Although strictly prohibited on most, if not all college campuses, student teacher relationships have been known to cross the line. Teachers at all academic levels have crossed. Some have been sent to prison for relationships with minor students—as in the case of Mary Kate Laterno.
Laterno made national headlines when she became pregnant not once, but twice by her 15-year-old student. Fortunately things are less tricky when adults are involved. At the college level most students are deemed consenting adults if they choose to engage in an affair with a teacher. At best they don’t have to work so hard in the classroom to earn that A; at worst, the teacher faces disciplinary action.
In recent years, it has become more and more scandalous for teachers and students to have sexual liaisons. A great awakening has happened in the conscience of American society. Schools use the guise of ethics to protect their pocketbooks from sexual harassment lawsuits.
Even Chaffey has rules governing the type of relationship that students and professors may have; however, it is odd that the college has no specific policy for or against students and professors dating each other.
The only policy on the books at Chaffey concerns sexual harassment. The policy basically states that professors cannot make questionable gestures or remarks to students. It also prohibits students from soliciting a better grade by granting a sexual favor to a professor.
There is an unwritten rule at Chaffey that since professors and most students are adults, they should be free to date each other. An extension of this is the belief that professors should only date students who are not taking one of their classes. This is only to avoid the chance of sexual harassment hearings looming overhead.
Sexual relationships have given rise to many sexual harassment lawsuits by young women against their male professors. The situation has left many male professors very wary of their female students. The lawsuits have left people wondering if there is any truth to the belief that professors are out to harass their students, giving credence to the “dirty old professor” stereotype.
One thing seems certain. The best way for people to prevent themselves from ending up in court is for students and teachers to avoid dating each other. Will that happen? Probably not. Humans are social animals. We have an innate need for intimacy, and contact. While it is normal for some students and teachers to have thoughts about each other, it only becomes a problem when they choose to act on those feelings.
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