Warm, loving relationships are a fact of life at colleges and universities across America. And so are sexual affairs.
Problems arise when college kids involve themselves not with another member of the student body, but with a professor. William and Mary College in Virginia is the latest institution of higher learning to ban amorous faculty-student relationships.
The college adopted this policy in November, after GQ published a lurid article written by a former instructor detailing how students compelled professors to engage in sexual relations with them. Another incident that prompted its passage was the resignation of a professor following allegations that he impregnated and threatened a student.
William and Mary's ban is on the extreme end of policies that prohibit faculty-student relationships. The school's guidelines declare that faculty members cannot engage in "amorous relations" of any sort with students, regardless of whether or not the relationships create a conflict of interest. This means that all students are off limits to a faculty member, not just the ones who take his or her class or work under the instructor's direct supervision.
UB, on the other hand, has no restrictions whatsoever. Buried within the Faculty/Student Handbook is the campus' "guideline" on these relationships, section IV.C, which under the ambiguous title, "Alert to Instructional Staff," states:
"Members of the teaching staff should be aware that any romantic involvement with their students may lead to formal action against them if a complaint is registered by a student." That's all - no special guidelines, no condemnations - leaving UB wide open for the type of abuses that have been reported at William and Mary and other institutions across the country.
UB's lack of a formal policy banning these relationships is partly due to the Faculty Senate's concern of potential false litigation - an argument that doesn't hold up. The school has a distinct sexual harassment policy which guards against "bad-faith" accusations. Given that there isn't a multitude of reported complaints without a policy against faculty-student relations, it's not likely that more will result if the school actually implements such a policy.
There is also the concern that forcing a faculty member to suddenly discontinue a relationship will damage a student psychologically and academically. But that's even more reason to formally ban faculty members from pursuing relationships with students they instruct or work with. By establishing boundaries, faculty members will know which ones not to cross, thereby preventing these difficult situations.
But the problems of these relationships are not just conflicts of interest. They can also be dangerous. Faculty members clearly have the upper hand. A professor who has control of a student's grades can misuse them to force the continuation of a relationship, or an exchange of sexual favors. Exposure of an affair can damage the lives of both the student and professor, and stain the reputations of the department and the university.
A faculty member should know that it is improper to even suggest a relationship to his or her student. It is unfair to put a young undergraduate in such a difficult position. If he or she spurns a professor's advances, the student shouldn't have to worry about the ramifications their actions have on his or her transcript.
However, if UB revises its policy, it should only forbid relationships where a faculty member either grades or supervises a student in an academic environment. If a professor and a student without direct academic ties want to engage in a relationship, they do so at their own risk.
As unpleasant as it is to envision a middle-aged tenured professor courting an 18-year-old college freshman, the issue is more complex. While that scenario seems inappropriate, it's certainly not unrealistic to see a 22-year-old senior dating a 25-year-old teaching assistant or even a slightly older professor.
Students who come to college are treated as adults, and can form relationships on their own terms. Unless they are minors, students enter into these relationships as consenting adults. If there is no academic conflict of interest, the university is not entitled to interfere in the personal lives of its employees or its students.
