Ohio St. Drops Harassment Charges Against Conservative Librarian
by Jim Brown and Jody Brown
April 19, 2006
(AgapePress) - - Allegations of sexual harassment against a librarian at Ohio State University's Mansfield campus have been dropped. The librarian, a devout Quaker, had been under investigation by the school for suggesting that freshmen students read conservative books.
Librarian Scott Savage serves on a committee designed to pick books for incoming OSU students to read as part of what is called a "First Year Reading Experience." While other committee members suggested a series of liberal books, Savage recommended that some conservative books be added to the list -- among them, The Marketing of Evil by David Kupelian.
Three professors -- two of whom are openly homosexual -- objected to the librarian's suggestions, particularly Kupelian's book, which they described as "hate literature" and "homophobic tripe" that "threatened" them and made them feel "unsafe" on campus. After a faculty vote supporting the professors' allegations, the school put Savage under investigation for sexual harassment. Now, according to WorldNetDaily, the university has concluded the charge of harassment has no merit and, therefore, has been dropped.
David French with the Alliance Defense Fund is Savage's attorney. French tells WND that despite the charge being dropped and his client being exonerated, Savage is "exploring" the possibility of litigation because "the damage has been done" to his client's career and reputation. "He has already filed an internal complaint accusing the professors of a false allegation of harassment," the attorney explains. "[B]y no means is this over."
The investigation itself, says the ADF attorney, was a complete sham. "Imagine a situation where someone complained that they were being sexually harassed simply because a professor had come out of a closet. [The school] would not investigate that," he asserts. "In fact, they'd probably refer the complainer to some sort of diversity training."
It used to be that universities were thought to be a place where people could go to be exposed to ideas that challenge conventional wisdom, says French. But the attorney says it was "absurd" to suggest that the simple recommendation of a conservative book is a threat to anyone.
"Scott Savage is a very peaceful person. He's a plain Christian: he's a person who drives a horse and buggy," French says in reference to his client's religious tradition. "He's not a violent person -- and all he did was recommend that freshmen read, for a different perspective, some conservative books."
Other books Savage had suggested were: The Professors by David Horowitz, Eurabia: The Euro-Arab Axis by Bat Ye'or, and It Takes a Family by Senator Rick Santorum.
French calls the whole incident one of the most "astonishing" and "shameful" examples of campus persecution he has ever witnessed. A legal response, he says, might be necessary to "deter any future tyranny or bullying of others."
