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2/27
Ohio State professors bristle at proposed ban
Sunday, February 26, 2006
Kathy Lynn Gray
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
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Consensual sex between faculty members and students can’t be regulated, some Ohio State University professors say.
But a university committee is trying to do just that.
The committee has proposed prohibiting consensual romantic relationships between instructors and their students. Such liaisons now are discouraged but not banned.
No one knows how many sexual relationships there are between faculty members and students, but it isn’t unusual, said Martha E. Chamallas, chairwoman of the OSU Consensual Relations Task Force.
"A problem exists at OSU," the task force said in a July 2005 report.
The relationships exploit students, hurt OSU’s reputation and damage the university community, the task force concluded after hearing from officials in human resources, counseling, student advocacy, rape prevention and the College of Education.
All the cases the task force heard about involved male faculty members and female students; most involved faculty members and graduate students. Some faculty members reportedly had multiple relationships with students.
Still, some faculty members on the University Senate — a governing body made up of faculty members, administrators and students — condemned the prohibition during a recent meeting.
"Fundamentalism is afoot here," said Doug Macbeth, an associate professor in the College of Education. "It’s all anecdotal."
Jim Sheedy, an associate professor of optometry, said prohibiting the relationships doesn’t make sense.
"We’re sticking our heads in the sand if we think it isn’t going to happen," he said. "What about the positive, healthy relationships that come out of this?"
Dr. Carl Allen, an OSU dental professor, said the report is outdated, unscientific and that there’s no evidence to indicate more stringent rules would make a difference.
"It’s embarrassing that we don’t have statistics," he said. "The proper response would be: ‘Let’s find out what the extent of the problem is and let’s educate people about this.’ "
Physics professor Gordon Aubrecht said a prohibition "smacks of a police state."
Except for members of the committee examining the rule change, only one person spoke in favor of the change at the Senate meeting.
"Why do you have a problem with this being prohibited?" Inna Caron asked the group. "Do you want to reserve the opportunity to do this?"
Caron, a graduate student and chairwoman of the International Student Concerns Committee at Ohio State, also pointed out that everyone who spoke against the prohibition is male.
As part of the proposed rule change, faculty members, staff members and graduate associates would have to report to their supervisors any relationships between faculty members and their students. Supervisors then would have to report that information to OSU’s humanresources department and "corrective action" would be taken.
Allen and others said the provisions are an attempt to encourage staff members to tell on each other.
Chamallas defended the changes but said the wording of the proposed rules needs clarification.
"It is a professional-ethics responsibility to give feedback and mentor students unclouded by a personal, sexual relationship," she said.
The proposed rule would prohibit only relationships in which an employee supervises, teaches, evaluates, advises, coaches or counsels a student, or might do so in the future.
Administrators, student groups, faculty groups and several university organizations are reviewing the proposal. No date has been set for a decision on the policy.
[email protected]
2/27
Ohio State professors bristle at proposed ban
Sunday, February 26, 2006
Kathy Lynn Gray
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
<!--PHOTOS--> <table class="phototableright" align="right" border="0"> <!-- begin large ad code --> <tbody><tr><td> <table align="center"></table> </td></tr> </tbody> </table>
Consensual sex between faculty members and students can’t be regulated, some Ohio State University professors say.
But a university committee is trying to do just that.
The committee has proposed prohibiting consensual romantic relationships between instructors and their students. Such liaisons now are discouraged but not banned.
No one knows how many sexual relationships there are between faculty members and students, but it isn’t unusual, said Martha E. Chamallas, chairwoman of the OSU Consensual Relations Task Force.
"A problem exists at OSU," the task force said in a July 2005 report.
The relationships exploit students, hurt OSU’s reputation and damage the university community, the task force concluded after hearing from officials in human resources, counseling, student advocacy, rape prevention and the College of Education.
All the cases the task force heard about involved male faculty members and female students; most involved faculty members and graduate students. Some faculty members reportedly had multiple relationships with students.
Still, some faculty members on the University Senate — a governing body made up of faculty members, administrators and students — condemned the prohibition during a recent meeting.
"Fundamentalism is afoot here," said Doug Macbeth, an associate professor in the College of Education. "It’s all anecdotal."
Jim Sheedy, an associate professor of optometry, said prohibiting the relationships doesn’t make sense.
"We’re sticking our heads in the sand if we think it isn’t going to happen," he said. "What about the positive, healthy relationships that come out of this?"
Dr. Carl Allen, an OSU dental professor, said the report is outdated, unscientific and that there’s no evidence to indicate more stringent rules would make a difference.
"It’s embarrassing that we don’t have statistics," he said. "The proper response would be: ‘Let’s find out what the extent of the problem is and let’s educate people about this.’ "
Physics professor Gordon Aubrecht said a prohibition "smacks of a police state."
Except for members of the committee examining the rule change, only one person spoke in favor of the change at the Senate meeting.
"Why do you have a problem with this being prohibited?" Inna Caron asked the group. "Do you want to reserve the opportunity to do this?"
Caron, a graduate student and chairwoman of the International Student Concerns Committee at Ohio State, also pointed out that everyone who spoke against the prohibition is male.
As part of the proposed rule change, faculty members, staff members and graduate associates would have to report to their supervisors any relationships between faculty members and their students. Supervisors then would have to report that information to OSU’s humanresources department and "corrective action" would be taken.
Allen and others said the provisions are an attempt to encourage staff members to tell on each other.
Chamallas defended the changes but said the wording of the proposed rules needs clarification.
"It is a professional-ethics responsibility to give feedback and mentor students unclouded by a personal, sexual relationship," she said.
The proposed rule would prohibit only relationships in which an employee supervises, teaches, evaluates, advises, coaches or counsels a student, or might do so in the future.
Administrators, student groups, faculty groups and several university organizations are reviewing the proposal. No date has been set for a decision on the policy.
[email protected]
