The Boston Globe - 07.08.2019

A12 Nation/Region The Boston Globe WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 7, 2019

University. “It does signal to
otheruniversitiesto take this
seriously.”
The New Hampshire college
has also agreedto make policy
changes and address the obsta-
cles that prevent female stu-
dentsfrom succeedingin the
sciences and female professors
from gaining tenure.
The ninewomenwho
broughtthe lawsuitsaid in a
jointstatement withDart-
mouththat they were“satis-
fied” with the agreement. They
wereinitiallyseeking$70 mil-
lion in damages for what they
alleged was a 21st-century “Ani-
mal House” at Dartmouth’s na-
tionallyrecognized psychology
and brain sciences department.
“We hope our case sets a
precedentfor future cases,”
Sasha Brietzke, one of the stu-
dents whofiled the lawsuit,
wrotein a Twitter message. “I
can see my generation of scien-
tists organizing and saying
‘ENOUGH.’ Workplace environ-
ments that were accepted in the
recentpast will not cut it any-
more.Our field will thrive if we
work to make our culture better
for scientists whocomeafter
us.”
Dartmouth did not acknowl-
edge any wrongdoing, but offi-
cials said the college has in the
past two yearslaunched— and
now plansto expand— several
programsto addresssexual
misconduct and potential prob-
lems that arise out of power im-
balancesbetween professors
and graduate and undergradu-
ate students.
DartmouthpresidentPhilip
Hanloncondemnedthe behav-
ior of the former professors in a
statement, and said they are
banned from campus.
“We have learned lessons
that we believe will enable us to
root out this behavior immedi-
ately if it ever threatensour
campuscommunity again,”
Hanlon said.

uDARTMOUTH
Continued fromPageA

The three neuroscience pro-

fessors, Todd Heatherton, Paul

Whalen,and Bill Kelley, retired

or resignedin 2018after Dart-

mouth threatened to revoke

theirtenure.

The womensaid that they

were preyed uponby the pro-

fessors, whoallegedly hosted

drinking and hot-tub parties

withwomen,openlydebated

who had the “hottest lab,” and

sexually assaulted graduate stu-

dents, according to the lawsuit.

The womenalleged the col-

lege failed to protect them. The

women, many of them graduate

students, said they relied on the

professorsto advance theirsci-

entific and academiccareers.

Shunning the men’s advances

meant losing mentors and re-

search support, they said.

Heatherton has previously

apologizedfor his behavior and

said that he acted “unprofes-

sionally whileintoxicated.”

Whalen and Kelley have not

publicly commented on this

case,and previousattempts to

reachtheirattorneys have been

unsuccessful.

The professorswerenot per-

sonally named as defendantsin

the civil lawsuit.

The case resonated with

many femalescientists across

the country who in private mes-

sage boards and on social me-

dia shared their own experienc-

es working as young academics

withmoreestablished,male

professorswhocreated toxic

environments.

Soon after the lawsuitwas

filed in November2018,hun-

dredsof female scientists vol-

unteered to helpthe Dart-

mouth students and any other

young scientists withprofes-

sionaladvice and research

mentorship.

The case also drew attention

from New Hampshire’s attor-

ney general, wholaunched a

criminalinvestigation into the

professors’alleged behavior.

The matter is still under review,

officialswiththe attorney gen-

eral’s office said.

More recently New Hamp-

shire lawmakers and several

Democratic presidentialhope-

fuls also took standsin support

of the women, some of whom

wantedto remainanonymous

as the case progressed.

For colleges and universi-

ties,the cost of suchcases

reachesbeyondthe settlement

amount, said Mancini,the

VCU professor.

They can suffer a loss of

prestige and anger donorsand

alumni, Mancini said.

For aggrieved students, civil

lawsuitsare provingto be a

valuable avenue to get resolu-

tion, even as the currentUS De-

partment of Education moves

to roll back the tough sexual ha-

rassmentregulationsadopted

under the Obama administra-

tion, Mancinisaid.

It is difficult to calculate

howmuchcolleges generally

spendto settle sexual harass-

ment claims,because many

agreements are done privately,

legal experts said.

The Chronicle of Higher Ed-

ucation in 2017estimated that

colleges spent about $200,00 0

on average to settle sexual as-

sault lawsuits.

In 2016, the University of

Tennesseespent$2.48million

to settle claims with eightwom-

en.

More recent blockbuster

lawsuits have uppedthe finan-

cial cost to universities.

In June, the University of

Southern California agreed to a

$215million class-action settle-

mentto resolve sexual abuse al-

legationsagainst a formercam-

pus gynecologist. But that case

potentiallyinvolved 17,

women who couldbe eligible to

receive between $2,500 and

$250,000, according to news re-

ports.

Last year, MichiganState

University reached a $500mil-

lion settlementwithsexual as-

sault survivors of Larry Nassar,

the former USA Gymnastics na-

tional team doctor. The univer-

sity agreedto spend the money

to pay 332 currentvictims and

any future ones.

The Dartmouth settlement

is smaller than these high-pro-

file cases involving one serial

abuser, said Scott Schneider,a

Texas attorney who workson

sexual harassment cases.

But Dartmouth’s settlement

“is pretty sizable,” Schneider

said.

The number of Dartmouth

students who could qualify for a

settlementremainsunclearbut

is likely to be fewer than 50, ac-

cording to legal experts.

The size of the individual

settlements will be determined

later.

Both sides will submitthe

complete settlement agreement

in federal district court on Aug.

20 for the judge’s approval.

Deirdre Fernandes canbe

reached at

[email protected].

Follow her on Twitter

@fernandesglobe.

JENNIFER S. ALTMAN FOR THE BOSTONGLOBE/FILE 2018

Sixof thewomenwhosuedDartmouth,includingSasha

Brietzke (farright),whowroteonTwitter, “We hopeour

casesets a precedentforfuturecases.”

Dartmouth to pay

$14m settlement

ByJohnHanna

and Ellen Knickmeyer

ASSOCIATEDPRESS

TOPEKA, Kan.— A federal

employees union charged Tues-

day that recentcommentsby

Mick Mulvaney, the acting

White House chief of staff, con-

firmthe Trumpadministra-

tion’s ‘‘grand strategy’’ to cut

the federal workforce by relo-

catingagency officesout of

Washington.

Mulvaney said last week that

the Department of Agriculture’s

planto relocate several hun-

dredof jobs from Washington

to the Kansas City area is ‘‘a

wonderful way to streamline

government.’’ Speakingto a

group of fellow Republicans in

his homestate of South Caroli-

na, he said it’s ‘‘nearly impossi-

ble’’ to fire federal workers but

added that many will not move

to ‘‘the real part of the country.’’

Within days of taking office,

President Trump declared a hir-

ing freeze, and withinmonths,

Mulvaney, as director of the Of-

fice of Management and Bud-

get, outlineda planfor reduc-

ing the civilian workforce.

The USDA said in June it

would move most of the em-

ployeesoftheEconomicRe-

search Service and National In-

stitute of Food and Agriculture

partly to bring the two agencies

closer to farmersand agribusi-

nesses.

The InteriorDepartment

has offereda similarrationale

for breaking up the Bureau of

Land Management’s headquar-

ters and putting employees in

11 western states.

Mulvaney said‘‘the quiet

parts out loud,’’ said Aaron

Weiss, deputy director of the

Center for Western Priorities, a

Denver nonprofit critical of the

Trumpadministration’s Interi-

or Department. Weiss sees an

‘‘intentional brain drain’’ to ‘‘get

rid of expertise acrossthe gov-

ernment.’’

‘‘This is part of their grand

strategy,’’ said Dave Verardo,

president of the American Fed-

eration of Government Employ-

ees local that represents the US-

DA workers. ‘‘Reduce govern-

ment so that people can come

into power and do whatever

they want withoutany checks

and balances.’’

SpokesmanJohn Czwartacki

defended Mulvaney’s com-

ments Tuesday as ‘‘commentary

through a political lens at a po-

litical event.’’ He noted that Ag-

riculture Secretary Sonny Per-

due has said relocating the two

agencies’ employees will save

money on rent and employee

costs, freeing up more money

for research.

InteriorSecretary David

Bernhardtdescribed the Bu-

reauof Land Management

moveas a ‘‘realignment’’ to

‘‘better respondto the needs of

the Americanpeople.’’

Officialsin Kansasand Mis-

souriand their congressional

delegations were delighted with

the USDA’s plans, believing the

researchagencies to be a good

fit for the region.

The Economic Research Ser-

vice examines issues including

the rural economy, internation-

al trade, foodsafety, and pro-

grams that provide foodassis-

tance to poor Americans.

The NationalInstituteof

Food and Agriculture provides

grants for agricultural research.

The USDA said nearly 550 of

the agencies’ roughly 640 jobs

wouldmoveby the end of Sep-

tember.

US House majority leader

Steny Hoyer, a Maryland Demo-

crat who has criticizedthe relo-

cationplans,saidTuesdayina

statementthat Perdue‘‘must

halt’’ them.He also said Mulva-

ney’s comments signal the

Trumpadministration’s ‘‘true

intentions.’’

BySomini Sengupta

andWeiyi Cai

NEWYORK TIMES

BANGALORE,India —

Countries that are home to one-

fourth of Earth’s population

face an increasingly urgent risk:

the prospect of running out of

water.

From India to Iran to Bo-

tswana, 17 countries are cur-

rently under extreme stress,

meaning they are usingalmost

all of the water they have, ac-

cording to World ResourcesIn-

stitute data published Tuesday.

Many are arid countries to

begin with. Some are squander-

ing what water they have. Sev-

eral are relying too heavily on

groundwater, whichthey

should be replenishing and sav-

ing for times of drought.

In those countries are sever-

al big, thirsty cities that have

faced acute shortages recently,

includingSão Paulo; Chennai,

India; and Cape Town, which in

2018 narrowlybeat what it

called Day Zero — the day when

all its dams would be dry.

“We’re likely to see more of

these Day Zeros in the future,”

said Betsy Otto, who directs the

global water program at the

World ResourcesInstitute.

“The pictureis alarming in

many places around the world.”

Climate change heightens

the risk. As rainfallbecomes

moreerratic, the water supply

becomes less reliable. At the

same time, as the days grow

hotter, morewater evaporates

fromreservoirs,just as the de-

mand for water increases.

Water-stressed places are

sometimescursedby two ex-

tremes. São Paulo was ravaged

by floods a year after its taps

nearlyran dry. Chennaisuf-

fered fatal floods four years ago,

but nowits reservoirsare al-

most empty.

MexicoCity is drawing

groundwater so fast that the

city is literally sinking. Dhaka,

Bangladesh, relies so heavily on

groundwater for bothits resi-

dents and its water-guzzling

garmentfactories that it now

draws water from aquifers hun-

dreds of feet deep. Chennai’s

thirsty residents, accustomed to

relyingon groundwater for

years, are findingthere’s none

left. Across India and Pakistan,

farmers are draining aquifers to

grow water-intensive crops like

cotton and rice.

Today, amongcitieswith

morethan3 millionpeople, 33

of them, with a combined popu-

lation of over 255 million, face

extremely high water stress, the

institute’s researchers conclud-

ed, with repercussions for pub-

lic health and social unrest.

By 2030,the number of cit-

ies in the “extremely high

stress” category is expected to

rise to 45 and include nearly

470 million people.

The stakes are high. When

an city or a country is using

nearly all of the water available,

a bad droughtcan be cata-

strophic.

After a three-yeardrought,

CapeTown in 2018tookex-

traordinary measures to ration

what little it had left in its reser-

voirs. That crisis onlymagni-

fied a chronic challenge: Cape

Town’s 4 million residentscom-

pete withfarmers for limited

water. Likewise, Los Angeles.

Itsmostrecentdroughtended

this year. But its water supply

isn’t keepingpacewithgallop-

ing demand— and its penchant

for backyard swimming pools

doesn’t help.

For Bangalore,a coupleof

years of paltry rains revealed

how badly the city has managed

its water. The many lakes that

oncedotted the city and sur-

rounding areas have been built

over or filled with the city’s

waste. They can no longer be

the rainwater storage tanks

they once were.

And so the city must venture

farther and fartheraway to

draw water for its 8.4 million

residents, and much of it is

wasted along the way.

A lot can be done to improve

water management, though.

First, city officials can plug

leaksin water distributionsys-

tems.Wastewater can be recy-

cled. Rain can be harvested and

saved for lean times. Lakes and

wetlandscan be cleanedup,

and old wells restored.

Andfarmerscan switch

from water-intensive crops, like

rice,to less-thirsty cropslike

millet.

“Water is a local problem

and it needslocal solutions,”

said PriyankaJamwal, a fellow

at the AshokaTrust for Re-

search in Ecology and the Envi-

ronmentin Bangalore.

Study: 25% of humanity faces

extreme water-supply stress

Mulvaney’s words

linked to job cuts

Union:‘Strategy’

in agency moves

‘We’relikelyto see

moreof theseDay

Zeros[whena city

runsoutof water]

in thefuture.The

pictureis alarming

in many places

aroundtheworld.’

BETSY OTTO,whodirects the

global waterprogramat the

WorldResourcesInstitute

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