DLSU faculty member's contract not renewed over sexist statement
By Minka Klaudia Tiangco
A De La Salle University (DLSU) department head announced that they will not renew the contract of a part-time faculty member who posted a "misogynistic" statement on Facebook aimed at Sen. Risa Hontiveros.
Dr. Claro Gañac had been teaching part-time at the university's Marketing and Advertising Department-Ramon V. del Rosario College of Business (MAD RVRCOB) for seven years.
Following an outcry from students to hold the professor accountable, MAD RVRCOB chair Mary Julie Balarbar said they talked to him and "called out his behavior" before deciding not to renew his contract.
"We advocate (for) creating a safe space against discrimination and harassment," Balarbar said in a statement issued to The LaSallian, DLSU's official student publication on Monday (June 15).
"We thank the La Sallian community for your vigilance and bringing this matter to our attention. Be rest assured that the Marketing and Advertising Department does not and will not tolerate any behavior that goes against the values and morals of the University, particularly from a professor," she added.
On June 14, the faculty member shared a quote card of Hontiveros saying that instead of teaching women how to dress to avoid sexual harassment, men should be taught not to rape.
This was in response to a post by the Lucban Municipal Station, which has already been taken down, that told women not to wear revealing clothes to avoid being sexually harassed.
"EXCELLENT IDEA," Gañac wrote in his now-deleted post. "I recommend that she teach the prisoners in Bilibid prison NOT to rape. Closed-door session."
Students then launched an online petition, asking the DLSU administration to "reprimand" the professor for his "sexist behavior online."
"As an educator in the La Sallian community, he should be held responsible for his statements online to Sen. Risa Hontiveros," the petition read.
"This statement, not only being misogynist in nature, goes against the Lasallian value of respecting all peoples," it added.
As of Tuesday evening, the petition had garnered at least 2,255 signatures.
According to The LaSallian, the University Student Government also filed a complaint against the faculty member.
Balarbar said that in their discussion, Gañac apologized and said that it was not his intention to imply that Hontiveros should be harassed, nor to "promote" rape culture.