Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, April 23, 1993 TAG: 9304230223
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MADELYN ROSENBERG STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE LENGTH: Medium
It recommended that violators be subject to sanctions, ranging from letters of reprimand to dismissal.
"I believe it will be supportive for the students to have this spelled out," said Sharon Davie, director of the university's women's center.
The resolution will be sent to university President John Casteen, and a final decision likely will be made by the Board of Visitors. The board sets policy at the 18,000-student school.
The resolution states that "faculty shall not engage in amorous or sexual relations with, or make amorous or sexual overtures to, any student over whom he or she holds a position of authority with regard to academic or administrative judgments and decision."
It was a compromise from an earlier resolution that would have barred all sexual relationships between faculty and students, regardless of department, program or age.
The original proposal, with its sweeping language, was seen by some on this historic campus as an insult, an attempt to protect students - most of them over the age of 18 - too much.
The senate floor became a fishbowl during the two-hour proceedings, under the lenses of five television cameras.
Cindy Aron, of the university's Committee on Women's Concerns, spoke clearly and loudly about the potential risks of a relationship between faculty and students.
"How can it be consensual when one person in the relationship holds all of the cards?" she asked. "We're a community of scholars, and we're not a community where sex plays the same role as free speech."
But when it was over, Aron voted for the proposal, saying that it was a fine compromise that protected the students.
It seemed that all who spoke on Thursday had taken an informal poll of faculty or students, through computer messages, phone calls or conversations in the corridors.
Matt Cooper, UVa's student body president, said about 90 percent of the students he had talked to opposed a ban outside of the classroom. "It is not the business of the university to regulate personal relationships," he said.
Eileen Smith, a student from Delaware, said she has heard horror stories from students about their involvement with faculty members, some of which ended in heartache.
She said she felt some policy was necessary, "so I know that my $12,000 in tuition is not going to a faculty member who can ruin my college career."
A few professors worried that if a resolution were passed, "nice" behaviors could be misconstrued.
The proposal that finally passed defines "faculty" to include teaching assistants; graders; and full- or part-time personnel who hold positions on the academic or general faculty, or who teach, coach, evaluate students, allocate benefits or conduct research.
The punishment clause in the resolution still could give pause to the American Civil Liberties Union, which sent a letter to faculty saying any resolution that bars adult consensual relationships is constitutionally suspect.
University faculty and students have been on television news and talk shows debating the issue during the weeks leading to this final meeting of the senate.
The issue has been discussed on "Sonya Live," "Larry King Live" and the "Today" show. A story by "20/20" is expected in the fall.
"It's not a new issue," Ann Lane, head of the university's committee on women's concerns, said before the meeting. "But now it's a feeding frenzy. . . . The only thing I can come up with is that many of the calls we've had have been from women. Maybe they're finding the subject moving."
Then, too, there was the strong language of the original proposal - a contrast to many colleges, which typically address student/faculty relations in their sexual harassment policies rather than looking at the issue separately. That's what UVa has done in the past, and that's what Virginia Tech continues to do. Tech says in its policy that even consensual relationships present serious ethical concerns.
Tech President James McComas said Thursday that he would like to see a more definitive policy at his university, though nothing as encompassing as UVa's original proposal.
"Abuses don't occur often, but they do occur," he said. "If you don't have a policy that says a faculty member shouldn't have sex with a student, you can't do anything but rap knuckles."
by CNB