One of the most taboo subjects at Universities these days is that of a romantic or physical relationship between a student and a teacher. Even in some elementary schools, teachers are forbidden from hugging their students, for fear of being accused of inappropriate touching. Add that to the influence of stronger sexual harassment policies and we have a society that simply does not condone physical relationships.
Ironically, the portrayal of student-teacher affairs has been crucial to the plotlines of many Hollywood films. When I typed “student-teacher affairs” into Google, I realized that I’d seen almost all the movies they had listed. Movies such as The Jane Austen Book Club, Daydream Nation, and From Prada to Nada all portray a sexual affair between a teacher and a student. Of course, political correctness wins the day and the end of each movie shows the affairs being put to an end.
Anne, a 21-year-old fourth year student at the University of Ottawa, says she was given the opportunity to sleep with a professor. When the two met at a bar off campus, Anne says that she knew he was a professor in her program.
“We’d had a few drinks and eventually I went home with him,” says Anne.
Although Anne says they did not have sex, what they did was “definitely not PG”. But in actuality, they were two consenting adults, who met at a bar, who just so happened to be a professor and a student. Though Anne was aware that there was a strong possibility of him being her professor in the future, she says that she would never use sex as a means of boosting her marks, as the idea makes her “nervous”.
Back in the lascivious 1970s and 80s, for example, it wasn’t unusual for students to sleep with their professors.
“It was a free-for-all back then”, says Jodie, a former CBC journalist. “Remember, this was before AIDS and sexual harassment policies. When I was at Ryerson in the early 70s, one of my married profs made it very clear to me he wanted to have an affair with me, not for better marks, but for sex. He even sent me flowers at graduation to sweeten the pot. I was also approached by another prof who had an open marriage and wanted me to be his week-day mistress. Some of my friends were really hot for our profs, too; in fact, one of them began seeing our prof and went on to marry and have a child with him.”
Of course nowadays, with the implementation of sexual harassment policies, affairs between students and professors are forbidden.
Giving in to a passionate and forbidden love affair between students and teachers is exactly what pop culture would have us do, but would you actually do it? Would you trade sex for marks?
When I asked some Ottawa university students these questions, I received mostly negative answers.
“Using one’s sexuality to boost marks or gain any kind of advantage shows that you lack academic and moral integrity,” says Jessica, an 18-year-old second-year Carleton University student. “You’re disrespecting yourself and your body.”
On the other hand, Kevin, a 22-year-old in his fifth year at University of Ottawa, had something a little different to say. When asked if he would sleep with a professor for marks, he answered with a fervent, “H*** yeah!” Another male student at Carleton University, Jeff, stated that sleeping with a professor would make the time at university “more memorable”.
Nonetheless, a relationship between two people with differing levels of power is inappropriate. Interestingly enough, the University of Ottawa’s policy on sexual harassment, which includes professor-student relations, is undergoing revision. I requested an interview on the subject, but I, unfortunately, never received a response from the administration. However, Policy 67 (that’s 67, not 69) defines sexual harassment as “implied or expressed promise of reward for complying with a sexually oriented request”. In other words, any sexual favours that could be exchanged for a boost in one’s marks are forbidden. As part of disciplinary action, the severity of the affair could result in “apology, reprimand, transfer, suspension, expulsion or dismissal”.
But let’s face it – we’ve all had crushes on our professors. Some are young, attractive, and, of course, intelligent. But it is knowing where to draw the line between an innocent crush and actually acting on your impulses (or another’s advances) that is key. After all, lives can be ruined by false accusations, and only you can decide what is right.
(Names have been changed to protect privacy)
For more information on University of Ottawa’s Policy 67, please click this link:
http://www.uottawa.ca/governance/policy_67.html
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