Faculty Senate discourages all prof-student sex

Disciplinary action may result Consensual sexual relations between faculty members and their students would be prohibited under a proposed policy drafted by a subcommittee of the Faculty Senate Executive Committee released in today's Almanac. If passed, this proposal would make the University one of only a few academic institutions in the country to have such a strict policy. The subcommittee's proposal attempts to clarify the University's Sexual Harassment Policy, which does not "enforce an absolute prohibition" against consensual sexual relations between faculty and students. In a report that accompanies the proposal, the subcommittee criticizes the current policy because it is "studiously ambiguous" and could lead to "inconsistent enforcement of the policy." Consensual sexual relations deserve separate attention from sexual harassment, the subcommittee concluded, because "other students, in particular, may doubt whether evaluations can be fair when a teacher is sexually involved with a student." Acknowledging that sexual relations between teachers and students can impair professors' judgement regarding academic matters, the proposed policy states that "any sexual relations between a teacher and a student during the period of the teacher/student relationship are prohibited." The subcommittee also considered forbidding sexual relations between all faculty and undergraduates. "Undergraduates may be inexperienced and impressionable," the subcommittee explained in its report. "Moreover, although it is often said that in loco parentis is a thing of the past, we not sure that undergraduates' parents would, or that they should, agree, when told that their sons or daughters were sleeping with professors." The University has intensely scrutinized the issue of sexual relations between teachers and students in the past few years -- particularly after last year, when former student Lisa Topol accused former Assistant English Professor Malcom Woodfield of sexual harassment. Topol claimed that she had sexual relations with Woodfield in 1992 when she was his student. She is currently suing Woodfield and the University, alleging that her case was not addressed quickly enough. Complaints and controversy concerning teacher-student relations have also come from within departments. Economics Professor David Cass allegedly was not appointed to be the graduate chairperson of his department last semester because he had dated at least one economics graduate student. The University has been under fire for the way it handled both cases. With its proposal, the SEC subcommittee hopes to end any future confusion over how to resolve such incidents. The subcommittee's guidelines apply to faculty, graduate and professional students, academic advisors, program directors and "all others who have supervisory academic responsibility for a student." Other employees, such as coaches -- whom the subcommittee suggested "may not in any event read the Handbook" that outlines all University policies -- were excluded from the proposal. The subcommittee recommended that a similar policy should be implemented for these individuals. Calling on the provost, deans, department chairs and other administrators to investigate any reports of consensual sexual relations, the subcommittee suggested that "appropriate disciplinary action" be taken. According to Emeritus Finance Professor Jean Crockett, who served on the subcommittee, the form of discipline "hasn't been spelled out." But Crockett said she thinks the teacher would face a hearing and that the president and the provost would make the ultimate decision. The proposal is published for comment. The SEC will discuss it at its next meeting on March 1.

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