"If students rock the boat, they'll beblackballed in this department," says anotherfemale graduate student, who says her complaintmet a similar reception, "When they go to a deanor faculty member, [they are being told] 'that'sjust [van der Merwe].'"

But the researcher charges that it is not vander Merwe's style, but what he says and does, thatgraduate students find offensive.

"Everyone's got a certain style, but what hedoes goes beyond style, and it's incredible no onehas dealt with him," the researcher says.

Professor of Anthropology Peter Ellison, who ischair of the Anthropology Deportment, hasrepeatedly refused to comment on any materpertaining to his department.

Ellison has, however, recognized problems withmorale, The department chair held a meeting lastMonday with about 15 archaeology graduate studentsto discuss morale in the wing, graduate studentssay.

"The big complaint [at the meeting] was thatthe wing's senior faculty don't care aboutteaching... basically they don't care about us,"says one graduate student who attended.

"[Ellison] said, 'I have a feeling the women inthis department are a lot unhappier than themen,"' the graduate student adds. "One woman saidshe filed a sexual harassment charge last year.Another said that Dean Gill had told her she had alist of charges [in the anthropology department]as long as her aim."

Ellison indicated during the meeting that hewas unaware of the complaints, according to thegraduate student.

"Ellison said he had never heard of thecomplaints," the graduate student says. "He saidthat they had stopped at Gill's office."

Ellison reportedly told the graduate studentsthat he could help them with some problems, butnot all.

"He said he would be able to work on some ofour problems, like putting a grad student on thewing committee, but he said he couldn't addressothers," she says.

While the meeting may have allowed the graduatestudents to air some of their feelings, some saythat it was difficult for them to speak freely.

"It was hard for graduate students to reallyspeak due to the fact two students close to vander Merwe were there," the researcher says.

The researcher says he doubts whether Ellisonwould effect any real changes.

"Peter Ellison doesn't want to be chair of thedepartment when all hell breaks loose," he says.