Faculty split over sex code

Prohibition of consensual sexual relations between faculty members and their students -- a policy change proposed by a subcommittee of the Faculty Senate Executive Committee -- has been both applauded and condemned by faculty members. "I think voluntary acts between consenting adults is no one's business and that it is prurient and tacky for people to pry into the voluntary lives of adults," History Professor Alan Kors said. But Emeritus Finance Professor Morris Mendelson said he approves of the suggested policy, which was released in Tuesday's Almanac. "[In the old policy] there was lots of ambiguity about what was prohibited and what wasn't," he said. "I think the present proposal is imminently sensible." The University's process of handling sexual harassment cases against faculty members has been criticized recently -- as in the case of former student Lisa Topol, who accused former Assistant English Professor Malcom Woodfield of sexual harassment. Topol had filed a grievance with the University Ombudsman several months before a hearing was scheduled. According to Lisa Topol's attorney, Alice Ballard, a policy must be contain a substantive rule, a procedure for enforcement and a punishment for violation of the rule. "I think that you not only need the substantive change -- which I applaud -- but you also need a procedure that returns the policy to the administration," Ballard said. Ballard said she sees the proposal as a positive side effect from the recent, impending lawsuits. "I think it's a great tribute to Lisa's endurance and courage in the sense that it seems to be an acknowledgement that the old policy was inadequate to deal with her situation," she said. However, a few faculty members believe that the policy is in an invasion of privacy. And others have found fault with the way the University processes cases of professor-student relationships, as no procedural changes are suggested in the policy proposal. "There is no hint in this proposal of the problems of due process," said Economics Professor David Cass, who has been romantically involved with Economics graduate student Claudia Stachel. Cass has alleged that he was refused the position of Acting Economics Graduate Chair because of his relationship. Cass said he feels the proposal is an insult to the professionalism of the faculty. "It takes as a presumption that the faculty is not ethical enough to deal with a situation which you would find very normal," he said. Kors agreed that the policy assumes that faculty and students are not capable of making responsible decisions. "It is part of the ongoing infantilization of students and a part of the ongoing intrusion into private adult realms of behavior by an increasingly authoritarian university," he said.