The Associated College Press held a conference at the Hyatt Regency Hotel March 4, 2022 in Long Beach, Calif. This is where keynote speaker Rick Green shared an important story about a terrible issue in education. That is, students being sexually harassed by professors. Green is executive editor and chief content officer of the Press Democrat in Santa Rosa, Calif. This makes him a key figure in the journalism industry. So, the fact that he brought up this issue further proves its importance.

A Serious Issue

In June 2021, a woman who was a graduate of Sonoma Academy, a private college preparatory high school in Santa Rosa Calif., sent an email to Green explaining her experience with a humanities professor who did awful things to her twenty years prior.

Green then explained the details contained in the email, which were very horrific to hear. He told the audience that this woman had suffered from sexual grooming and sexual harassment by this professor.

“[He] would make young girls in his classes read very erotic literature, had them keep diaries about their sexual thoughts, physical acts. Delved into the relationships with boyfriends,” says Green.

Story Falls on Deaf Ears

The woman tried to tell the school what had happened to her, but they dismissed her. This was because the professor who did these actions was popular.

A professor with prestige shouldn’t be excluded from consequences of sexually harassing students. In the end, something positive was able to happen after the school dismissed the victim. Green and his team were able to run her story about this professor and got justice for his crimes.

The Importance of Journalism

In addition, 34 other students had also been victims of the professor. If not for journalism, then the professor wouldn’t have faced justice.

“Journalism matters. It makes a difference,” says Green.

Without journalism pushing these issues forward, it is very possible that other victims would never find closure. The world needs journalists to help bring issues like this to light. That is why journalism still matters.