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[Morrigan Stark]

http://www.buzzfeed.com/azeenghorayshi/famous-astronomer-allegedly-sexually-harassed-students

After a six-month investigation, Geoff Marcy — a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, who has been mentioned as a potential Nobel laureate — was found to have violated campus sexual harassment policies between 2001 and 2010. Four women alleged that Marcy repeatedly engaged in inappropriate physical behavior with students, including unwanted massages, kisses, and groping.

Ew.

“We consider this to be a very serious matter and the university has taken strong action,” the university said in a statement.

Well actually they've taken no action at all so far, and it's been going on for years:

“After all of this effort and trying to go through the proper channels, Berkeley has ultimately come up with no response,” said Joan Schmelz, who until recently led the American Astronomical Society’s Committee on the Status of Women in Astronomy. (Schmelz was not a complainant in Berkeley’s investigation.) “I’ve seen sexual harassers get slaps on the wrist before. This isn’t even a slap on the wrist.”

BuzzFeed News spoke to three of the four complainants in the investigation. One of the women, known as Complainant 3, studied astronomy as a graduate student. She spoke on the condition of anonymity because she did not want her involvement in the matter to affect her current job.
According to her account to Berkeley’s Office for the Prevention of Harassment and Discrimination, she was at a post-colloquium dinner with her graduate department at the University of Hawaii when Marcy placed his hand on her leg, slid his hand up her thigh, and grabbed her crotch.
She didn’t register an official complaint until eight years later, by which time she’d left astronomy — in part, she said, because of the sexual harassment she and other female astronomers experienced.“When you’re a student and you see every complaint being ignored, and every male professor who has violated that have zero consequences, it really makes you not want to step forward,” she said.
In the investigation documents, Marcy stated that Complainant 3’s accusation was “totally absurd” and “plainly false,” and that he “would never touch the knee of someone I didn’t know.”
In the documents, the investigator wrote: “Based on the preponderance of evidence, I find it more likely than not that [Marcy] acted as reported by Complainant 3.”
Harvard astronomy professor John Asher Johnson was a graduate student in Marcy’s lab from 2000 to 2007. During his first few years in the lab, Johnson told BuzzFeed News, he directly witnessed Marcy giving an undergraduate a back massage, with his hand underneath her shirt, alone and after hours in the lab.
Marcy, through his lawyer, denied this incident.
“What’s really infuriating about this is that anybody of my generation in the field of exoplanets knows that Geoff does this,” Johnson said. “Everybody is so afraid of doing anything about it that they are afraid of speaking out, but everybody knows it.”
Jessica Kirkpatrick, Complainant 4 in the investigation, was not herself harassed by Marcy, but told BuzzFeed News that she saw him get “inappropriately touchy” with an undergraduate one evening during the American Astronomical Society’s 2010 meeting in Washington, D.C. As the evening wore on, according to investigation documents, several people saw Marcy become more persistent.

“He’s had a long history of behaving inappropriately, especially with undergraduates,” said Kirkpatrick, who at the time was a graduate student at Berkeley studying astrophysics. “Women discouraged other women from working with him as a research advisor. It was just something that was talked about pretty frankly among the women in the department.”

Ballard says she carried the confusion and shame of the event with her for years, until she heard about other women’s experiences and “realized it was a pattern — it wasn’t just me.”

Marcy studies planets orbiting stars outside our own solar system, or exoplanets. Thousands have been discovered in recent years, and a few have Earth-like properties, suggesting that they could sustain life. Marcy’s is the rare ilk of scientific research that is capable of both reaching the peak of his field and capturing the public imagination.
He’s won all sorts of awards and has risen beyond the confines of academia to become a kind of intellectual celebrity. In person, he’s described as charismatic, approachable, and “aggressively empathetic.” He’s been dubbed a “finder of new worlds” by the New York Times, a “brave thinker” by The Atlantic, and a “natural showman” by Wired. He has even appeared on The Late Show With David Letterman.
“Not only is it the case that he is very senior and very well-respected, it’s also the case that he’s a collaborator on a lot of large projects,” said Ruth Murray-Clay, a former UC Berkeley graduate student who is now an assistant professor of physics at UC Santa Barbara. As a theorist, she does not rely on his data. But many others do. “You don’t want to make an enemy with someone who has access to data you might need,” she said.

His apology is contrite but I can't say it sounds that sincere. Though to be fair I don't know what a sincere apology should look like. But it probably wouldn't talk defensively about how some complaints are wrong and regretting that his unwanted advances "made people uncomfortable". *shudders* It's depressing to see women leave the field and abandon their dreams because of douches like him.

 

[Morrigan Stark]

And he gets... a light warning:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...tudents-for-years-according-to-investigation/

:\

 

[j_k_redtail]

And he gets... a light warning:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...tudents-for-years-according-to-investigation/

:\

Academia is weird. I know of a particular faculty member who is well know for unprofessional conduct (thankfully not sexual harassment, but wildly inappropriate behavior). This has been going on for years and to my knowledge no real action has been taken to stem his behavior.

 

[John Kowalski]

that was not the bump i was hoping for

 

[Netherscourge]

Well, he's not respected anymore.

 

[FriedConsole]

Academia is weird. I know of a particular faculty member who is well know for unprofessional conduct (thankfully not sexual harassment, but wildly inappropriate behavior). This has been going on for years and to my knowledge no real action has been taken to stem his behavior.

Yeah working in corporate and academia, I can say corporate is a 10 times better working environment. Academia has people who's inappropriate behavior would get them fired in days. The corporate world is tough and cruel but knowing if I stayed in academia world I would have to work with the same terrible people for decades, I made the correct decision.

 

[- J - D -]

Gross. Corporate or academia, people in positions of power or authority can get away with some heinous stuff, short of killing somebody.

At the very least, at least the dirty laundry is out there for people to see.

 

[PeakPointMatrix]

I wonder why the victims in cases like these wait so long to file a complaint. I feel like the consequences would be so much harsher if they struck when the iron was hot. Why don't they make a scene when they are touched this way? I know if someone grabbed my crotch without consent, you would fucking know about it that very moment.

 

[Netherscourge]

His "apology";

October 7, 2015
An Open Letter to the Astronomy Community

I am writing to the newsletter of the Committee on the Status of Women in Astronomy to
apologize for mistakes I’ve made.

As some of you may be aware, concerns were raised with UC Berkeley regarding my
conduct some years ago involving some women in our field. These complaints, which
were raised last year, led to an official investigation by the University, which concluded
three months ago. While I do not agree with each complaint that was made, it is clear that my behavior was unwelcomed by some women. I take full responsibility and hold myself completely accountable for my actions and the impact they had. For that and to the women affected, I sincerely apologize.

It is difficult to express how painful it is for me to realize that I was a source of distress for any of my women colleagues, however unintentional. Through deep and lengthy consultations, I have reflected carefully on my actions as well as issues of gender inequality, power, and privilege in our society. I was unaware of how these factors created unforeseen contexts and how my actions and position have affected others in ways that were far from what I intended. Through hard work, I have changed in major ways for the better.

I hope this letter conveys my apologies and my sincere effort to change. My hope going
forward is to have constructive conversations about these issues with the shared goal of
promoting the supportive and respectful environment we all want.

I thank the members of the CSWA for the guidance and conversations toward making the Astronomy community a positive and welcoming place for all.

With humility,
Geoff Marcy

That bolded part is the part that discredits this whole stupid "apology." It's causing HIM distress and embarrassment to have to admit that he sexually harassed women...

 

[Fishlake]

If he has a tenure they may just consider it not worth doing anything to him or be able to.

There is a professor at my college that does very little and has to have you solve problems his way or you get marked wrong. He likes to insult people and put down the students as well. He is hatted by most the other staff and he is still around because they can't get him to leave. He is older than the retirement age and refuses to stop working. They even threatened and did cut down the pensions of any older than retirement age professors and he stayed through that.

 

[Morrigan Stark]

^ Yup, classic nonpology.

I wonder why the victims in cases like these wait so long to file a complaint. I feel like the consequences would be so much harsher if they struck when the iron was hot. Why don't they make a scene when they are touched this way? I know if someone grabbed my crotch without consent, you would fucking know about it that very moment.

The various articles address that. This guy has a position of power and authority over his victims, plus, nobody wants to be "that girl" and make a scene.

 

[j_k_redtail]

Yeah working in corporate and academia, I can say corporate is a 10 times better working environment. Academia has people who's inappropriate behavior would get them fired in days. The corporate world is tough and cruel but knowing if I stayed in academia world I would have to work with the same terrible people for decades, I made the correct decision.

Now why is that? You're not the first person I know to make that observation. For whatever reason, I've had the impression that universities would be more progressive than a corporate environment. But on this issue in particular (that is, the matter of what is and isn't appropriate in a work environment) universities are stuck in the past.

 

[KarmaCow]

I wonder why the victims in cases like these wait so long to file a complaint. I feel like the consequences would be so much harsher if they struck when the iron was hot. Why don't they make a scene when they are touched this way? I know if someone grabbed my crotch without consent, you would fucking know about it that very moment.

Fear of being singled out, being known as a victim, not being able to move on. It's also normalized and unspoken of to a point where some feel like it's just a fact of life.

 

[Aikidoka]

I wonder why the victims in cases like these wait so long to file a complaint. I feel like the consequences would be so much harsher if they struck when the iron was hot. Why don't they make a scene when they are touched this way? I know if someone grabbed my crotch without consent, you would fucking know about it that very moment.

I think they wait until they are more independent and don't need anything from him. They don't want to dead end their own careers - which is an unfortunately possibility since people don't tend to side with the victim.

 

[Mental Atrophy]

Isn't grabbing somebody's crotch a sexual assault crime rather than just harassment?

 

[Sirpopopop]

His "apology";



That bolded part is the part that discredits this whole stupid "apology."

Why?

 

[OrlanisWorks]

It is difficult to express how painful it is for me to realize that I was a source of distress for any of my women colleagues, however unintentional.

No one EVER told him that this way of conducting himself was inappropriate? Yeeeaaaah.... no.

 

[Netherscourge]

I was unaware of how these factors created unforeseen contexts and how my actions and position have affected others in ways that were far from what I intended.

So, what exactly was he intending when he groped these women? A new theory on singularities and their effect on light?

I hate these guys so much.

 

[SRG01]

^ Yup, classic nonpology.

The various articles address that. This guy has a position of power and authority over his victims, plus, nobody wants to be "that girl" and make a scene.

Exactly, not to mention that speaking out would irrevocably damage her career as the article states as well.

The problem with campus investigations is that power has substantial influence towards a favorable outcome for the defendant. On the flip side, police investigations haven't been shown to be successful in prosecuting these cases either

 

[Netherscourge]

Why?

1. Makes himself the victim.
2. Downplays his actions.
3. Tries to use context to subtly accuse everyone else of misinterpretation.

He's a scumbag.

 

[Palette Swap]

Through deep and lengthy consultations, I have reflected carefully on my actions as well as issues of gender inequality, power, and privilege in our society. I was unaware of how these factors created unforeseen contexts and how my actions and position have affected others in ways that were far from what I intended.

I like how with a few contrite words, and without ever spelling out these mysterious intentions, he basically got away with it.
Great fucking signal for anyone suffering harassment at Berkeley, they're sure to come forward now.

Yeah working in corporate and academia, I can say corporate is a 10 times better working environment. Academia has people who's inappropriate behavior would get them fired in days. The corporate world is tough and cruel but knowing if I stayed in academia world I would have to work with the same terrible people for decades, I made the correct decision.

This is my experience and my wife's as well, in widely different fields mind you. I'm very critical of the corporate world and how shallow people can get, but I've never witnessed this kind of apathy towards very visible assholes. I'm talking about very large companies with strict HR guidelines. YMMV obviously.

Then again, we have friends who stuck with academia and landed in great labs/faculties where they do have apparently great working conditions and the cronyism is kept to a minimum.

 

[Rapscallion]

In general UC Berkeley is horrendous with cases of sexual harassment and sexual assault. When I was there in 2010-2012, I knew several young women who took cases to the administration who were shoved off or told they couldn't do anything. They don't take these cases seriously, and it's only creating a toxic environment in which young women can't feel they can turn to their own school in cases like these.

Makes me feel ashamed to be be an alumni.

 

[akachan ningen]

What kind of apology do want? One where he admits that he knew they wouldn't like his advances but then did it anyway? If they really didn't say anything at the time, then maybe he thought they liked it?

 

[Dai Kaiju]

If they encouraged it, ok.
If not but reciprocated, iffy.
If legitimately creeped out, I'm sure the astronomer would take it back if he could.

 

[Aikidoka]

What kind of apology do want? One where he admits that he knew they wouldn't like his advances but then did it anyway? If they really didn't say anything at the time, then maybe he thought they liked it?

If they encouraged it, ok.
If not but reciprocated, iffy.
If legitimately creeped out, I'm sure the astronomer would take it back if he could.

You guys serious? How the fuck can you rationalize randomly grabbing the vagina of the woman (who is not romantically involved with you) sitting next to you?

 

[Ampersands]

Yeah, I'm honestly not too suprised about the lack of consequences for this professor. I'm a freshman there and although I haven't seen it firsthand, given all that's been happening with Cal so far (This story hasn't made it nationally yet but it's definitely a hot topic here: http://www.dailycal.org/2015/10/11/...allegations-about-math-department-wrongdoing/), it seems like there's a real issue with the administration. There's going to be a protest in front of Sproul Hall (the main administration building) tomorrow for Alexander Coward, the math professor, and some people I know are going to participate in it.

I'll report back if anything interesting happens.

 

[akachan ningen]

You guys serious? How the fuck can you rationalize randomly grabbing the vagina of the woman (who is not romantically involved with you) sitting next to you?

Maybe he thought they were romantically involved. They were clearly familiar. If he made passes on her before, like what they implied in that article(kissing, massaging) and she never told him to get away, then of course he's going to escalate to more serious groping. It didn't sound random at all.

Not like we know all the facts anyway.

 

[Palette Swap]

If they really didn't say anything at the time, then maybe he thought they liked it?

If you're a potential Nobel prize candidate, it's not too far fetched to expect you to understand that because people don't make a scene to advances you make from a place of power, that doesn't necessarily mean they appreciate or endorse them, it just means you have the power to destroy their budding careers.

The guy doesn't need your generous interpretations anyway, Berkeley already took care of that.

 

[boiled goose]

People who commit sexual assault and harassment tend to be repeat offenders.

It is clear he was using his position of power to take advantage of women.

He is a clear sociopath

 

[entremet]

Colleges are some wacky places.

Enforce no due process with students accused of sexual assault using kangaroo courts, yet let professors get away Scott free.

 

[Aikidoka]

Maybe he thought they were romantically involved. They were clearly familiar. If he made passes on her before, like what they implied in that article(kissing, massaging) and she never told him to get away, then of course he's going to escalate to more serious groping. It didn't sound random at all.

Not like we know all the facts anyway.

Holy shit. You do realize that the article was talking about multiple women and not all referred to the same woman, right? Either way, coming to the defense of a known sexual offender is disgusting.

 

[benicillin]

Maybe he thought they were romantically involved. They were clearly familiar. If he made passes on her before, like what they implied in that article(kissing, massaging) and she never told him to get away, then of course he's going to escalate to more serious groping. It didn't sound random at all.

Not like we know all the facts anyway.

Stop while you're ahead man.

Anyway, dude is a piece of human garbage. He made the conscious decision to be a total scumbag. It's not like NOT sexually harassing someone is difficult, millions of people manage to not grope people around them on a daily basis.

 

[akachan ningen]

If you're a potential Nobel prize candidate, it's not too far fetched to expect you to understand that because people don't make a scene to advances you make from a place of power, that doesn't necessarily mean they appreciate or endorse them, it just means you have the power to destroy their budding careers.

The guy doesn't need your generous interpretations anyway, Berkeley already took care of that.

What does the nobel prize have to with anything? He's just good at math and memorizing shit. Doesn't make him some kind of social genius. If anything, he's probably like some of the social nitwit nerds I know, who don't know when to stop when it comes to bothering girls. One of these guys will go as far as licking a girl if the girl doesn't tell him from the start that she doesn't like him getting all touchy-feely. It's like he can't tell when a girl is uncomfortable.

Or maybe he did know and he is abusing the position. But like I said, we don't know all the facts.

 

[FStop7]

Maybe he thought they were romantically involved. They were clearly familiar. If he made passes on her before, like what they implied in that article(kissing, massaging) and she never told him to get away, then of course he's going to escalate to more serious groping. It didn't sound random at all.

Not like we know all the facts anyway.

sup geoff

 

[akachan ningen]

Holy shit. You do realize that the article was talking about multiple women and not all referred to the same woman, right? Either way, coming to the defense of a known sexual offender is disgusting.

I'm defending reason more than him but you all seem to be taking it personally. I just want everyone to stop jumping to conclusions.

 

[Somnid]

What does the nobel prize have to with anything? He's just good at math and memorizing shit. Doesn't make him some kind of social genius. If anything, he's probably like some of the social nitwit nerds I know, who don't know when to stop when it comes to bothering girls. One of these guys will go as far as licking a girl if the girl doesn't tell him from the start that she doesn't like him getting all touchy-feely. It's like he can't tell when a girl is uncomfortable.

Or maybe he did know and he is abusing the position. But like I said, we don't know all the facts.

We know enough facts that the leftover unknown facts are probably not going to save him as a person. Even your hypotheticals giving him the benefit of the doubt are pretty dubious.

 

[Seesaw15]

Some of these comments defending the guy....smh. Dudes a creep who abused his position of power. This isn't a case of two peers giving mix signals on a blind date.

 

[Aikidoka]

I'm defending reason more than him but you all seem to be taking it personally. I just want everyone to stop jumping to conclusions.

No. Multiple women have made reports agaisnt him. Many of his colleagues have spoken out against him. An investigator determined that he most likely committed these offenses.

You are ignoring all of that because.....? All it really shows is your internal bias, which is just throwing logic out the window.

 

[Crud]

Just say you dont give a fuck that would be less offensive then his "apology"

 

[Opto]

Maybe he thought they were romantically involved. They were clearly familiar. If he made passes on her before, like what they implied in that article(kissing, massaging) and she never told him to get away, then of course he's going to escalate to more serious groping. It didn't sound random at all.

Not like we know all the facts anyway.

They were clearly familiar? Why? Because she didn't fight back when he did creepy shit?

“Women discouraged other women from working with him as a research advisor. It was just something that was talked about pretty frankly among the women in the department.”

 

[akachan ningen]

We know enough facts that the leftover unknown facts are probably not going to save him as a person. Even your hypotheticals giving him the benefit of the doubt are pretty dubious.

Probably. Most of us learn at a young age that you can't just go around touching everyone because some of them might not like it. This guy is learning this lesson now, the hard way, and it might have been avoided if more women would speak up immediately.

 

[danm999]

I'm defending reason more than him but you all seem to be taking it personally. I just want everyone to stop jumping to conclusions.

It was asked why women don't come forward earlier.

This is why.

 

[akachan ningen]

No. Multiple women have made reports agaisnt him. Many of his colleagues have spoken out against him. An investigator determined that he most likely committed these offenses.

You are ignoring all of that because.....? All it really shows is your internal bias, which is just throwing logic out the window.

I'm not saying he didn't do them. I'm saying he could be autistic or otherwise thick-headed enough to not realize his touching wasn't wanted, especially when nobody says anything.

 

[Seesaw15]

Probably. Most of us learn at a young age that you can't just go around touching everyone because some of them might not like it. This guy is learning this lesson now, the hard way, and it might have been avoided if more women would speak up immediately.

This is a 61 year old man.

 

[benicillin]

Probably. Most of us learn at a young age that you can't just go around touching everyone because some of them might not like it. This guy is learning this lesson now, the hard way, and it might have been avoided if more women would speak up immediately.

Hahaha, you can't be serious right? It's their fault now? Get outta here bro.

 

[99hertz]

I wish I had gotten free massages when I went to college.

 

[VARIA]

And he gets a slap on the wrist (not even that, ha)? This reflects poorly on Berkley administration.

 

[Opto]

Probably. Most of us learn at a young age that you can't just go around touching everyone because some of them might not like it. This guy is learning this lesson now, the hard way, and it might have been avoided if more women would speak up immediately.

He's not some fucking innocent in this. He isn't just learning about personal boundaries now. And now you're blaming women for his actions for not speaking up. Even though you're demonstrating the exact kind of behavior that makes victims not want to report anything.

 

[akachan ningen]

Hahaha, you can't be serious right? It's their fault now? Get outta here bro.

Is what their fault? I'm not saying it's their fault they got groped. I'm saying that raising a stink about one groping could have prevented future gropings. Is that true or not?

 

[Opto]

I'm not saying he didn't do them. I'm saying he could be autistic or otherwise thick-headed enough to not realize his touching wasn't wanted, especially when nobody says anything.

Seriously, are you trying out to be his lawyer?