The recent ousting of NAU President Owen Cargol was a shock to many, especially the university employee who claims the president fondled his genitals in a campus locker room before sending him sexually explicit e-mails.
The news that the state of Arizona filled one of its highest administrative offices - Northern Arizona University president - with someone, now accused of inappropriate sexual behavior was a shock to the state.
But Associated Students for Women's Issues President Betsy Buford may have seen this coming.
She claims the alleged incident was not the first sign that Cargol was unfit to be president.
Buford said she received five complaints from students and faculty concerning what Buford refers to as Cargol's "super-affectionate" and "questionable behavior." Even more students said that Cargol "creeped them out" with his physical style of greeting.
In an e-mail in which Buford confronted Cargol with these allegations, he responded by saying, "My style of communication works for NAU students and for me. Virtually all of the thousands of NAU students that I have met to date are happy with the relationship between them and me."
Something Cargol should have realized is that it isn't as important that virtually all of the students are happy with meeting him, as it is that all of the students are comfortable with meeting him.
Since the NAU employee reported the incident, there have been more than 20 informal complaints regarding Cargol's inappropriate behavior. The accusers include four NAU faculty members, an administrator and 15 students. Most of the allegations are concerned with Cargol's habits of hugging, kissing cheeks and holding hands too long when shaking hands in greeting.
Although these reports are not as alarming as the original complaint, they suggest that Cargol was more than confused about the appropriate ways to deal with issues of personal space and sexual desire.
The Arizona Board of Regents was correct in asking for Cargol's resignation. Although the former president felt that the consequences of his actions were too severe and that he should have only been reprimanded and suspended without pay, his willingness to resign was practically an implication of guilt.
The NAU community should be proud of its courage and willingness to stand up to a man of Cargol's influence, power and status. Cargol took advantage of the position he was granted, and it is absolutely unacceptable for a person in his position to use his authority to make sexual advances on individuals who look up to him as a leader.
The sexual scandal that is haunting our sister school offers a lesson to all who will listen. Leaders, administrators and authority figures must remember that sexual harassment is demeaning and unacceptable, and students must realize that if they feel their interaction with a professor or faculty member is uncomfortable and sexual in nature that they can stop it. They can report it, and their grievance will not be ignored.
Although Cargol's resignation was at first a shock to NAU and the state, it will now stand as testament to the university's and the state's resolve against sexual harassment.
