Monday, September 06, 2004

Sexual Harrassment Question

This amusing article was linked on Protocols earlier today, about a college professor who was arrested for trading grades forsex. Which brings me to the following personal vignette.

I'm going to be a TA this semester, so last week I was required to attend 3-hours of training about sexual harrassment (the university is against it). Most of the time was spent telling us about how it is illegal - or at least, against university regulations - for a TA to maintain even a consensual sexual relationhship with any student in his class, because that would give the student an advantage over his or her peers.

My question is this: What if one were to engage in a consensual sexual relationship with every student in the class? Would that be ok, because then no student would have an advantage over any other. (And, after all, what is a TA other than the seamless union of T & A?)

[I did ask this question to other students and faculty. Reactions, predictably, varied quite a bit.]