First there was this
Ms. Dawson an advisor at Kennesaw State University literally redefined harassment when she told 
student, Kevin Bruce of the University that his sitting and waiting to talk someone about his classes was harassment. If you watched the video you heard her say that. She didn’t make the claim that the student was talking to anyone, catcalling, whistling, disrupting office work any of that, his merely sitting in office supplied furniture and waiting to see an available employee of the University was intimidating to Ms. Dawson. Kudos to Mr. Bruce who despite the dynamics, he a black male and Ms. Dawson a white female in the South never claimed it was about race but rather about an employee who acted unprofessionally.
KSU saw it Bruce’s way
KSU says it is suspending Abby Dawson from her advising responsibilities at the Department of Exercise Science and Sports Management.
“It’s something that needed to be done,” said one senior, who said she also had Dawson as an adviser.
Dawson will be reassigned, and not permitted to advise students unless she completes new training.
“We have made it very clear to Ms. Dawson and her supervisors that the behavior she demonstrated on the video will not be tolerated; and while we have apologized to the student directly, we also want to publicly apologize for her behavior, which is not representative of KSU’s student-centered culture,” said Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs Ken Harmon.
Harmon says they plan to reorganize their advising system and add more advisers to increase the adviser to student ratio.
“While we in no way condone Ms. Dawson’s actions, we also acknowledge that we need to make some changes in our advising structure to provide more training and support for our staff so that they are better equipped to help our students navigate their college experience,” said Harmon.
I applaud both Mr. Bruce and KSU for handling a delicate situation delicately. I hope Ms. Dawson gets the help she so clearly needs.
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