Wednesday November 21 9:39 AM ET
College Bans Prof-Student Affairs
WILLIAMSBURG, Va. (AP) - Affairs between professors and undergraduates have been banned at the College of William and Mary, where a former instructor caused a furor by writing a magazine article about his romance with a student.
The ban imposed by the school's Board of Visitors is "an important statement of professional ethics," said Provost Gillian T. Cell. "Students are more hurt by these kind of relationships than faculty members are, and I think we have the responsibility to try to protect our students."
Previous policy only required professors to tell their bosses if they were involved with a student they were teaching or supervising. College spokesman William T. Walker Jr. said six violations had been reported since that was adopted in 1991.
The article in GQ magazine last year, by former writing instructor Sam Kashner, detailed his affair with a married student and said the woman's husband later committed suicide.
It wasn't unusual for female students at the college to make sexual advances toward male professors, he suggested in the article. Administrators and students vigorously disputed his portrayal, but the article inspired a review of the rules.
The policy adopted Friday bans "consensual amorous relations" between professors and undergraduates and the professors' graduate students.
Faculty members who violate the rule could face dismissal, but exemptions may be granted "in exceptional circumstances."
William and Mary has about 5,500 undergraduates and 2,000 graduate students.
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On the Net:
William & Mary: http://www.wm.edu
(This is a cached version of an article originally located at http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20011121/us/professor_student_romances_1.html )