Got some sad, annoying, unfair news on Thursday. One of my favorite instructors has been put on suspension after a sexual harrassment complaint. The latest email says he's most likely going to be fired on Monday morning.
OK, now to explain the harrassment thing. This guy's an artist. A talented artist. And he's always looking to improve his work. So, what better than to ask if people would be willing to sit and have their portrait painted and/or to model. And, as we've been taught at the art school, if the request is denied, thank them for their time and move on --no pressure.
But a student in a different program took offense to the request and was seemingly blinded to anything that then happened afterward. But, it was enough to complain, and now the poor guy's probably gone as of Monday.
Don't get me wrong. I understand the administration's POV on this. Yeah, it probably wasn't the best thing to do: asking a student to pose. Now, the choice is do they get of the guy for making the mistake, or can they just slap his wrist and say "No. Don't ask students!" I know which one is sensible to me, but I also know that sensible and insitutional adminisation do not go hand-in-hand! Been there. For 7 years.
To make matters even worse, this guy's father died this past Sunday. So, while he's already down, he gets another kick: out.
And what makes me mad is that this guy has a major talent that I've seen lacking in several other instructors during this program.
He has a talent for teaching. And he goes above and beyond in his teaching ability. There was more than one late Saturday night, that I could count on an encouraging email from him when I was having issues with an assignment.
So which is more important? Losing a talented instructor over what others perceive as an error (but no one else has complained about in the 30 years he's been doing it) or feeling that the only way to "save face" on this issue is to fire the guy.
Dammit, I hate being the only one smart enough to know the right thing to do.
I'm going to miss him.
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