Even as there is heightened awareness of sexual harassment on campus, UNLV has decided to keep a $25,000 Wynn Resorts donation while encouraging students to learn from the revelations.

The company gave the money to UNLV to sponsor a casino gaming conference in the spring of 2016. It is money the school does not plan on returning after The Wall Street Journal reported that Steve Wynn allegedly sexually harassed dozens of female employees for years.

“As is the position of The Nevada Independent, our sponsors and donors engage with UNLV because they value our educational and research mission and how it improves the lives of Nevadans,” University spokesperson Cynthia Brown said in an emailed statement. “Wynn Resorts, along with other industry partners, has supported UNLV’s mission, which benefits students and programs that enhance and improve the industry and the community.”

Though the school is not returning the money, the William F. Harrah College, known for graduating hospitality innovators, is preparing students to work in the same casinos where the marketing of an employee’s sexuality is as important as the thread count of the sheets. Public pressure for change in response to the stories of workplace sexual harassment is something that the UNLV hospitality school believes it is already addressing by giving students opportunities to address in classes or in private. Brown says the hospitality college’s undergraduate program requires students to take college classes such as human resources management, leadership and ethics and labor employment law.

But not all students believe class enrollment alone will change the culture that allowed the sexual harassment allegations against Wynn to exist. Private attitudes and the public morality of the #MeToo movement is pushing for change in the treatment of workplace harassment, especially as it concerns rich, powerful men and women who work for them.

Darin McCracken, who is also the vice president of the student chapter of the National Society Minorities in Hospitality (NSMH), said that everyone in the school needs to take a leading position to implement safeguards that will protect employees. “I think the hospitality industry, particularly here in Southern Nevada, faces some troubling questions that the #MeToo movement is generating. Las Vegas has allowed for the sexualization of workers since the inception of the city. We continue to allow discriminating hiring practices by attaching "model" to server and pool host positions. We have showgirls and topless revues. The culture is shifting, but it remains to be seen how complete the shift will be.”

McCracken’s professors are speaking about the allegations as well as female classmates who have offered brief anecdotes about experiences that they have either had or heard of. ”We have been discussing these issues extensively in the classroom and will continue to do so because it is imperative that the future generation of industry leaders are equipped to face the challenges ahead,” McCracken said.

According to the Journal report, Wynn allegedly pressured multiple female employees to perform sex acts. This includes a manicurist who was paid $7.5 million in a settlement. Wynn resigned as finance chairman of the Republican National Committee shortly after the report. On Monday, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that the newspaper killed a story about allegations that Wynn sexually harassed employees back in 1998 -- although the story was reported by the CBS affiliate at the time and again last week.

Toni Repetti, who teaches finance classes in the hospitality school, said that current events that affect the industry are sometimes discussed in classrooms. Repetti does not know if the Steve Wynn allegations are specifically discussed in other classrooms.

“We do discuss diversity and ethics in our classes,” Repetti said. “I do talk about my research about gender diversification and the benefits from a finance perspective. But I don’t talk about the actual allegations. We have a very diverse student population at UNLV, especially in the hospitality program. UNLV was voted the number one most diverse school in the country and the hospitality program had an even higher ratio. I think our students are engaged in diversity because they are sitting in it every day. If they look around the classroom there is a wide variety of genders. The latest study says 60 percent of all bachelor’s degrees are being earned by females,” Repetti said.

Repetti has authored two research papers on gender diversification at the management level in the hospitality and casino industry. Although one is in review, Repetti made an observation about the dynamics of a diverse workforce and profit.

“The more balanced you are in your management team, in gender (terms), then the more profitable your company is,” Repetto said.“I have found the tipping point is 30 percent or more diversity makes you more profitable. Anything below 30 percent in upper management can actually be negative.”

The fall 2017 semester of the Harrah hospitality school had an enrollment of 1,414 full-time undergraduate students. Repetti estimates that about 60 percent are females. Repetti said it is hard for females to go to managers to report sexual harassment if they cannot identify with any of their managers. “What is a white male, who is 50-years old, going to understand what I just went through? I think the fact that we are not as diverse in gender in the upper management causes some of the silence. They (the employees) don’t have somebody like them to go to talk to. When I was in the industry, I didn't have female mentors to go talk to and discuss things with. I would hope that as we become a more diverse industry that people will be more open to talking.”

McCracken says that as more and more victims find their voice it will not be on just UNLV’s shoulders to train future leaders to stop workplace harassment. He said people on the sidelines need to become stronger advocates for identifying sexual harassment and abuse, stopping it in its tracks and eradicating it.

“Las Vegas has a history of reinventing itself. If any city is capable of changing the status quo, it is here. UNLV is uniquely positioned to lead the charge, and I think we should.”

Disclosure: Wynn has donated to The Indy. You can see a full list of donors here.

Correction: This story was updated at 12:15 PM to reflect that Wynn Resorts and not Steve Wynn sponsored the gaming conference.