Transcription
TEXT CARD: 2020
Dartmouth College, NH
Vassiki Chauhan: In September 2015, I arrived from Boston Airport on the Dartmouth Coach that circles the green.
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I felt hopeful about the things that would happen here, the things that I would learn, and the science that I would do. But it doesn’t feel that much anymore.
I am Vassiki Chauhan. I am a Ph.D. student in cognitive neuroscience. I am doing my Ph.D. at Dartmouth, and I work specifically on how humans perceive other people’s faces.
When I was in ninth grade, I got a book about the theory of relativity and Einstein’s life and how he became a scientist, and it blew my mind.
Physics intrigued me so much that I spent all my pocket money buying books on cosmology, general relativity and quantum mechanics, which I really enjoyed.
Because I was interested in physics, I liked to think about artificial intelligence and robotics…so it all came together in the end.
As I was entering Hannover, and flying in from Mumbai, I was fascinated by these red brick buildings. When I got there I felt like I was entering a dream.
Once I got here, I realized that in order to get along, we needed to go and have a drink together.
There were three full professors in the department of psychology and brain sciences. Todd Heatherton, Bill Kelley and Paul Whalen. They brought many scholarships, they were very famous.
The teachers were in the bar, and suddenly, you know, some of the women in the group suddenly had new drinks in their hands, which they didn’t choose, which they didn’t pay for, and we knew that the teachers paid.
That was very standardized, so I went with it.
Kristina Rapuano: Mentoring was strongly linked in this drinking culture, for example, if there was a drink in front of you, refusing it almost felt like you were rejecting advice.
Sasha Brietzke: Either you go out to the bar and have a beer with him and he’ll read your papers, or you don’t, and you’re careless.
Annemarie Brown: There are so many red flags right now. And none of them registered me as a red flag anywhere. They would try to keep us from talking about our experiences, and it worked pretty well.
Rapuano: Bill Kelley and Paul Whalen routinely joked about our physical appearance as if it were a competition.
Andrea Courtney: I saw Paul Whalen kiss someone on the forehead, and there were hugs and inappropriate touches.
Marissa Evans: Texting “Oh, what are you doing?” “Oh, I’ve been drinking. A girl like you would never have a boy like me.” Sending me naked pictures and telling me what he wanted to do with me…
Rapuano: When I entered graduate school with Bill Kelley, I experienced a lot of grooming behavior from day one. Until he physically took advantage of me at a conference. This being my advisor, somehow… I didn’t push back, I didn’t say anything. I felt trapped.
Chauhan: In general, how predators behave is consistent.
One day Paul Whalen invited me to his house for a farewell party for one of his RAs and there were a bunch of other grad students there. And then we went to a bar and after that, I was like, well, if you want another beer, this place is closing, we can go to your house.
I had been to his house before, and I didn’t think it was anything out of the ordinary.
And I was trying to play music and he went to get beers or something and it was just me. . . I felt his body behind me. And you know, you don’t forget things like that. You don’t forget “Oh my god, what’s really going on right now?”
I always remember saying no… I used the word, I used the action. I was explicit. And I know that completely.
He had so much power and influence and weight, and I was just this graduate student in India, in the early stages of my Ph.D.
It was this profound and insidious violation of trust and human behavior.
Brietzke: For a while I didn’t know how bad it was. I heard the rumours.
I went to a conference, an academic conference, and Todd Heatherton enjoyed an after-conference event at a karaoke bar, very drunk. Um, and he called me over to where he was sitting, and he grabbed me by the butt and sat me on his lap. I remember feeling this intense sense of shame and embarrassment and that I would never be taken seriously as a scientist.
I really started to rage, in the hotel, the conference hotel. And then I started talking to people.
Courtney: To be honest, it took me comparing my experience to other women before I realized I wasn’t the problem.
Brown: We realized how amazing and surprising the similarities between these women’s models were.
We realized that these men intended to do this.
Brietzke: At first it’s like oh, this is just my experience. And then, oh, other people had these experiences with these three men. And she is like many women.
Rapuano: So we somehow organized and met with the department heads. They understood without even naming the teachers. They knew exactly who we were talking about and IX. They decided to launch an investigation of the title.
Brietzke: A committee decided that the three teachers should be fired.
But before that was over, Bill and Paul resigned, and Todd retired.
Chauhan: If you resign or retire three teachers after a year-long investigation, you’re not setting a precedent. You are doing the easiest and most expensive thing for the institution.
At that point we thought well, maybe what we need to do to make real changes is to sue the university on our end.
Because they should treat us better.
Rapuano: When we first decided to file the lawsuit, I wanted to remain anonymous.
Brietzke: I felt like I was blowing up my career without really knowing the extent of the damage.
Chauhan: I was worried about not being seen as a scientist. Being seen as a victim.
But for our stories to resonate with other women, for institutions to take an interest in what we had to say, we had to go all in.
Basically, we had to put our lives on the line for the impact we wanted.
ABC World News Tonight archive: “Shocking accusations by several young women, three male Dartmouth professors say they’re accusing them of turning their department into a 21st-century Animal House, calling it a ‘predator club.'”
Courtney: The response was very positive and that was very, very encouraging.
Rapuano: For professors from other institutions to request more information about our case and make changes in their departments.
Chauhan: Many Indian women have come up to me and said, “Given our culture, I can’t believe this is something you’ve decided, and it makes me feel like it’s an option for me too.”
TEXT CARD: In 2019 the plaintiffs and more than 70 members reached a $14 million settlement with Dartmouth.
TEXT CARD: Under the agreement, Dartmouth invested $1.5 million to hire several faculty members and support a nonprofit that works to end gender-based violence.
TEXT CARD: 2024
Harlem, New York City
Rapuano: During the case, I think it was very important that our names and our faces were part of it, because it humanized what the case represented. But it is important to know that our stories do not end with that case. It’s a story that’s constantly unfolding and unfolding, and it’s our life, and that case doesn’t define us, but it transforms who we are today.
So I became a researcher at a startup. I’m really grateful that I’ve been able to land in a place where I can still do my science, but that has more checks and balances, and I don’t have to worry about who’s using this abuse of power. on me
One of the things I started doing is lifting weights. So I lift heavy weights three to four times a week. I can squat much more than my body weight. Yes, it’s very funny. It feels good to be in your body and feel powerful.
Chauhan: I was a graduate student at Dartmouth when the case came up. So after all that I had to finish my Ph.D. So, in a way, there was a lot of hostility at that time, in that environment.
With so many unexpected things happening, I felt there was no way science could hold me back. I felt like no one wanted me, to be honest. But um, I followed my own path of curiosity, which brought me to New York.
So now I’m working as a postdoc at Barnard College.
Chauhan (tape): I can’t wait to show you this…
I also now work as an editor, or volunteer editor, at Science for the People.
This is the issue I have been involved with. It’s about technology.
We also have a strong and amazing New York chapter where we take direct action together.
It’s a really gratifying experience not to feel alone in wanting science to be more than just a profession.
Rapuano: I have been very lucky to maintain a very close bond with my best friend Vassiki.
He is living his life hard in all aspects, both in his science, in his postdoc, and in his activist work. I’m always scared of him.
Chauhan: What I’ve learned is that if you want to make a change, don’t go it alone. Try to do it with people who will share the burden, and have the same goals as you, so you can hold yourself accountable.
I find very few things permanent, but our friendship is one of them.
TEXT CARD: Scientific American has analyzed the complaint made by the interviewees in the case.
TEXT CARD: We reached out to Dartmouth in October 2024 for comment on this story. The university responded:
“There is no place for sexual violence or harassment at Dartmouth. We work every day to ensure a safe, respectful, fair and inclusive learning and research environment for all students, faculty and staff.
“Dartmouth had no prior knowledge of the misconduct and applauds the efforts of the women who brought these concerns to the fore in 2017. After learning of the students’ concerns, Dartmouth immediately conducted a rigorous and objective investigation, complete with investigations of each former faculty member, by an experienced outside investigator. directed, interviewed more than 50 witnesses and analyzed extensive documentation.
“Dartmouth took the unprecedented step of suspending the tenure and termination of three faculty members after a thorough investigation revealed conduct that was inconsistent with the College’s values and violated its policies.”
