A former professor who teased a student by referring to her as Monica Lewinsky and making salacious references to the intern’s affair with Bill Clinton could be liable for sexual harassment, a federal appeals court ruled.
Alex Young, 72, who was teaching political science at the State University of New York at New Paltz, admits he called Inbal Hayut by the nickname “Monica” and once told her, “I will give you a cigar.”
On another occasion, sometime in the fall of 1998 when “Monica-gate” was on high boil, he asked the then-20-year-old in front of a class, “How was your weekend with Bill?”
An Albany judge last year threw out Hayut’s claim that the comments – allegedly made because she bears a resemblance to Lewinsky – caused her to be confronted with a “sexually hostile environment.”
But Manhattan appeals court Judges Guido Calabresi and Robert Sack ruled the comments were severe enough to transcend the bounds of propriety and decency, and become actionable harassment.
Hayut, who is suing for unspecified damages, might also be able to show that the alleged sexual harassment adversely affected her academic experience.
“Hayut maintains that the ‘Monica’ comments affected her deeply, humiliating her in front of her peers, causing her to experience difficulty sleeping, and making it difficult for her to concentrate in school and at work,” Calabresi wrote.
The matter is now expected to go to trial in Albany.
The judges did not reinstate the sex-harassment claims against the university, saying its administrators acted appropriately in addressing the behavior of the veteran professor.
Hayut’s lawyer, William Martin, said his client was “thrilled” with the ruling but still believed “the university did nothing for her” after she reported the incidents.
After she complained, the school convened a counseling session with Young, who admitted to having made the remarks as a joke, court papers say.
The school administrators told him the matter was being taken seriously and sent him a letter explaining what actions would be taken.
A month later, Young retired after 30 years of teaching and Hayut, who now lives in Monsey, N.Y., had no further contact with him at the school.
She declined to comment yesterday.
Young’s lawyer, Kenneth Kelly, said he was confident a jury would agree the professor’s comments were “not what everyone understands sexual harassment to be.”