Former student-employee brought discrimination case against manager
Amaka Esegbue filed a complaint on her Mail Services manager to Chapman Human Resources in May, after Esegbue said he talked about “bringing back lynching.” Photo by CLARISSE GUEVARRA, The Panther staff photographer
It wasn’t uncommon, said Amaka Esegbue, for her manager of two years at Chapman’s Mail Services to make controversial or sexist jokes in the workplace. For the most part, she would bite her tongue, shrug off her discomfort and resume her work as a mail support clerk. But in May, she told The Panther she couldn’t sit back any longer once her manager, in a conversation with two coworkers, turned to her and called for the resurgence of lynching.
“We were all shocked. I didn’t know what to say. I was disturbed – so many emotions were going on,” said Esegbue, a senior accounting and business administration double major. “I was at a loss for words, so I was like, ‘Do you want to repeat that again and become TikTok famous?’”
Esegbue shared the event with her close friends, who encouraged her to elevate the issue to Chapman’s Human Resources (HR). Reluctant to report it out of fear of retribution, she pushed her apprehension aside to conduct an informal process in June – which she later escalated to a formal investigation requesting the manager be fired, whose name The Panther could not acquire due to the university’s confidentiality policy.
“When HR asked me what I wanted as an outcome of the investigation, I felt like I was crazy for wanting him fired for this comment,” Esegbue said. “But his comment was really inappropriate. No one should get away with saying something like that.”
According to the university’s Harassment, Discrimination and Sexual Harassment Policy, the informal process involves an Equal Opportunity and Diversity officer conducting a preliminary assessment, hosting a resolution meeting with the respondent or the respondent’s supervisor and discussing targeted trainings, counseling programs or written or verbal apologies. The formal process, on the other hand, brings in an investigator to conduct a preliminary assessment, interview both the complainant as well as the respondent and any witnesses, review available documentation and determine the investigation’s findings with a Title IX coordinator.
Chapman Deputy Title IX Coordinator Albert Roberson is responsible for complaints made against faculty or staff relating to discrimination or harassment. Roberson has held his position since January and told The Panther he takes each case he files seriously.
“Fear of retaliation is real and it happens in every single institutional community,” Roberson said. “We’re committed to maintaining a community where individuals can participate in university programs – to be an investigative body, to look into all concerns … to remain impartial, allow due process to lead and do so via the policies we have in place.”
During the three-month-long investigation from June to August, Esegbue shared the incident on her social media and met with Chapman Investigator Dawn White, who referred The Panther’s inquiries to Roberson. Esegbue spoke with White on different occasions to describe her encounters with her Mail Services manager. Despite the investigation’s duration and the strength Esegbue felt she had, she was not pleased to read the classified investigation findings, which were provided to her Aug. 24.
“I don’t feel like someone who is working at a university – or anywhere – could say, ‘Oh, we should bring back lynching’ and still have their job. The fact that nothing really changed from when I reported him, it feels like Chapman is OK with employees being sexist or making racist or inappropriate comments, even if they’re joking.”
“I don’t feel like someone who is working at a university – or anywhere – could say, ‘Oh, we should bring back lynching’ and still have their job,” Esegbue told The Panther. “The fact that nothing really changed from when I reported him, it feels like Chapman is OK with employees being sexist or making racist or inappropriate comments, even if they’re joking.”
Complainants can appeal the findings within five days of the written outcome, which will then be reviewed for merit. Esegbue, however, couldn’t appeal her case because appeal requests must demonstrate either new evidence or a procedural error in the investigation. Roberson declined to comment on Esegbue’s investigation to maintain confidentiality, but added that the Equal Opportunity and Diversity office is doing its best to assist the Chapman community with reports that could potentially violate Title IX.
“Our commitment to an environment free from retaliation for exercising rights to bring forth complaints or participating in an investigation is serious,” Roberson said. “The goal is to support parties through a process and to do so with impartiality and due process … We’re always here to assist if individuals have questions or concerns.”
Esegbue wasn’t able to quit her job before COVID-19 restrictions disbanded her workplace, as Chapman students are not living in the on-campus dormitory options during the fall semester. Despite most likely never having to see her again, Esegbue told The Panther that her Mail Services manager hasn’t apologized.
“It just makes me feel small everywhere I go,” she said. “It’s a sad thing to say I’m used to hearing comments like this but … I have the right to share my experience.”