ATLANTA --- The head of Georgia State University's Middle East Institute has stepped down, claiming the university mishandled a discrimination complaint from a Muslim doctoral student.
Dona Stewart resigned from the institute Tuesday night, citing retaliation from the university for helping student Slma Shelbayah. The university failed to address complaints from Ms. Shelbayah that another faculty member harassed her on several occasions last August about her hijab, or traditional Muslim headscarf, Ms. Stewart said.
According to the complaint, the faculty member asked Ms. Shelbayah if she had a bomb under her hijab, among other comments, several times during receptions and events for the Department of Communications Ph.D. program.
After the student complained to the university, Ms. Stewart said she was told to remove Ms. Shelbayah from her position as a visiting instructor because university policy prevents graduate students from being faculty members. Ms. Stewart said she refused and was met with "hostile comments and retaliatory actions" by her supervisor.
"I refused to participate in retaliation against Slma," Ms. Stewart said in a phone interview Wednesday. "What started as a series of unbelievable comments in public over a period of eight days back in August -- basically calling her a terrorist -- developed into attempts to remove her."
Both Ms. Stewart and Ms. Shelbayah have filed complaints with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Georgia State spokeswoman Andrea Jones said the student's complaints were handled properly, and the university did not retaliate against either woman. Ms. Jones said the university is cooperating with the EEOC.
Comments
Well, this sounds like the typical type of complaint of those that live in the world of academe. 100% politically correct 100% of the time (except when referencing Christians) and with no sense of humor. Just playing the odds, if the AP supports these two, this is probably just more sour grapes.
This is a workplace issue and has nothing to do with academia. A senior employee repeatedly harassed a junior employee, who then suffered retaliation when she complained. Big props to Ms. Stewart for standing up for Ms. Shelbayah. May they both receive justice.
Patricia, what do you know about academia? Nothing. And it's not funny when a person makes comments about a bomb...not funny. Your ignorance is incredible.
noway @ 9:14 I suspect PT knows at least as much about academia as you know about how much she knows. I also suspect that, since Ms. Shalbayah wasn't immediately thrown to the grpund and strip searched, everybody at that gathering must have thought the remark was a joke or at least prepostorous. Your ignorance is not incredible; I am totally convinced you are ignorant. No need to thank me for reassuring you about your shortcomings.
I don't think teasing or jesting about someone's attire, especially as it relates to their faith practices, is at all funny. At the very least, it's in poor taste, and is something someone of even a bachelor's level education would be expected to eschew. It probably will be impossible to prove that Ms. Shelbayah was the victim of retaliation, however, unless she can produce an official document waiving the school's rule barring her, specifically, from holding a faculty position while she was a grad student. Got to have it in writing or witnessed by a disinterested party.
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