Students wrote messages on a sign in Red Square that was then delivered to the Huxley dean. Ella Banken//AS Review
By Hailey Murphy
Students held two demonstrations on Wednesday to protest the actions of Huxley professor Paul Stangl, who was found by the University to have sexually harassed two students on a school trip in the summer of 2016.
Despite the Equal Opportunity Office investigation, Stangl still teaches at Western. He was blocked from teaching field courses until summer 2020, and from teaching any type of course this past summer.
Seniors Emmaline Bigongiari and Leah Olver, stood in Red Square for two hours Wednesday afternoon with a sign reading “Where is the accountability for Prof. Paul Stangl?”
Passersby wrote messages of solidarity on the sign, which was then delivered to the office of Steve Hollenhorst, dean of Huxley College. He wasn’t present when the sign was delivered.
“We want to give people a space to channel their frustration around the issue, sexual violence being ignored systemically,” Bigongiari said. “But we also really want to make sure that the Dean understands, that it’s not just one or two students who care about this. There’s a broad array of students from across campus with different identities, from different departments, who are invested in this.”
Students wrote things like “Get him out,” “I stand with survivors,” and “I thought I was done with this shit when I transferred here” on the sign.
In holding this demonstration, organizers wanted to inform about the harassment allegations, Bigongiari said, as well as to spark conversation about accountability for perpetrators. They found, in having conversations with students, that most were unaware of the allegations.
Later that night seven students interrupted an event for urban planning students to further discuss the harassment allegations against Stangl, and to ask faculty how they’re holding the department and college accountable.
“We’re just going to make sure that the students in the room know about this issue, because again, there’s so much lack of information,” Bigongiari said prior to the demonstration. “There’s not a lot of information about this going out, and the school certainly isn’t telling people about it, so we just want to make sure that, especially new students, are aware of this and hopefully will take action.”
After the organizers spoke, a Huxley faculty member thanked them for bringing the information forward. Urban planning students were then invited to have further discussion with organizers outside. No answers were given to the demonstrator’s questions, and no students approached the organizers.
Many students who encountered the demonstration in Red Square, however, were moved by the action.
“The posterboard caught my eye, and when it was explained to me, I felt sick,” Dani Grimes, a senior transfer student from PLU, said. “I am a survivor. I transferred to get out a situation where I was made a victim. So I came here, and I learned more about the issues with Paul Stangl, and I myself feel like I can’t get away from all of this bullshit.”
Other students expressed frustration at the lack of action against Stangl. Sophomore Naomi Pierce said she was confused about how Stangl kept his position.
Katie Cheek, also a sophomore, said Stangl’s behavior would’ve been inappropriate even if the women were peers or colleagues, not students.
According to the EOO report, Stangl invited the two female students to his hotel room late at night. He was “clearly intoxicated,” and kept pouring wine for them despite objections, and knowing one of them was underage.
He told one of the women, “If I was 20 years younger, I would marry you.” He also told them he wanted to “lick their thighs,” according to the report. Paige Henderson, a biology major, expressed anger at the situation and a desire to get further involved.
“This guy very obviously needs to get fired. If he harassed students, he cannot be teaching here. I want to see nothing short of him not being allowed on campus anymore,” Henderson said.
Bigongiari and Olver asked students to email Huxley staff – Chair of Environmental studies, Andrew Bach, Program Director for the Urban Planning and Sustainable Development program, Nick Zaferatos, and Dean Hollenhorst – requesting that alternatives be offered for any classes that Stangl teaches.
Organizers in Red Square and at the meeting invited students to join a new club on campus, Students Against Sexual Harassment and Assault, which will have their first meeting on Thursday at 6 p.m. in Miller Hall 103. Students who want to get involved, or who want to discuss the allegations surrounding Stangl, are invited to attend.
Updated 10/11 to fix typo.