In recent months, dinner table conversations in my home have consisted mostly of what I did in school that day, how much homework I had that night and what well-known figure had been accused of sexual harassment earlier in the day.
Following the firing of producer Harvey Weinstein in early October, there were nearly 30 suspensions and 50 firings and/or resignations of public figures due to sexual misconduct allegations through the end of 2017. The accused ranged from comedian and producer Louis C.K. to U.S. senator Al Franken.
With cases of sexual misconduct becoming more prevalent in several industries, the question still stands: how should these men be punished?
While many of the accused harassers resigned, were fired or were put on suspension from their places of work, some of the men still are honored for their work through awards. One of these men is journalist and television host Charlie Rose, who was accused of making sexual advances on eight women. Rose was inducted to the University of North Carolina’s (UNC) School of Media and Journalism Hall of Fame in 1999, and now UNC is considering revoking that honor.
It only seems right that Rose’s name should be removed from the hall of fame. According to the UNC School of Media and Journalism website, the honorees in the hall of fame “have made and continue to make outstanding contributions to their fields, serving the professions and society and inspiring and advancing others.” I think it’s unfair to claim that, after the allegations, Rose still contributes to the field of journalism and advances others.
On top of the fact that Rose no longer really meets the requirements of a hall of fame inductee, there has also been a precedent set for the removal of Rose’s honors.
There was a one-day turnaround from the time that the Rose allegations became public to the time that he was fired by CBS, which was a shorter amount of time than many other cases took to close. Rose’s honors have also been revoked from several other colleges across the U.S. Rescinded awards include the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism from Arizona State University, the William Allen White National Citation from the University of Kansas and the Futrell Award for Outstanding Achievement in Communications and Journalism from Rose’s alma mater Duke University.
With the now growing list of universities revoking honors awarded to Rose, it almost seems inappropriate for UNC to not remove his name from the hall of fame.
While Rose no doubt provided positive contributions to the field of journalism in his over 40 years of work, his unacceptable behavior needs to be considered too. If we let powerful men who are culprits of sexual misconduct remain in power and remain honored simply because they’ve contributed to their field, then we are essentially telling women their issues are not important. I believe it’s important that UNC take this step and remove Rose’s name from the hall of fame in order to show solidarity with the women who have suffered because of his actions.
From the day Harvey Weinstein was fired through the end of 2017, there were 50 firings and resignations of well-known public figures due to sexual misconduct allegations. Below is a list of some of the most well known men from the 50 accused:
October 5: Producer and co-founder of the Weinstein Company Harvey Weinstein was fired after being accused of raping three women and sexually harassing and assaulting dozens more.
October 6: Senior Vice President of Content for Defy Media Andy Signore was fired for being accused of sexually assaulting one woman and sexually harassing more.
October 26: NBC News and MSNBC contributor Mark Halperin was dismissed from MSNBC and NBC for being accused of sexually harassing at least five women.
October 29: Actor Kevin Spacey was fired from Netflix series House of Cards for being accused of sexually assaulting multiple men.
October 31: Head of news at NPR Michael Oreskes resigned after being accused of sexually harassing three women.
November 9: Comedian and producer Louis C.K. had ties cut with media companies and had an upcoming project cancelled after being accused of sexual conduct with five women.
November 10: Executive producer of Arrow, Supergirl and The Flash Andrew Kreisberg was fired by Warner Bros. for being accused of sexually harassing over a dozen people.
November 20: Television host Charlie Rose was fired by CBS for being accused of sexually harassing at least eight women.
November 29: Co-host of Today Matt Lauer was fired by NBC for being accused of sexually inappropriate behavior with one woman.
December 5: Actor Danny Masterson was fired from the Netflix show The Ranch for being accused of raping four women. Masterson is well known for his role of Steven Hyde on That ‘70s Show.
December 7: U.S. senator for Minnesota Al Franken announced his resignation after being accused of sexually harassing several women. His last day in office was January 2.
December 13: Documentary filmmaker Morgan Spurlock stepped down from his production company after being accusations of rape and sexual harassment were made against him. Spurlock is well known for his movie Super Size Me.
