Woman says student harassed her on van

The Judicial Inquiry Office has leveled a host of sanctions against a male student after the JIO ruled he sexually harassed a female graduate student, according to the student who filed the charges in October. Amy Iwata, a third-year Fine Arts student, said she filed charges against Richard Clark, an exchange student from Scotland, complaining that he harassed her on a University Green Route Safety Shuttle van on the Saturday night of fall break. Iwata said Clark grabbed her and refused to leave her alone during the course of the ride to Center City. She said last week that the JIO ruled against Clark and that sanctions against him include a permanent notation on his transcript, a fine, a private letter of apology, a public letter of apology and enrollment in a sexual harassment education class. But Clark said last night that he "on no occasion touched" Iwata and that he had not heard of any sanctions leveled against him. Clark said he believes the case is still under investigation and he will learn of the outcome in a meeting with the JIO tomorrow. "I am shocked and horrified by this claim," he said. Interim JIO Jane Combrinck-Graham said yesterday that charges were filed by Iwata against Clark, but she said she could not discuss the details or the status of the case, including whether sanctions had been handed down. "I'm not willing to discuss any individual cases," she said. Iwata said that Clark, who she alleges was intoxicated, and a group of other "big, rowdy guys" boarded the van and asked to be taken to a Center City bar. She added that she told the driver that the men were drunk and should not be allowed to board the van. The van driver, Iwata said, "wasn't doing anything." "[Clark] sort of lunged back [from the front of the van] and grabbed me . . . around the neck with both arms," Iwata said. "[Then] he sat right next to me . . . and was brushing up against me." Iwata said that she repeatedly told Clark to move away. "I had to raise my voice and shout to him to get away," she said. Iwata said that Clark also used "coarse, vulgar language" and "simulated masturbation and a few other gestures." Clark denied the allegations, saying "I did not say anything or make any physical gesture which had a sexual connotation." But Iwata said he was continuously mocking and mimicking her and trying to get her attention. "I think [the driver] should have called the University Police or the dispatcher," she said. "He handled it really badly." Clark said that the driver did nothing because there was no need for him to act. "I, in no way, committed sexual harassment," he said. "I am bewildered how this girl can deduce this term sexual harassment." Clark said that he told Iwata to "mind her own business" when she attempted to convince the driver not to let them on the van. He added that she asked him to move away and he complied. That was the end of communication between the two of them, he said. Iwata said she was very intimidated by Clark's actions and her discomfort was one of the reasons she chose to file charges. And she added that an escort van was a place that she used to rely on as a "safety zone" and that she no longer takes advantage of the service. "I feel safer in . . . any clubs downtown than I felt in that van," Iwata said. But she added that she does not feel escort is primarily to blame. "I blame [Clark] and I don't really blame escort," she said. "You don't go out of your way to hurt somebody." Iwata said she reported the incident to University Police and filed charges with the JIO the week after the incident happened. While she described the JIO procedure as "a major hassle," she added that she is sorry she waited so long before going public with her complaint. "I wish now that I had done it right away," she said.

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