CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, LOS ANGELES
To:   Faculty                            DATE: October 29, 1996
From: Margaret J. Hartman, Provos
COPIES TO:   K. Henning, R. Marshall
SUBJECT:     ROMANTIC RELATIONSIIIPS WITH STUDENTS
        Of all of the controversies surrounding the issue of sexual harassment
on campus, the one that causes me the most concern is the line between
romantic, consensual relationships between a faculty member and a
student and sexual harassment of a student by a faculty member. As
faculty members, the scenario we would like to imagine is that a faculty
member and a student become interested in each other and that every step
of increasing intamacy is a mutual decision based on individual
feelings, not on position, and that, if the relationship should break
up, it will be a "no-fault" situation and both individuals will behave
"properly". Unfortunately, that scenario seldom happens. Here are a few
other potential scenarios:

(1) An unscrupulous
student may willingly engage in a relationship with a faculty member
with the intent of blackmailing that faculty member into giving him or
her a better grade.

(2) A student might fall under the spell of a faculty member's power
without either party being aware of the dynamics at the time, and only
in retrospect (after the faculty member has broken off the relationship)
decides that he or she has been coerced, i.e. sexually harassed.

(3) A faculty member aggressively pursues a student who allows a
relationship to develop because he or she is afraid that his or her
grade will suffer if he or she says "no". The above scenarios illustrate
a range of possibilities; numerous others exist. The bottom line is that
a faculty member who engages in what he or she thought was a
romantic relationship with a student may find him/herself defending
against a charge of sexual harassment, either by the consenting student
or other students in a class who have a vaiid legal claim. As a faculty
member, you are normally defended by the University against
lawsuits filed in civil or criminal court and, if you lose, the
University will pay any damages assessed against you except punitive
damages. However, under new laws, the University counsels do not have to
defend an individual accused of sexual harassment if they conclude that
the behavior was indeed harassment.I hope that this will serve as fair
warning to you that romantic relationships with students can be
potentially harmful to your career.

ROMANCE DOC

If the argument of protecting yourself from potential claims doesn't
cause you to pause,what about the impact on the student of a romantic
relationship gone sour? I recently received a letter from a
graduate student who shared the impact on her of a consensual
relationship that was ended by a faculty member. In her letter, she
conveyed how she lost almost a year in her program because of
the emotional stress she suffered, including hospitalization for
depression. Although she was maintaining a 4.0 gpa in both undergraduate
and graduate work here, she started receiving a number of incom1pletes.
Because it was commonly known in the department that she was involved in
a relationsllipwith a faculty member, she now feels that she is isolated
from the department and will have difficulty completing her program. It
is apparent from this student's letter that the impact
of this relationship has affected her terribly and perhaps ended her
ability of complete her program here at Cal State L.A. We are here to
help students achieve their potential, not to cause this kind of
turmoil. I have been asked on occasion why the campus does not avoid all
the potential problems by having a policy which prohibits romantic
relationships between faculty and students. On campuses where this kind
of policy has been attempted, it has been found to be a violation of an
individual's right of freedom of association. However,the American
Association of University Professors has adopted a statement on
Consensual Relations Between Faculty and Students: Sexual relations
between students and facultv members with whom they also have an
academic or evaluative relationship are fraught with the potential for
exploitation. The respect and trust accorded a professor by a student,
as well as the power exercised by the professor in an academic or
evaluative role, make voluntary consent by the student suspect. Even
when both
parties initially have consented, the development of a sexual
relationship renders both the faculty member and the institution
vulnerable to possible later allegations of sexual harassment in
light of the significant power differential that exists between faculty
members and students.
        In their relationships with students, members of the faculty are
expected to be aware of their professional responsibilities and avoid
apparent or actual conflict of interest, favoritism, or bias. When a
sexual relationship exists, effective steps should be taken to ensure
unbiased evaluation or supervision of the student.

        I have asked the Senate to adopt a statement affirming this AAUP
statement. 

        The following are minimal acceptable standards of behavior. Never, ever
engage in any sexual relationship with a student while he or she is
enrolled in your class. If, after the class is over and you are certain
that the student is not planning to enroll in any other of your classes,
a consensual relationship is possible, although still not advised. You
should not be involved in teaching the student in any classes, acting as
a supervisor for independent study or thesis, writing/grading
comprehensive examinations, or writing letters of recommendation for the
student. Failure to follow these standards will be grounds for
investigation for disciplinary action.

ROMANCE DOC