnerable position. Also, male and female students are susceptible to the problem of harassment from teachers: teachers often allow themselves to make ambiguous hints, violate personal space, and flirt with students, which definitely goes beyond the scope of academic ethics. This seems unacceptable to us.

For the first time, DOXA magazine publicly reported on harassment and harassment by teachers at the Faculty of Philology of Moscow State University in a publication on May 8, 2020. Unfortunately, many of the situations that the publication drew attention to did not come as a surprise to people involved in the faculty: for many years now, jokes and rumors about the same teachers initiating intimate relationships with students have been spreading throughout the faculty, uttered at skit parties, where department and faculty management are also present, but so far no one has paid due attention to this information. We believe that we can no longer turn a blind eye to this.

Despite the fact that the vast majority of students have already reached the age of sexual consent, this kind of relationship between teachers and students creates serious grounds for manipulation. Relationships based on fear of an authoritative teacher or fear of losing a place in the faculty just because the teacher will not accept refusal cannot be called voluntary. Teachers are much older than students, they occupy a position of power, and are often authoritative scientists: it is almost impossible to refuse such people, given their status, age and capabilities. To people who received their diplomas many years ago, students' fears may seem funny or far-fetched, but for those who recently graduated from school, studied diligently and participated in all the Olympiads, only to end up at Moscow State University, the situation looks completely different.

In addition, sexual relationships between teachers and students create inequality between students: the teacher singles out one of them solely due to personal relationships, and not success in scientific activity. This harms the quality of education and the reputation of Moscow State University: it turns out that the advantage is not only brilliant mastery of the curriculum, but also an intimate relationship with the teacher.

Measures that we consider necessary in connection with the current situation:

• We demand that mechanisms be created at Moscow State University that would protect male and female students in such a situation. First of all, we insist on the creation of separate regulations that establish the principles of communication between teachers and students - in particular, the prohibition of romantic relationships while the teacher and student are within a hierarchical relationship, the prohibition of harassment, and compliance with the ethics of business communication. Violation of the regulations must have real consequences - up to and including disciplinary action and dismissal after a thorough independent review of each case. In order for compliance with the regulations to become the norm for teaching staff, we propose introducing mandatory educational courses for teachers on the unethical nature of romantic and sexual relationships between teachers and students: this practice has already been tested in the largest foreign higher educational institutions;

• We also consider it necessary to create joint committees of students and teachers at each faculty, which would make decisions in difficult cases - in order to avoid speculation by both sides. In addition, we call for the creation of student organizations to which victims of harassment can turn, so that they can be helped to find professional help and, among other things, protect their anonymity;

• We ask that the management of the Faculty of Philology of Moscow State University, the situation at which became the starting point for the creation of this letter, pay special attention to our demands.

We want the University to be a safe place for any person who is related to it, and the main values, as stated in the charter, are the satisfaction of the individual in cultural and moral development, the preservation and enhancement of cultural, moral and scientific values ​​- and not the satisfaction of the sexual needs of the teaching staff and the normalization of this kind of relationship.

We encourage students, graduate students, graduates and teachers of the Faculty of Philology of Moscow State University, as well as other faculties and universities, to join us, because we are sure that the problem exists not only within the philological community and not only within Moscow State University. We ask all concerned people to unite to create a precedent within one of the most famous and respected universities in the country, so that other educational institutions can learn from our experience.