"There have been no allegations as to who it is yet," said Lt. Derrell Means of the university police.

The fliers, which were posted in vending areas, restrooms and elevators in the Bayou Building, instructed others to contact the university police department if they felt the same faculty member had sexually harassed them. However, there have been no grievances filed with the police department or Katherine Justice, the executive director of human resources and affirmative action, against the faculty member targeted by the fliers.

The unauthorized fliers have raised many concerns on campus regarding the issues of libel, posting regulations and students' knowledge of grievance procedures.

"It's unfortunate that it occurred," said Jeff Petry, president of the Student Government Association. "It's unfortunate that a person felt they had to take such measures."

Many faculty members and administrators are troubled by the incident, mainly because the person responsible did not know how to correctly handle his or her grievance.

"It is obvious that not all students are aware of the proper policy and procedure to follow if they have a complaint," Justice said.

There are many offices at UH-Clear Lake that can help students who have grievances. Students are encouraged to go to either the Office of the Dean of Students, B2525; the Student Life Office, B1602; the Office of the Executive Director of Human Resources and Affirmative Action, B1111; or the UH-Clear Lake Police Department, B1636.

The Student Life Policies Handbook, which is available outside the Student Services Office, the Student Information and Assistance Office, the Student Life Office and online at www.cl.uh.edu/ssc/dos/dos.html, explains the procedure students should use to file either informal or formal grievances, whether it is for discrimination, sexual assault, sexual harassment or any other "non-academically related complaint or grievance."

In the case of discrimination grievances, students have two options.

They can try to seek resolution through an administrator that directly supervises the person alleged to have committed the violation, or through the executive director of human resources and affirmative action.

If a resolution is not found by these measures, the student can then request a hearing and file a formal grievance with the executive director of human resources and affirmative action.

Students have 60 days from the date of the alleged discrimination to start the grievance procedure. If the grievance is not resolved informally, the student then has 30 days to file a formal grievance.

If a student feels that a member of the campus community has sexually assaulted them on campus or at a UH-Clear Lake-sponsored event, there are three options available.

They can seek counseling and assistance at a local rape crisis center, contact the university police to have criminal charges brought against the attacker or the student can have disciplinary action brought against the attacker using UH-Clear Lake's sexual assault policy.

A student can choose to pursue all three of the options at the same time. In sexual assault criminal cases, physical evidence is extremely important, so students should act quickly in order to preserve evidence.

There are also several places to seek guidance on campus, including the Health Center, counseling services, the dean of students, the university police and either one of the two counselors appointed by President Staples, who can be reached through the Human Resources Office.

If a UH-Clear Lake student feels that he or she has been sexually harassed, there is a specific procedure in place. Students should first go to the Counseling Center or the two counselors appointed by Staples for advice.

The counselors have many ways that they can help students with complaints. They can provide information on action the complainant can choose, conduct a preliminary confidential investigation and have a supervisor speak to the person accused of sexual harassment.

If the issue is not resolved at this stage, the student can then file a formal written complaint with the campus affirmative action officer. If a formal complaint is filed, the student will then be referred to a panel that conducts an initial investigation and determines whether further action is necessary.

All formal complaints of sexual harassment must be filed within one year of the alleged incident, and the burden of proof lies with the person making the allegation that sexual harassment occurred.

"I would like students to know that the university does not tolerate sexual harassment. The university has a policy and procedures in place to deal with such matters," said Darlene Biggers, associate vice president of student services and dean of students.

The fliers that were posted were unauthorized, meaning they had not gone through the Student Life Office for approval.

Fliers posted around campus that are approved by the Student Life Office all have an original colored stamp on them, which is usually red.

Authorized fliers are required to display contact information, include the American Disabilities Act statement and appear only on university bulletin boards.

As stated in the Student Life Policies Handbook on page 18, "Any printed or pictorial matter posted in unapproved areas or not stamped by the Student Life Office may be removed by university officials." In accordance with this, the anonymous fliers were immediately removed.

"Plastering signs up is not productive...there are people who care," said David Rachita, assistant dean of student life, in response to the unauthorized fliers.

The posted fliers were potentially libelous, which is defined as "a false and malicious published statement that damages somebody's reputation."

If the faculty member named on the fliers wanted to, he or she could file a lawsuit against the person responsible for the posting of the fliers.

Plaintiffs in libel lawsuits are responsible for proving that the statements were defamatory, were published, identified the person, were false, caused the plaintiff injury and that there was a level of fault involved.

"The crux of libel is the harm to someone's reputation, and the insinuation that this man has sexually harassed this person amounts to libel per se, which is libel in its face," said Ashley Packard, associate professor in communication.

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