UC seeks student-teacher relations
ban
Draft of revised policy
Saturday, January 25, 2003 - SAN FRANCISCO
-- The University of California needs a formal ban on professors dating their
students, some members of the nine-campus system's Board of Regents said
Thursday.
"These young people are entrusted to the university and we have to honor
that trust," said Regent Judith Hopkinson, who said a policy prohibiting
faculty from dating undergraduates is especially important.
Sexual harassment policies in the UC system took on added meaning in November
when John Patrick Dwyer resigned as dean of Boalt Hall Law School after a former
student accused him of sexual harassment.
Dwyer said the single, two-year-old incident was consensual, but the student
later disputed that, saying Dwyer sexually assaulted her after a night of
drinking.
UC has a policy banning sexual harassment, and officials had been reviewing
that as part of an update that began before Dwyer's resignation. UC's Faculty
Senate has also been working on a policy regarding dating. A 1983 faculty
resolution warns against the dangers of faculty having romantic relationships
with their students, but a prohibition does not exist in the faculty code of
conduct.
Gayle Binion, chairwoman of the Academic Council, said she was surprised to
learn UC doesn't have a systemwide policy regarding relationships between
students and faculty.
Still, she said most faculty understand the ethical problem of dating a
student. "A sexual liaison with a student is just deemed
inappropriate," Binion said.
Nonetheless, Binion said the system must have a clear statement on the issue
with "sanctions when there are transgressions." The Faculty Senate is
working on a draft that will be discussed at a Jan. 29 meeting. The final draft
will be brought to the regents for review, Binion said.
She said there will be some controversy with the policy, including whether
there should be different policies for graduate and undergraduate students.
Wire services contributed to this report.
