WOUB Public Media will be utilizing programs through Ohio University's Office of Equity and Civil Rights Compliance following a university investigation into sexism and harassment within the organization's newsroom, Mark Brewer, chief operating officer for the station, said.
However, the dates for those training sessions have not yet been determined.
“Sessions for students will be scheduled once the fall semester begins and there will be an expectation that students participating with WOUB will attend,” Brewer said in an email.
In March, The Post reported female sports reporters encountered “sexism and harassment” at WOUB, where men allegedly promoted women based on their appearance and spoke of them as “sexual objects.” The training sessions were recommended to WOUB following the investigation by the Office of Equity and Civil Rights Compliance.
“We’ll work with the Equity office to determine the appropriate topic from their available options,” Brewer said in an email.
Upon request, the Office of Equity and Civil Rights Compliance will offer programs that educate students and staff about complying with the university's discrimination and harassment policies, according to the office's website.
"The Equity and Civil Rights Compliance staff provide invaluable expertise that will not only help us train student volunteers and staff on university policy, but will also help us bring discussions of professional codes of conduct to the forefront of our co-curricular experiences for students," Scott Titsworth, dean of Scripps College of Communication, said in an email.
Since January, the Civil Rights Compliance group within the University Equity and Civil Rights Compliance office has trained 1,119 people, according to OU Spokeswoman Carly Glick.
Following the reports of sexual harassment at WOUB in March, professional members of the staff held a meeting with students to discuss the allegations. At the time, WOUB permanently fired 11 male student journalists, suspended six and put seven on notice to "improve their professionalism." WOUB then sent a report to OU’s Office of Equity and Civil Rights Compliance, wherein officials said student journalists in WOUB’s sports department perpetuated a culture that created “a hostile and/or threatening environment for women.”
After conducting an investigation, the Office of Equity and Civil Rights Compliance determined in a report that though evidence revealed the students' behavior may have been “immature and unprofessional,” there was insufficient evidence that any individual student was in violation of the university’s sexual harassment by hostile environment policy.
The report offered a variety of recommendations for WOUB in the wake of the investigation including “training for student staff as well as professional staff who have oversight of students,” Titsworth said in an email to faculty members obtained by The Post.
Students who were originally suspended from WOUB have the option to return to the media outlet.
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