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[jonesey]

From today's CHE:'

The Right to Romance

A 57 year old professor says it should be okay for professors to romance their students.

This has been discussed, ad nauseum, in these fora.  What I wanted to mention was how unfortunate it was that this new evangelist of prof-student relationships looks like a letch straight out of central casting, complete with unbuttoned, black satin shirt, chest hair, and blow dried mane. 

[stagolee]

It would be useful to link all those threads here though.

Straight out of central casting indeed.  I've known several male professors that married former students...including a couple of very good friends of mine.

Not much vice versa though.

[pyshnov]

Jonesey, the hell with it.
But keep us posted.

[22283999]

Oh, the picture of him is exactly what anyone would expect of someone that has actually taken this issue on as their mission... of all the injustices in the world, this is what he sees as something worth fighting for? sad...

[daniel_von_flanagan]

Presumably he got interested in the question because of a debate at his university over the new policy there, and because it is in his field of academic expertise.  Converting such opportunities into published research is something successful professors do.

As a middle-aged male professor, he cannot help that he looks like a middle-aged male professor.  I find the willingness of people on this forum to stereotype based on appearance adolescent and disheartening. - DvF

[jonesey]

As a middle-aged male professor, he cannot help that he looks like a middle-aged male professor.  I find the willingness of people on this forum to stereotype based on appearance adolescent and disheartening. - DvF

It's not the middle-aged part that bothered me, it's the disco-era blow dry look I found amusing.  He could have been 25 and I would have made the same comment.

[georgia_guy]

The constitution protects professor-student love?

Apparently that prof is not aware that constitutionally protected rights are routinely restricted in the employment relationship. The right to freedom of speech would be a good example. If I worked as a telephone CS rep, and I told all the customers that I thought they were idiots, and that my company sold crap, guess what the company could and would do. Yes, they would fire me.

The bottom line is, the employment situation is voluntary. You agree to the restriction of your rights, in exchange for employment. Its the same reason that retailers can demand that their employees submit to drug testing. The government doesn't have the right to make you submit to drug testing, without "probable cause". An employer, on the other hand, can require a clean drug screen for pre-employment, and random screens for continued employment.

[avaya]

From today's CHE:'

The Right to Romance

A 57 year old professor says it should be okay for professors to romance their students.

This has been discussed, ad nauseum, in these fora.  What I wanted to mention was how unfortunate it was that this new evangelist of prof-student relationships looks like a letch straight out of central casting, complete with unbuttoned, black satin shirt, chest hair, and blow dried mane. 

Jonesey, I can't believe I'm agreeing with you :-) but I thought the same thing.  The unbuttoned black shirt with chest hair -- made me think, "You letch!"

[mdwlark]

I haven't seen the picture or read the article yet--let me guess.  He also has bushy untrimmed eyebrows, right?  Does he have leather patches over his elbows?  Does he hold court in the campus courtyard with eager, adoring undergraduates?   Is he so enlightened that he leaves all the rest of us in the dust?   

[kitmonk]

Presumably he got interested in the question because of a debate at his university over the new policy there, and because it is in his field of academic expertise.  Converting such opportunities into published research is something successful professors do.

As a middle-aged male professor, he cannot help that he looks like a middle-aged male professor.  I find the willingness of people on this forum to stereotype based on appearance adolescent and disheartening. - DvF

The man is making an argument that professor-student relationships are constitutionally protected by the 9th ammendment.  He's a psychology professor!  What part of that makes him an expert on constitutional law?  Obviously none, since his reading of the the 9th ammendment is about as unsophisticated as they come.

[jonesey]

$100 says he's got a waterbed.

[yemaya]

Presumably he got interested in the question because of a debate at his university over the new policy there, and because it is in his field of academic expertise.  Converting such opportunities into published research is something successful professors do.

As a middle-aged male professor, he cannot help that he looks like a middle-aged male professor.  I find the willingness of people on this forum to stereotype based on appearance adolescent and disheartening. - DvF

The man is making an argument that professor-student relationships are constitutionally protected by the 9th ammendment.  He's a psychology professor!  What part of that makes him an expert on constitutional law?  Obviously none, since his reading of the the 9th ammendment is about as unsophisticated as they come.

Apparently, he's an "expert witness" in cases dealing with sexual  incest, sexual molestation, rape, sexual harassment, post-traumatic stress disorder, obscenity, internet porn, and the sexual assault of the developmental disabled litigation.  Doesn't mean he knows squat about constitutional law, though.

He looks like a scruffy Sigmund Freud to me.  And we know all the s**t he was obsessed with.

[daniel_von_flanagan]

One of the book's positive reviews is by the president of the ACLU, so I would guess the legal arguments in the book (as opposed perhaps to the tidbits in the CHE article) aren't entirely hokum.  - DvF

[dr_crankypants]

Oh, wow, he DOES look the part!  The thought of being in his class gives me the heebie-jeebies.

I can't read the whole article, but I found the second sentence quite interesting: "He says he has never had a serious romantic relationship with one of his students."  (Emphasis added.) 

[questor]

The line "$100 says he's got a waterbed" was the first time I have laughed out loud while reading these forums.