It is unthinkable.

The University must be more careful with how it handles the names of those who bring complaints of sexual harassment.

They aren’t just unprotected — they’re open and available, for a small fee through the University Office of Public Affairs.

Indeed, in researching the allegations of sexual harassment against Paul Roman, a University sociology professor, The Red & Black requested the records of those allegations — and received them, with very few redactions.

His name was all over the documents. And so were the names of the women he allegedly harassed.

And if The Red & Black can get access to those names, anyone can: they’re only a request, and then a download, away.

That isn’t what these women signed up for, and it isn’t likely what they wanted when first choosing to step forward.

So where is the respect for their privacy? Where is their protection?

The lines around the problem are dangerously blurry; the rules of redaction seem more suggestion than iron-clad, so that those involved are left unknowingly and vulnerably in the lurch.

People stepped forward about Roman, assuming their identities would be protected. But they weren’t.

People’s lives should not be left up to where or when someone did or didn’t cover their names in a black box.

When dealing with allegations of this nature, that level of privacy cannot just be a possibility.

It must be a guarantee — because only when people feel safe will they also feel safe enough to speak out.

— Adam Carlson is the variety editor of The Red & Black