Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

DiscriminAsian

UCSD writing instructor sues school for not addressing harassment charges

A UCSD writing instructor is suing the university for failing to stop sexual and racial harassment that she reported against her boss.

Grace Aspiras, hired in 2007 to work in the basic writing program to help non-English-speaking students improve their English writing and reading comprehension, says that for more than four years, despite numerous complaints to school administrators, her boss George Hanson was allowed to perpetuate an uncomfortable working environment.

The harassment started on Aspiras’s first day of work, according to the complaint.

Sponsored
Sponsored

"Defendant Hanson stated that the Asian students who were dismissed by failing to satisfy the entry level writing requirement would all end up 'working at their parents noodle shop,' or words to that effect."

The complaint alleges that Hanson frequently used racial epithets in the office. On one occasion, the writing-program director allegedly "referred to Asian students as smelling like fish sauce."

Hanson also allegedly made inappropriate sexual comments, claims Aspiras, and posted pornographic images on his computer.

"On several occasions, Defendant Hanson stated that the female Asian students who were dismissed from UCSD for failing to meet the entry level writing requirement would never fulfill the writing requirement, and 'it would be better for them to lie on their backs in front of the university library and spread their legs; they could make a living that way' or words to that effect….

"On or about October 19, 2009, Defendant Hanson wrote an essay about the book 'The Sexual Life of Catherine M.' The essay, purportedly about writing style, contained sexually explicit content that served no educational or instructional purpose. Hanson distributed the essay to every instructor in the Basic Writing Program. It contained direct quotations such as...'even fucking can be boring,' and 'sex is as natural as breathing.' In discussing the author, Defendant Hanson wrote, 'for her, one type of in-out, in-out is as natural as another.' The essay also included frequent use of the word 'sex,' 'orgasm,' 'ovulating' and 'orgy.’”

In 2012, Hanson was said to have shown up drunk to Aspiras’s birthday party. He was allegedly seen simulating intercourse.

In 2011, Aspiras complained to UCSD provost Alan Houston about Hanson's inappropriate behavior. A few months later, in January 2012, she returned to Houston and said the treatment was impacting her health. The following month, Aspiras took her complaints to assistant dean Marjorie Hardy and Lori Chamberlain, director of UCSD’s Office of Sexual Harassment Prevention and Policy.

Nothing happened, and Aspiras claims the administrators retaliated against her for coming forward. Despite having received employee of the year honors and positive job reviews, administrators are said to have launched an internal investigation looking into claims that Aspiras helped some students cheat on their tests.

Aspiras seeks compensation for the harassment and punitive damages to ensure that harassment and discrimination stop.

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Temperature inversions bring smoggy weather, "ankle biters" still biting

Near-new moon will lead to a dark Halloween

A UCSD writing instructor is suing the university for failing to stop sexual and racial harassment that she reported against her boss.

Grace Aspiras, hired in 2007 to work in the basic writing program to help non-English-speaking students improve their English writing and reading comprehension, says that for more than four years, despite numerous complaints to school administrators, her boss George Hanson was allowed to perpetuate an uncomfortable working environment.

The harassment started on Aspiras’s first day of work, according to the complaint.

Sponsored
Sponsored

"Defendant Hanson stated that the Asian students who were dismissed by failing to satisfy the entry level writing requirement would all end up 'working at their parents noodle shop,' or words to that effect."

The complaint alleges that Hanson frequently used racial epithets in the office. On one occasion, the writing-program director allegedly "referred to Asian students as smelling like fish sauce."

Hanson also allegedly made inappropriate sexual comments, claims Aspiras, and posted pornographic images on his computer.

"On several occasions, Defendant Hanson stated that the female Asian students who were dismissed from UCSD for failing to meet the entry level writing requirement would never fulfill the writing requirement, and 'it would be better for them to lie on their backs in front of the university library and spread their legs; they could make a living that way' or words to that effect….

"On or about October 19, 2009, Defendant Hanson wrote an essay about the book 'The Sexual Life of Catherine M.' The essay, purportedly about writing style, contained sexually explicit content that served no educational or instructional purpose. Hanson distributed the essay to every instructor in the Basic Writing Program. It contained direct quotations such as...'even fucking can be boring,' and 'sex is as natural as breathing.' In discussing the author, Defendant Hanson wrote, 'for her, one type of in-out, in-out is as natural as another.' The essay also included frequent use of the word 'sex,' 'orgasm,' 'ovulating' and 'orgy.’”

In 2012, Hanson was said to have shown up drunk to Aspiras’s birthday party. He was allegedly seen simulating intercourse.

In 2011, Aspiras complained to UCSD provost Alan Houston about Hanson's inappropriate behavior. A few months later, in January 2012, she returned to Houston and said the treatment was impacting her health. The following month, Aspiras took her complaints to assistant dean Marjorie Hardy and Lori Chamberlain, director of UCSD’s Office of Sexual Harassment Prevention and Policy.

Nothing happened, and Aspiras claims the administrators retaliated against her for coming forward. Despite having received employee of the year honors and positive job reviews, administrators are said to have launched an internal investigation looking into claims that Aspiras helped some students cheat on their tests.

Aspiras seeks compensation for the harassment and punitive damages to ensure that harassment and discrimination stop.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Filmora 14’s AI Tools Streamline Content Creation for Marketers

Next Article

Conservatives cry, “Turnabout is fair gay!”

Will Three See Eight’s Fate?
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader