Notorious fruit bat research wins ‘Ig Nobel’ prize

“An academic paper about oral sex among fruit bats – which sparked a sexual harassment claim between two academics at an Irish university – has won an alternative scientific award …” (more)

[Breandan Morley, Independent, 14 October]

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Disciplinary proceedings halted in ‘fruitbatgate’ case

“University College Cork has been forced to halt disciplinary proceedings against the academic at the centre of the so-called ‘fruitbatgate’ row after the Irish High Court agreed to consider the case …” (more)

[Hannah Fearn, Times Higher Education, 5 July]

Fruitbatgate – update

UCC are curently restrained from acting on either the standard university processes in relation to Dylan Evans (such as processing his application for establishment) or the various disciplinary processes (for sexual harassment and for improper publication of confidential information). On UCC’s application, the full hearing on the injunction has been put back to 16 July. Judging from press reports, Evans’ case is based on lack of fair process in relation to the sexual harassment charge. Various affidavits have been filed:

09/06/2010 Deponent DYLAN EVANS
10/06/2010 Deponent JOHN KERR
02/07/2010 Deponent DAVID KERINS
02/07/2010 Deponent MICHAEL MURPHY
02/07/2010 Deponent JOHN HORGAN
02/07/2010 Deponent ADRIAN GREY

(Source: highcourtsearch.courts.ie)

Lecturer bids to quash bat sex complaint

“University College Cork (UCC) lecturer Dylan Evans has brought High Court judicial review proceedings seeking to quash a complaint against him related to the ‘sex life of fruit bats’ controversy. The college carried out an investigation earlier this year …” (more)

[Tim Healy, Herald, 1 July]

Lecturer in bat-sex row takes fight to High Court

“A university lecturer has taken court proceedings in a bid to quash a high-profile complaint of sexual harassment made against him. The complaint against University College Cork (UCC) lecturer, Dylan Evans, emerged in the recent ‘sex life of fruit bats’ controversy …” (more)

[Tim Healy, Independent, 1 July]

Evans denies posting documentation to Facebook

“Dr Dylan Evans, the lecturer at the center of the controversial ‘Fruitbatgate’ fiasco, has told the Cork Student News that he has no idea who posted confidential documentation onto the internet which revealed the details of UCC’s internal investigation process following allegations of sexual harassment by a member of the Medicine faculty at the University …” (more)

[Cork Student News, 9 June]

Something to cheer up the lawyers

“High Court grants Dylan Evans leave to apply for judicial review of #fruitbatgate investigation – see http://bit.ly/9UHdXx for court order” (tweet)

[Dylan Evans, Twitter, 10 June]

Yikes! Attack of the killer viral fruit bats

“It is every university public relations department’s worst nightmare: an internal human resources matter attracts interest online and quickly becomes a viral sensation, resulting in widespread criticism over a matter that the institution is unable to comment on. As the dust settles on the case of Dylan Evans, a lecturer at University College Cork who was accused of sexual harassment after showing a colleague a paper on oral sex among fruit bats, universities are left taking stock of the potential PR pitfalls of the Web 2.0 age …” (more)

[Sarah Cunnane, Times Higher Education, 27 May]

Fruitbatgate: Sexual Harrassment or Intellectual Discourse?

“… 1. The fact that Dr. Evans didn’t intend to offend is irrelevant on the question of harassment, if his behavior created ‘an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment’. His intent may be useful in mitigating the severity of discipline, but doesn’t change the effect of his actions on his colleague. 2. Dr. Evans exhibited a pattern of behavior over a period of a year that can only be described as overly familiar with a professional colleague …” (more)

[Susan Walsh, Hooking Up Smart, 26 May]

Irish University Goes Batty

“… Sexual harassment law is not supposed to be about totally de-sexing interaction between men and women. It is about enabling women to work in environments that are not hostile to them (whether because of sexual predation by those with power over them, or because of pervasive expressions of misogyny, or other reasons). It’s intended to support, not undermine, women’s equality …” (more)

[Russell Blackford, IEET, 25 May]

Effects of fruitbatgate

“Sadly releasing names & docs makes harder to report RT @9th_level_irl: Problem of harassment in unis http://wp.me/pjiT3-3NI #fruitbatgate” (tweet)

[Declan Jordan, Twitter, 23 May]

Fruit bats and the right to Justice

“I wonder when a Fruit bat couple are sitting at home in front of the TV on a Friday night wondering if they’re going to have an early one, does it cross their minds that the ‘fruits’ of there romantic endeavours would cause such a consternation in a University campus in Ireland … Not so much is it ‘What will the neighbours think?’ but ‘What will the Humans think?’ …” (more)

[What de focal, 23 May]

Good intentions lead all too often to bad consequences

“… These days, there is rightly no tolerance of the casting couch, whether the metaphorical casting director is male, female, gay or straight. And mostly it’s accepted that you really shouldn’t make a pass unless you have good reason to think it would be welcome. Unfortunately, as we improve society we always run the risk of making some aspects of it worse, as traditional victims become harassers in turn …” (more)

[Ruth Dudley Edwards, Independent, 23 May]

The week the ‘bat-sex lecturer’ story flew around the world

“An encounter between UCC academics has become a global media story – but is that because of its implications for academic freedom or because we all love a bat-sex story? It was early on a Monday morning in November when Dr Dylan Evans, a behavioural scientist working in the department of medicine at University College Cork, dropped in on a female colleague …” (more)

[Davin O’Dwyer, Irish Times, 22 May]

Fellatio and fruit bats: sexual harassment vs. academic freedom

“When is sexual harassment not sexual harassment? When it pertains to the rights of an academic to discuss the sex life of fruit bats with a colleague. Add a cry for understanding, a wail of academic censorship and a quick online petition and the academic community is up in metaphorical arms …” (more)

[Morrígan Reborn, 21 May]

UCC moves to ‘shut up’ Evans

“University College Cork has begun further disciplinary procedures against the lecturer who is embroiled in a sexual harassment row over an academic article on the sex life of fruit bats …” (more)

[Brian Hayes Curtin, Cork Independent, 20 May]

Bat poll continues to divide opinion

“Readers of the Cork Student News, Ireland’s biggest student website, continue to be undecided over whether or not Dr Dylan Evans was right to allegedly leak confidential documentation to the press. Since the poll was initiated, however, Dr Evans has denied that he personally leaked the documents to the press, saying that someone else did it …” (more)

[Cork Student News, 19 May]

Bringing the veil down on the fruit bats

“For the moment the story is not going away, though I think it should. In fact, it should never have turned up in public anyway. It has been suggested by some commentators that UCC lecturer Dr Dylan Evans had no choice but to make his case public. I just cannot see that. There is always a choice …” (more)

[Ferdinand von Prondzynski, University Blog, 19 May]

UCC starts disciplinary action over sexual harassment posts

“University College Cork has begun disciplinary procedures against a lecturer over the posting of confidential material on the web relating to a complaint of sexual harassment made against him by a female colleague …” (more)

[Barry Roche, Irish Times, 19 May]

Bat-sex lecturer to face fresh hearing over leak

“University College Cork (UCC) has started fresh disciplinary proceedings against the lecturer at the centre of the ‘sex life of fruit bats’ controversy …” (more)

[Katherine Donnelly, Independent, 19 May]