{"id":84187,"date":"2020-07-05T12:34:58","date_gmt":"2020-07-05T17:34:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/news\/?p=84187"},"modified":"2020-07-05T12:34:58","modified_gmt":"2020-07-05T17:34:58","slug":"personal-statement-by-betsy-schoeller-regarding-the-death-of-specialist-vanessa-guillen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/news\/personal-statement-by-betsy-schoeller-regarding-the-death-of-specialist-vanessa-guillen\/","title":{"rendered":"Personal statement by Betsy Schoeller regarding the death of Specialist Vanessa Guillen"},"content":{"rendered":"

(Note: We have been asked to share this statement by Betsy Schoeller, an instructor in our School of Information Studies, who has been the subject of numerous news stories regarding a posting she made to Facebook.)<\/em><\/p>\n

First, may I please offer my sincere condolences to the family and loved ones of Specialist Vanessa Guillen. \u00a0I am deeply sorry for your loss and pray that you find justice, and over time, some solace and peace.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d also like to offer my sympathies to all victims, women and men, of sexual harassment and sexual assault. \u00a0NO ONE deserves to suffer this violation, under ANY circumstances.<\/p>\n

When I was on a private Facebook page for veterans, I saw the article about SPC Guillen\u2019s death and was shocked, horrified, and sickened by the tragic loss of this beautiful woman soldier. \u00a0It was so brutal and so senseless. \u00a0Senseless. \u00a0We all try to make sense of these kinds of events. I continued reading, hoping to find some meaning in what others were writing about the article.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s when I saw a posting written by Zach Bigger, who was clearly searching for meaning as well. He was asking questions about \u2018how\u2019 this could have happened, and \u2018why.\u2019 I knew immediately how and why. \u00a0Because of the continued culture of sexual harassment in the military.<\/p>\n

So, I posted a reply to Zach Bigger, \u201cSexual harassment is the price of admission for women into the good ole boy club. \u00a0If you\u2019re gonna cry like a snowflake\u201d (or any other demeaning term), \u201cyou\u2019re gonna pay the price.\u201d I did not mean to imply that this is how I feel. I was giving voice to the messaging that women hear in the culture of sexual harassment: The message we receive from the culture is not only will you suffer from sexual harassment, if you squawk about it, you will suffer even more. Because it isn\u2019t just the sexual harassment. \u00a0That\u2019s just the beginning. \u00a0Then comes the agonizing decision about reporting. \u00a0Or not reporting. \u00a0The pressure applied by friends who know about it and only want to help. \u00a0Having to ultimately stand up to that culture of sexual harassment on your own. \u00a0Adding suffering on top of suffering. \u00a0 Some endure continued harassment and assault, being forced to work with the perpetrator. Sometimes even death. \u00a0The sexual harassment culture is still here. \u00a0That\u2019s the \u2018why\u2019 I was looking for.<\/p>\n

I am shocked and saddened that my original post was interpreted out of context.<\/p>\n

The point I was making is that this is what women are facing in a culture of sexual harassment and misogyny.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not easy to be a woman in the military. \u00a0Not easy at all. \u00a0There are some men who have adapted to the idea of working alongside women, but there are just as many who have not. \u00a0I\u2019ve seen many attempts to squash this harassment culture from the military. \u00a0Zero tolerance. \u00a0Reporting procedures. \u00a0Trained personnel to help guide victims through the process. \u00a0Sensitivity training for all personnel. \u00a0Films. \u00a0Discussions. \u00a0Focus groups. \u00a0Role playing. \u00a0Sometimes as often as every six months. \u00a0Always hoping that the next thing will be the one to make a difference. \u00a0Somehow there was always one more case. \u00a0Now SPC Guillen was dead. \u00a0And I knew why. \u00a0Because the culture of sexual harassment was still alive and well, despite our best efforts.<\/p>\n

I do not believe in or support sexual harassment. \u00a0Quite the opposite. \u00a0I\u2019ve seen the toll it takes on individuals and entire units. \u00a0But I know it\u2019s still here. \u00a0Because SPC Guillen is not here.<\/p>\n

Again, I am so sorry my words were misinterpreted.\u00a0 I hope this message provides the context that was missing from my original Facebook posting. Individuals cannot change the system alone. We need to stand together to be strong and to focus our energies on making sure that what happened to SPC Vanessa Guillen doesn\u2019t happen to anyone else ever again.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(Note: We have been asked to share this statement by Betsy Schoeller, an instructor in our School of Information Studies, who has been the subject of numerous news stories regarding a posting she made to Facebook.) First, may I please offer my sincere condolences to the family and loved ones of Specialist Vanessa Guillen. \u00a0I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3151,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","uwm_wg_additional_authors":[]},"categories":[202],"tags":[],"section":[],"display_categories":[],"related-coverage":[],"uwmnews-feed":[],"class_list":["post-84187","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news-releases"],"yoast_head":"\nPersonal statement by Betsy Schoeller regarding the death of Specialist Vanessa Guillen<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"(Note: We have been asked to share this statement by Betsy Schoeller, an instructor in our School of Information Studies, who has been the subject of\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/news\/personal-statement-by-betsy-schoeller-regarding-the-death-of-specialist-vanessa-guillen\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Personal statement by Betsy Schoeller regarding the death of Specialist Vanessa Guillen\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"(Note: We have been asked to share this statement by Betsy Schoeller, an instructor in our School of Information Studies, who has been the subject of\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/news\/personal-statement-by-betsy-schoeller-regarding-the-death-of-specialist-vanessa-guillen\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"UWM REPORT\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-07-05T17:34:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"John G. 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