We very much appreciate the Emerald publishing Mat Wolf’s article (“Claims of sexual harassment leveled against DPS officer,” ODE April 21) and its follow-up (“State documents confirm filing of DPS sexual harassment complaint,” ODE April 26). @@http://www.dailyemerald.com/2011/04/25/harassment-headline/@@
We are outraged that incidences of sexual harassment could occur at all on our campus.  Although the so-called “allegations” involving the Department of Public Safety are being investigated at this point, we do know there is an atmosphere of intimidation in many departments on campus that fosters workplace harassment and sexual harassment toward classified employees.
As budgets are being cut and enrollment increases, more and more classified employees are being pushed by management to handle overwhelming, unreasonable workloads. We work under tremendous stress. Most classified employees who have worked on campus for more than three years know of another employee who has been threatened or intimidated on the job, if they have not experienced it themselves. Violence, although not as common, is not unheard of.  Many of us, afraid of losing our jobs, are silent about the mistreatment we are subjected to.
So to even hear “allegations” of classified women being sexually harassed to the point of losing their jobs makes us very angry. Whether a complaint or grievance was filed or will be dropped makes no difference. In several departments on campus, employees are so intimidated that they refuse to come forward for fear of further retaliation.
When we asked President Lariviere at the Classified Staff Training and Development Advisory Committee meeting what the University was going to do about this situation, he said in front of about 70 classified employees that he had no comment because it’s under investigation. When we asked if the public would find out the results of the investigation because it reflects on the reputation of the University, he said he had no comment because he is part of the investigation. When we asked how he felt about the issue personally, he had no comment. @@Committee: http://cstdac.uoregon.edu/@@
This is not good enough. Every female classified employee on campus deserves to feel safe at her job. Yes, it’s a sensitive subject that few want to look at. But that’s no excuse for allowing this kind of shameful, disrespectful attitude toward female classified employees to continue. We expect the University administration to take allegations of this sort so seriously that it states in a public way that sexual harassment and the intimidation of classified employees is not tolerated on our campus.
In addition, we expect DPS under the leadership of Chief Doug Tripp to be thoroughly scrutinized and investigated. How can officers do their job of protecting the public if they themselves are subjected to harassment?
We, the classified employees at the University, give our heart and soul to making sure things run well on campus. We will not be ignored. To President Lariviere, Chief Tripp and other administrators on the University campus: “Do right by us!  We will not be silenced!”
Lois Yoshishige, SEIU Local 085 Past President
Star Holmberg, SEIU Local 085 Membership Coordinator
Lisa Sieracki, SEIU Local 085 Chief Contact
Kurt Wilcox, SEIU Local 085 Newsletter Editor
James Jacobson, SEIU503 Statewide Vice President
And 39 other University classified employees