A former faculty member at Amherst College in Massachusetts claims in a lawsuit that the school’s teaching assistants were encouraged to sleep with students to boost enrollment in the Spanish department.
Dimaris Barrios-Beltran, a former Spanish language lecturer, filed the suit in Hampshire Superior Court earlier in December against the Amherst and Victoria Maillo, her ex-supervisor who left the college earlier this year.
She claims she was wrongfully terminated after reporting and objecting to the sexual harassment of teaching assistants at the school. Her lawsuit is asking for damages for lost wages, attorney’s fees, emotional distress and consequential damages.
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According to the suit, which was published by The Washington Post, Barrios-Beltran alleges Maillo told her that when looking for new teacher’s assistants “she liked to look them up online and pick ‘pretty faces’ to help attract more people to take Spanish classes.”
She also alleges Maillo told her and other teaching assistants to “go out to parties ” and “sleep with students to encourage more people to take Spanish.”
Barrios-Beltran was hired in 2012 but did not have her contract renewed in June.
Barrios-Beltran says in the complaint she suffered retaliation and discrimination after raising concerns about the alleged sexual harassment against Spanish language teaching assistants.
Peter Mackey, a spokesperson for Amherst College, said in an email to the Post that the decision to not reappoint Barrios-Beltran was made after assessing enrollment numbers in the Spanish department and were not aware of the allegations raised in the suit.
“This decision was made with no knowledge of the allegations Ms. Barrios-Beltran now raises, and which she brought forward only after she was told that her short-term contract would not be renewed,” Mackey said. “The College’s decision was based solely on declining enrollments, and any claims otherwise are not based in fact. The College is confident that the court, upon reviewing the facts of this matter, will reach the same conclusion.”
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