Sexual Harassment

IN THE DARKNESS of night, the complaints were etched in chalk up and down the walkways of Swarthmore College, a 399-acre oasis of green quads and liberal student activism southwest of Philadelphia. "Welcome to Swarthmore," said one of the scribblings that recently confronted students - and administrators - when the sun rose. "Home of my rapist. " The so-called chalkings, which infuriated Swarthmore's president, were a turning point in a controversy that has rattled one of America's top-ranked liberal-arts schools.

The Wallingford-Swarthmore School District has begun discussing a policy to officially prohibit sexual harassment of students. The policy is needed because of a recent court decision that students could sue a school district over sexual harassment, Superintendent George H. Slick explained after the school board's regular meeting on Monday. The Supreme Court ruled unanimously in February that students can recover damages from schools and school officials for sexual harassment under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which prohibits sex discrimination in schools receiving federal money.

Two weeks ago, 6-year-old Jonathan Prevette responded to a classmate's request for a kiss by pecking her cheek - a gesture that made him an instant celebrity. Fame came knocking, thanks to the unfathomable thickheadedness of adults who run public schools in Lexington, N.C. They deemed the first-grader's kiss to be "unwelcome touching" in violation of the district's sexual harassment policy. Jonathan was suspended for a day and missed an ice cream party with his class. Then the fun began: TV interviews.

A Royersford woman has filed suit against her former employer, seeking in excess of $20,000 in damages for what she alleges were various forms of sexual harassment over a half-year period. Hope Lindauer and her husband, C. Michael Lindauer, filed suit Oct. 14 against Berwyn-based Dickson Gabbay Young Inc. and partner James Young, and James A. Donegan and his Wayne security firm, Donegan Security Associates. Lindauer worked at Dickson Gabbay Young Inc. as an administrative assistant.

The Hatboro-Horsham school board has unanimously approved a district-wide sexual-harassment policy for its employees and job applicants. By so doing, the district, which adopted the policy at its regular board meeting Monday night, joins a growing list of area school boards that have implemented or considered such policies in the last year. "We wanted to communicate clearly to all employees that we wouldn't tolerate such behavior," said Superintendent Gerald Strock. "A formal policy ensures that every employee understands this.

Johnna Crawford came to Voorhees Township recently to warn South Jersey businesses about sexual harassment. "Businesses can stop many sexual-harassment lawsuits before they become a problem," Crawford said. She should know. In April 1990, Crawford filed a civil lawsuit against Stockton State College, charging that a fellow athletics department employee sexually harassed her at meetings in Hammonton and Boston. In October, Crawford received $501,000 to settle her lawsuit against the school, although school and state officials denied her allegations of harassment.

IN THE DARKNESS of night, the complaints were etched in chalk up and down the walkways of Swarthmore College, a 399-acre oasis of green quads and liberal student activism southwest of Philadelphia. "Welcome to Swarthmore," said one of the scribblings that recently confronted students - and administrators - when the sun rose. "Home of my rapist. " The so-called chalkings, which infuriated Swarthmore's president, were a turning point in a controversy that has rattled one of America's top-ranked liberal-arts schools.

He could have been president of the United States. He had big dreams, big ideas - and a likability factor that was almost preternatural. Instead, Jim McGreevey became the butt of jokes on late-night TV when he stepped down as New Jersey's governor in 2004, admitting he is a homosexual and accused by a male adviser, Golan Cipel, of sexual harassment. Fascinated by his public meltdown, journalist and filmmaker Alexandra Pelosi went in search of McGreevey in 2009 and found a newly revitalized man who has reinvented himself - he'd say he finally has found himself - as an openly gay prison counselor and would-be priest.

NEW YORK - In one locker room, there was a familiar chant, the most familiar one for all St. Joseph's Hawks fans, this time chanted by the Hawks players themselves after they doused their coach with a Gatorade shower, an NCAA tournament celebration. Down the hall, quiet. A last shot, season on the line, so much history backing it up. You wouldn't bother making up the plot. . . . . . . Then a whistle blew. Instead of Fordham trying for a game-winner, St. Joe's walked down to the other end to take free throws with a one-point lead, with 3.8 seconds left in the Atlantic Ten championship game at the Barclays Center.

The Philadelphia Housing Authority on Thursday promoted its interim head, Kelvin Jeremiah, to the new position of president and chief executive officer. An expert in compliance and investigations, Jeremiah, 40, had been acting as executive director since the abrupt resignation last June of Michael P. Kelly. With his appointment, Jeremiah will maintain his salary of $190,000. Jeremiah, who was born in Grenada and moved to Brooklyn, N.Y., as a boy, was recruited to PHA in 2011 by his predecessor, who had worked with him at the New York City Housing Authority.

D EAR ABBY: Can a sexless marriage last? My wife and I have been married for 17 years and our sex life has been slowing for a long time. We have sex less than 10 times a year. We get along great and are the best of friends. My wife is attractive and fun to be with, and I don't know what happened to us. What causes women to lose their sex drive? (Then they wonder why their husbands have affairs.) My wife is in good health. There are no medical issues. We are more friends than lovers.

WASHINGTON - Victims of sexual assault and violence in the military told Congress on Wednesday they were afflicted with a slow and uncaring system of justice that too often fails to hold perpetrators accountable and is fraught with institutional bias. They testified to a Senate panel examining the military's handling of sexual assault cases that the military justice system is broken and urged Congress to make changes in the law that would stem the rape, sexual assault and sexual harassment that they said were pervasive in the service branches.

THREE Daily News reporters have won the 2013 Larry Weiss Award for Investigative Journalism for a series of articles exposing misconduct by several high-ranking Philadelphia police officials. Barbara Laker, David Gambacorta and Dana DiFilippo will share a $10,000 prize for the series, dubbed "Bad Brass. " The award, open to investigative journalism of any medium produced in the Philly metropolitan area, South Jersey and Delaware, will be presented April 18 at a luncheon at the offices of WHYY, on Independence Mall.

One Woman in a Hundred Edna Phillips and the Philadelphia Orchestra By Mary Sue Welsh University of Illinois Press. 241 pp. $35 Reviewed by Peter Dobrin   A woman doesn't have the power and stamina to do the job, they said. On the front lines, under intense pressure, she'll buckle. In any case, putting women alongside men won't work; they'll become distractions. The same canards surrounding the arrival of women in combat were being recited during the fall of another prohibition eight decades ago: women in orchestras.

WILMINGTON - A lawyer from Chester County was arrested Friday on sexual-harassment charges after authorities said he offered legal services in exchange for sexual favors. Joseph A. Gabay, 55, of Kennett Square, was taken into custody at his Wilmington office. He was released on $2,000 unsecured bond. The investigation began in October when a complaint was filed against Gabay, authorities said. Two women have come forward as accusers, and the Delaware Attorney General's Office has reviewed the police investigation, authorities said.

The Toms River Board of Education has been ordered to pay a former student $68,000 for failing to take reasonable actions to stop other students from harassing him because of their perceptions of his sexual orientation, the New Jersey Attorney General's Office announced Thursday. The award includes compensation for pain and suffering, plus interest, in the landmark case that began more than a decade ago and at one point was heard by the state Supreme Court. Despite a 2007 decision by the high court remanding the matter to the state, the school district's attorney said officials might challenge the state's order, a decision likely to come later this month.