Developing a Rogerson Plan
This weekend, I finally had a chance to sit down with Amy and get all the details about what happened with Rogerson and the law school last year. I remember her telling me about some if it as it was going on last semester, but at the time, I was dealing with grad school, and I had no idea how nasty things really were for her. I feel bad for not doing more at the time. Apparently, I gave her the same advice I gave Highlighter Guy awhile back...I told her to just keep going at the law school until something (besides herself) stopped her. She put up with more than she should have (more than I would have), and I am certainly not going to tolerate any of that "sexual needs" crap from Rogerson now.
The question becomes...what should we do about it? We need a good plan to get Rogerson to stop harassing Amy and other students like her. Amy and I discussed the different options, everything from meeting with the dean again to calling a lawyer. I don't know how to get the deans to do something when they have already refused so many times. And even if we can get the dean to intervene or a lawyer gets involved, and even if the harassment stops, what will be left for Amy at that school? By telling the students they have to along with professors because they are like judges, she is set up to fail because the circumstances make it impossible for her to get along with the professors. They are going to see her as a troublemaker (Rogerson told her they all see her as "a piece of work" already), likely stand by their friend Rogerson, and--I have been in that environment so I know--attending classes will be a nightmare. The deans apparently even warned her that the professors talk to each other, and it would be "academic suicide" to pursue a complaint against Rogerson.
So what is left? Just keep going and keep facing abuse from Rogerson? Quit law school all together (which is what Amy is headed for)? She could try to transfer, but since Rogerson gave her that D last year in the four-hour Civil Procedure course, she doesn't realistically have a high enough overall GPA to transfer. If she wants to be a lawyer, she has to stay where she is. Therefore, the question really is a simple one...
How do we get Rogerson to stop his harassment without going through the dean's office or otherwise pursuing a complaint?
So far, here is what Amy has tried:
1. Talking to the deans. Big mistake.
2. Trying to tell him she's not interested in him or any professor. Rogerson doesn't care and (get this!) said he doesn't believe her! That he can tell by her body language she has feelings for him...
3. Staying away from him. Doesn't work because she ended up assigned to him for Business Associations, and he always manages to end up in her path.
4. Telling him off. He apparently enjoyed it when she tried to tell him off. He said if she wants to get to graduation, she has to go through him. (This ended up with her talking to the dean again, who reiterated how judges will be like this, so she has to get along with him.)
5. Playing "dumb". Yes, Amy actually tries to play dumb like she doesn't understand his sexual comments or discussions he tries to have with her. She thought he would give up on trying to talk to her, but, it didn't work. Amy says it just ticks Rogerson off (he actually told her she was being "rude"), and he's become more determined to educate her about sexual stuff.
6. Be boring. Amy said she's tried to bore him to death, so he will move on to someone else. When she has to be around him, she says she talks about General Hospital, her scrapbooking (which she doesn't really do), shoe shopping, basically anything she can think of that he won't care about. This doesn't seem to do any good either, because Rogerson just takes over the conversations and doesn't let her talk.
7. Dressing to un-impress. Amy said Rogerson used to always comment on her figure and clothes, so she stopped wearing dresses and cute stuff to school, instead just wearing big t-shirts and jeans. Unfortunately that didn't work either. Amy says it just gives Rogerson a chance to be more creepy by telling her how to dress "more feminine."
I guess you have to admire Amy's creativity. I know there's got to be a way to deal with him so Amy can feel safe coming back to law school. Amy left to go resume living my life--and to be with Robert. So, it looks like it's up to me to handle Rogerson...

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