Tubestock: Drinking, yes. Nudity, yes. Sexual harassment, maybe.
In response to booing and chants of "take it off" at Tubestock, Abby Tassel, the sexual assault awareness program coordinator, encouraged women who jumped topless off fraternity rafts to send their accounts and opinions on the controversial event.
The responses Tassel received to her inquiry were varied. A rumor recently flew around campus that Tassel's outreach was intended to bring forth sexual harassment charges against the numerous chanters of both sexes, a charge Tassel denied.
"I was merely compiling a list of statements from women in order to make a difference. I was not trying to end Tubestock or confront those who were harassing the women," Tassel said. "I just wanted the voices of the uncomfortable women to be heard. Tubestock is a cool Dartmouth tradition and it is a shame that it makes many women uncomfortable."
According to Tassel, there are two types of sexual harassment -- a direct verbal confrontation that she termed "quid-pro-quo," and a hostile environment. Tassel said she sees the chanting at Tubestock as a hostile environment. To find sexual harassment illegal, however, it must occur in a workplace or school environment. The question is whether Tubestock is considered a school environment or not.
Tassel gave an example of one male who believed that the Tubestock atmosphere did constitute harassment.
"One man approached and said to me, 'When women go up on the platform, they have only two choices, they can either take their tops off and be considered skanks or be booed off the platform.' That is harassment," she said.
Although Tassel said a couple of young women who jumped topless off rafts did feel uncomfortable, they could not be reached for comment. Those that did comment, however, said they did not feel pressured to remove clothing.
"If I look up the definition of sexual harassment, I can probably apply it to what was going on at Tubestock, but I personally did not feel harassed at all," Natalie Babij '05 said.
Fellow topless jumper Sarah Nadler '06 also didn't express outrage over the chants.
"The only thing at Tubestock that made me feel uncomfortable was the fear that I would be hit by an overturned raft or that some 300-pound football player would fall on top of me," Nadler said. "Everything else was laid back and carefree. I felt comfortable because I was jumping for myself; so I would have my own special Tubestock story. No regrets here."
Even though the Tubestock atmosphere did not bother some topless jumpers, Tassel warned that the presence of chanting is a much larger matter.
"It is a much deeper issue," Tassel said. "It is a legitimate cultural concern."
Nadler, however, said that Tubestock is a special event where chanting is more acceptable.
"Even though I do admit the chants of 'take it off! take it off!' were a little bit chauvinistic, I think it was all done in good humor. You can't really take anything about Tubestock seriously," Nadler said. "That's what makes it so much fun."
