Ever since California history instructor Hugo Schwyzer’s admission last week that he’d had sex with multiple students over the last several years, it’s been obvious that he could not ethically continue to teach at Pasadena City College. Schwyzer has made it clear from the start, however, that he has no intention of resigning, and in an interview yesterday he explained why. He is remaining in his position, he told the Daily Caller, in an attempt to coerce his employer into offering him a disability settlement payout.
The students he taught and mentored at PCC, meanwhile, face mounting harassment and public humiliation, with a conservative blog openly speculating yesterday as to the names of the women he slept with.
On the day after his initial admission, Schwyzer indicated that he was “looking very seriously” at filing a mental illness disability claim against Pasadena City College, implying that if PCC came to a settlement with him he would be willing to walk away from teaching there. Yesterday he made that quid pro quo much more explicit.
“My goal is to get this disability pay,” Schwyzer told the Daily Caller yesterday. “Once we’ve established that, I can move forward and leave the college and everyone can be happy.” His leverage in this attempt to wring financial concessions? “You know how hard it is to fire someone with tenure.”
This is bald extortion, and it’s unconscionable. PCC wants him out, and he has no intention of coming back, but unless they accede to his financial demands, he’ll stick around to make their lives more difficult.
And what of his students?
Well, in that same interview Schwyzer revealed new particulars of his sexual relationships with them. He never raised the grades of the young women he slept with, he told the Caller, because “the only students I was interested in were already A students.” When he pursues one of his students sexually, he said, “it’s not just a pretty face” that attracts him. “It’s also intellectual ability.”
This pattern of gratuitously disclosing the salacious particulars of his past sexual relationships is one we’ve seen before from Schwyzer, but it’s particularly repulsive in the context of these teacher-student relationships. The more he gossips about his sexual life with these young women, the more detail he shares — and history suggests he’s likely to share a lot more — the more he violates the privacy of those whose expectations of him as a teacher he’s already betrayed, and the more fodder he gives others to violate it.
And it’s not just him. Yesterday a right-wing blog printed the names and identifying details of two of Schwyzer’s former students, hypothesizing that one of the two was the anonymous student who first disclosed her affair with him. The blog linked to Schwyzer’s past praise of one of them on his blog while passing along unsourced rumors about the relationship status of the other.
Each of these two students is now the subject of internet speculation and slander. Why? Because Schwyzer won’t shut up, and won’t quit PCC without extorting a payoff.
The student who revealed Schwyzer’s sexual misbehavior has attracted unwanted attention as well. In a Tumblr post several days ago she complained of harassment by Schwyzer supporters who had discovered her real name, and yesterday she expressed frustration with college attorneys who have been pressuring her to assist with their investigation.
All this is only going to get worse as the fall semester, and the administrative investigation of Schwyzer, get underway. Rumors and gossip will spread, on campus and online. The women Schwyzer slept with, and those who knew, will come under increasing pressure to work with administrators who are (rightly) attempting to remove him from the classroom. Bottom-feeding bloggers will continue to dig, smearing and harassing an ever-growing circle of young feminist women whose only mistake was trusting Schwyzer to be an ethical teacher and a decent human being.
All this is inevitable for as long as Schwyzer continues to fight the college’s attempt to remove him. The investigation will continue, as will the media circus.
When he stops, it stops.
Update | There’s been quite a bit of vigorous and productive discussion of this post on Twitter from the perspective of disability rights, particularly on and around the timelines of @civilwarbore and @Blackamazon. Though none of what follows is a direct response to either CWB or BA, I want to take a moment to address a few of the issues that have come up in my conversations with them and others. These questions are difficult, and these discussions are important. I hope they continue here and elsewhere.
First, I didn’t intend anything in this piece to be taken as a criticism of the concept of disability settlements in general or psychiatric disability settlements in particular. I hope that was clear, and if it wasn’t, I’m making it clear now.
Second, it is absolutely unfair and unjust that in this country health insurance is so often conditional on employment. It’s not right that people lose health insurance when they lose their jobs. But that doesn’t mean that nobody with health insurance should ever be fired. If Schwyzer loses his health insurance as a result of his years of violating the rules of his college and the ethics of his profession, that’s unfortunate. But it’s on him.
Third, I’m not a lawyer, and I have no opinion on the legal merits of Schwyzer’s apparent current strategy of hardball negotiation with Pasadena City College. By all appearances, he is preparing to defend his interests vigorously, as is his right. But PCC has a right and an obligation to defend their interests just as vigorously. Where their interests — and specifically the interests of the students of PCC past, present, and future — conflict with Schwyzer’s, I believe that it is appropriate that the students’ interests, not Schwyzer’s, prevail.
Finally, I think it’s important to reiterate that Schwyzer’s insistence on campaigning for a financial settlement in public is itself deleterious to the interests of the students whose trust he has already betrayed. If he does not have the decency to resign his position, he should at the very least have the decency to shut the hell up.
Thursday Update | Citing “pressure from the public and the PCC community,” Hugo Schwyzer has announced that he is resigning his teaching position, effective January 1. As he is on medical leave for the fall semester, this means he will not set foot in a PCC classroom again.
Schwyzer’s application for medical disability retirement is apparently still pending, and is not directly affected by his resignation. The PCC general counsel said yesterday that the college’s investigation of his sexual misconduct will continue.
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September 10, 2013 at 11:03 am
Hugo Schwyzer Was Sleeping With His Students All Along |
[…] September 10 Update | Schwyzer has made the terms of his attempt to extort PCC into granting him disability pay explicit, and granted an interview in which he gossiped about his sexual relationships with his students. Meanwhile, the student who outed him is getting unwelcome attention from PCC administrators, and a right-wing blog has published the names and personal information of two students who they suspect — on virtually no evidence — of having been his sexual partners. New blogpost here. […]
September 10, 2013 at 11:09 am
brigidkeely
He is so incredibly disgusting, in so many ways.
September 10, 2013 at 11:15 am
Kevin T. Keith
Not sure about that last bit. There’s enough anger at Schwyzer that I expect some raking of the coals to continue long after he’s gone, and the right-wing blogs are always eager for new ways to harass and abuse women, especially feminist women. The two together could feed this “who was it?” hunt for some time.
But obviously, the sooner he’s dealt with the better.
September 10, 2013 at 2:18 pm
Here is Why You Don’t Get to Be Done Talking about Hugo Schwyzer | Tiny Cat Pants
[…] I want to point you to this post by Flavia Dzodan, quoting Tamora Pierce and this post from Angus Johnston. […]
September 10, 2013 at 2:42 pm
fresafresca (@fresafresca3000)
On one hand, in the country we live in (I too live in suburban L.A. like Hugo) health benefits are tied to employment. If he doesn’t have a job, he doesn’t get financial coverage for anything health related, let alone the meds he is currently taking, and with whatever mental health treatments he is undergoing. With his reputation in tatters, he may not know if he can ever work again with the skills that he has, future employment opportunities are sketchy right now at best for him. So, he’s gonna do what he feels he has to do to get health coverage one way or another, I don’t blame him in that sense. However, there is a part of me that almost feels him saying that he needs permanent disability, is him saying he can’t be trusted again to work around people because he might abuse them – I’m serious, He has consistently blamed his predatory behavior on his diagnosed mental illnesses, a stance that I and many others actually find ableist. In short, he has always been a liar and I don’t trust him. All that being said, with the current sate of health coverage in the U.S., I can certainly see him trying to just get covered some way some how.
September 10, 2013 at 3:38 pm
Goat Lady
Civilwarbore here — think there’s a lot going on in this case that gets elided. 1) if PCC is like most employers, they have long-term disability insurance for employees through a third company, and thus may have little to no control over whether Schwyzer’s claim is successful and 2) while Schwyzer is framing this as a choice he’s making it seems relatively certain he’s pretty much out of other options to support himself. And 3) I am getting deeply exhausted and pissed by the number of people who seem to feel that human rights like food, housing, and health care should be dependent on how likeable you are. No. Just fucking no.
Oh and 4) it is entirely possible to want the best for dude’s victims while still feeling that he doesn’t need to starve to death on the street. If we only advocate for human rights for people we feel ate deserving, w we’re fucking assholes. Place the rhetoric around this in the context of shit like the threatening fliers in Portland and it’s not hard to see why people with disabilities are feeling very uncomfortable with the way some are talking about Schwyzer.
September 10, 2013 at 7:12 pm
Hugo Schwyzer
I want to clarify a couple of things:
I am not blackmailing the college. The college is not in the business of deciding who gets disability retirement pay. That is done by the California State Teachers Retirement System; I am applying to the state, not the college.
My point was that the college could stop harassing students and simply agree that I am to pursue a disability retirement from STRS with the proviso that I will not return to teaching in the spring or ever.
I am appalled at what McCain has done on his website, but I don’t see how my pursuit of a disability pension is fueling his fire.
September 10, 2013 at 8:24 pm
hugo1967
At my request, the faculty union’s attorney informed the human resources department today that I will not be returning to Pasadena City College. I am on medical leave until December and intend to take up a disability retirement beginning in January.
I will not teach another course at Pasadena City College. In effect, my application for disability retirement serves as my resignation, effective January 1, 2014.
September 10, 2013 at 10:35 pm
jdv
Go to Hell, Hugo.
Any pay and benefits you received in the 21st Century were a privilege you absolutely did not deserve.
September 11, 2013 at 12:01 am
lex
Reblogged this on HaruBaru NYC and commented:
Ahh Schwyzer just disappear already. You are one of the slimiest, scumbags ever! i can’t believe that you have had so much say in the feminist community. But then again there are so many people like you with such power in many communities…
September 11, 2013 at 12:42 am
A. Gilmore
If he cannot get is psycopathy/histrionic personality disorder/ NPD treated he will continue to be a danger to women, in real life. I have met and worked with many people with bipolar disorder, and the one thing they do show in treatment (and also in periods of low mood) is genuine remorse for any bad behavior that affects others, they are more than capable of empathic responses, this patient is taking no responsibility, merely parroting lines he thinks will suit, to create the illusion of empathy. I could not diagnose this patient just from internet evidence but despite his words indicating he is remorseful, I have also worked with true psychopaths, and he seems to me to fit the mold of one or other of the personality disorders above. True psychopaths are not all killers or child molesters a people may think, usually violent impulses are co-morbid, but as a non violent psychopath, amoral behavior is common, as is the faking of genuine remorse, emotions, and a mimicking of empathy. A diagnosis of any of the above would also most certainly help him secure disability. These conditions can certainly be treated with therapy & a pharmaceutical regimen, but intensive medical care is a must to protect the people who interact with the patient on a daily basis, to help and encourage them to live as normal a life as possible. The treatment options vary, but on the whole are expensive, however if a payout was given, and spent on the appropriate therapy, Schwyzer could return to a relatively normal life. However these patients as family members, employees and co-workers are skillfully adept at manipulation & I would not be surprised if Schwyzer returns to teaching, off meds with a year or so without appropriate treatment. I hope he chooses his practitioners wisely and engages in appropriate treatment.
September 11, 2013 at 2:23 am
K
Scumbag who dropped a dirty bomb on thousands of people’s lives gets to go on permanent paid vacation.
Meanwhile, I’m struggling to get EDD to give me my $400 in unemployment benefits that are already nine days late because I can’t buy groceries. FUCK YOU, you worthless shell of a man.
September 11, 2013 at 10:46 am
kshyama
Reblogged this on Mid Sentence Revelation and commented:
Relevant follow up to the Hugo Schwyzer debacle:
September 13, 2013 at 8:32 am
Linkspam, 9/13/13 Edition — Radish Reviews
[…] Hugo Schwyzer Throws His Students Under a Bus […]
September 23, 2013 at 11:19 pm
You know who deserves a fifty-second chance? - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Lawyers, Guns & Money
[…] [SL]: For those who aren’t aware of the latest Hugo-related news, 1)congratulations, and 2)a summary. […]
September 24, 2013 at 12:53 pm
Epicurus
“Professor” Schwyzer? Kindly go fuck yourself, you rotten piece of shit. You are truly beneath my contempt, sir. Congratulations on losing any last shreds of humanity or decency. There’s a nice park bench just waiting for you somewhere.
September 25, 2013 at 11:43 pm
Me
I believe he faked the “suicide attempt” (and subsequently called the media himself to inform them of it) as part of his strategy to establish a mental health problem, in order to try and get a disability settlement.
September 28, 2013 at 9:14 pm
Cara
I doubt he can think that far ahead. He’s just a total narcissist and will do anything for attention, no matter how pathetic it makes him seem.
His current outpourings remind me of a toddler handing Mom its poop. In that sense, yes, it’s very sad, but not necessarily pitiable.
September 30, 2013 at 3:38 am
tweesdad
Hugo just posted, then deleted, that he was arrested by the California Highway Patrol for felony DUI last Friday after a collision which seriously injured another driver. He was driving with his mother and hopped up on Klonapin. The woman driving the other car had to be life-flighted to hospital but is expected to recover. He is out on bail after being briefly held in the San Benito County jail and is looking at significant jail time. (The bail amount of $100K indicates that this is probably not a first offense).
October 8, 2013 at 10:31 pm
Hugo Schwyzer, Cheap Grace, and Narratives of “Redemption” | Political Jesus
[…] Hugo Schwyzer Throws His Students Under a Bus […]