European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 17, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Thursday october 17, 1991 the stars and stripes Thomas ordeal Sparks . Debate americans dispute Impact on sexual harassment by Douglas j. Rowe the associated press americans differed sharply Over How Clarence Thomas confirmation to the supreme court might affect the nations awareness of sexual harassment. Some held out Hope his ordeal would make him a better judge. A if i were judge Thomas i would do All the Homework and i would make myself the Best judge Ever on that supreme court a said Irene French the mayor of Merriam Kan. A i think he can do  she was one of dozens of people interviewed tuesday night after the Senate a 5z-48 vote to confirm Thomas. The vote followed three Days of hearings into allegations by Law professor Anita Hill a former employee that Thomas had sexually harassed her. Or. Frances Conley who sparked a National debate when she resigned from Stanford University a medical school in California citing years of sexual harassment from her male colleagues said the outcome will discourage women from complaining about sexual harassment. A a there a going to be tremendous backlash in the next few weeks a said the 50-year-old Conley who recently took Back her May resignation after colleagues convinced her things would not change without her help. A a women a issues in this regard Are going to again be trivialized to an incredible extent. Women Are going to again Retreat into. Silence a said Conley one of the nations first female brain surgeons. Robert Burns a political science professor at South Dakota state University in Brookings disagreed saying the confirmation hearings raised awareness of sexual harassment to a new level. A i think men will certainly be much More conscious of sexual harassment in the workplace and i would expect women to actually be More prepared to blow the whistle when sexual harassment m the workplace occurs a Burns said. Shirley Mays an assistant Law professor at capital University in Columbus Ohio is Black and opposed Thomas confirmation before the allegations surfaced. But she had mixed feelings about Thomas Contention that the second round of hearings was racially motivated. A was a Black person and As a female in be been internally Tom by the hearings a she said. A i recognize that sexual harassment is a heinous behaviour but i can to help feeling some unease that there May be racial undertones to the  Kansas gov. Joan Finney a Democrat in her first year in office feared the episode might cause lasting damage to the nation. A it leaves a distasteful impression in the minds of the electorate and May further discourage voter participation in the political process a she said. A i think this certainly is not to the Benefit of the political system because there is a Lack of participation  Carol Konek an associate Dean at Wichita state University in Kansas said a a it a a bitter Day. I would headed for work a University of Oklahoma Security official escorts Law professor Anita Hill to class in Norman on tuesday have hoped to be jubilant about having another Black Justice on the supreme  instead despite a Black and a woman on the Bench the court May be poised to attack women a rights and civil rights in a the most brutal assault we could Ever have imagined a she said. Still she tried to remain sanguine that Thomas Learned a lesson. A i Hope the suffering he has endured has helped him reconnect with the suffering of other americans a morning a Only hours before the Senate confirmed the nomination of Clarence Thomas to the supreme court. Konek said. A i Hope it has deepened his compassion or Given him compassion that he never exhibited toward anyone but himself during the  Alexander Williams sr., Maryland a attorney for Prince Georges county said he anticipated that Thomas would emerge from the process a Wiser Man. A Thomas is going to be a better judge a More Broad based judge because of the experience he has gone through a he said. A having been the victim of what he Calls racism is going to make him a Little More sensitive to the  University president scorns suggestion that Hill be ousted Tulsa okla. A the president of the University of Oklahoma rejected a state legislators suggestion that Law professor Anita Hill be ousted. A there is no basis in Law or policy for even discussion of taking actions against professor Hill a president Richard Van Horn said tuesday. State rep. Leonard Sullivan a Republican had offered in a letter monday to Lead a fund raising Effort to a buy out or otherwise remove professor Hill from the Campus and hopefully our  a we must get this left Wing extremist influence off the Campus before it spreads further a Sullivan wrote to Van Horn. Sen. Cal Hobson one of three democratic state lawmakers who wrote letters supporting Hill called Sullivan a suggestion a repugnant to our Way of  Hobson suggested the University develop a a remedial course on the Constitution and limit enrolment to representative  Thomas foes Call outcome a sad Day for americans Washington up a key civil rights leaders who led a 107-Day fight to derail the supreme court bid of Clarence Thomas called his razor thin Senate confirmation tuesday a a sad Day. For the american  a a it a a sad Day for civil rights for the Senate for the court and most importantly for the american people a said Ralph Neas head of the leadership conference on civil rights. Neas claimed the White House used a diversionary tactics Over the weekend in the Thomas confirmation Battle trying to remove the focus from the substance of the allegations. A a that a what they do when they get in trouble a Neas said of the White House. In a series of impassioned statements i i Day night and saturday Thomas called allegations against him a a High tech Lynching based on Black stereotypes. The White House this weekend said it stood behind everything Thomas said. Thomas however said he was speaking from the heart. A i think his anger was real his feelings were raw and very obvious a said Nan Aron executive director of the Alliance for Justice. But the a words and the music were written by the White House she alleged. After Anita Hill Thomas accuser testified before the Senate judiciary committee on Friday it appeared certain Thomas would be rejected by the Senate Aron said. But for the first time Thomas then testified that racism was behind the allegations attributing them also to a plot by Liberal interest groups. A the White houses instruction to Clarence Thomas to use racially heightened words shifted the momentum Back a Aron said. It caused an a enormous sympathy vote for Thomas. Both Aron and Neas said the Senate did not fulfil its duty. It confirmed Thomas by a 52-1x vote tuesday night. Aron also said that in the final analysis the Issue came Down to one of gender not race. A the american Public is still not Able to Clice. The word of a woman Over a Man a she said