Sarah Okafo, a third-year theatre student, poses seductively, offering an apple. Okafo is not involved a professor but student-professor relationships are more common than Ryerson officials say. On campus, virtually all professors agree relationships between faculty and students are inappropriate. (Geoff Nixon/ Ryersonian Staff)

Special to the Ryersonian

Darcie Stott says she doesn’t regret having sex with a professor when she was 18 years old.

Two years ago, the nutrition student found herself entangled in a brief tryst with a middle-aged instructor, “James.”

One night, at a party, Stott vomited after drinking too much and found herself in the company of James in a bedroom. “He started to rub my hand and then asked if I was going to do what I came there for (perform oral sex),” Stott said, referring to one of James’s earlier advances.

“So I said yes and started my work. It turned to sex after that.”

Stott, a student at Canadore College in North Bay, Ont., said that while the experience wasn’t particularly enjoyable, she spent the night with him.

In the following weeks at school, James acted like nothing happened. “He would say hi to me, but no conversation.”

By the end of the school year, James left Canadore.

Like most universities, Ryerson has no policy that explicitly forbids professors from having amorous relationships with students, so long as there’s no conflict of interest or sexual harassment.

Ryerson’s conflict of interest policy prohibits profs grading their own students while involved with them.

Non-consensual relationships are covered by Ryerson’s sexual harassment policy and the Criminal Code of Canada.

Due to a lack of statistics from universities, it’s difficult to determine how common these campus relationships are.

Ryerson’s Office of Discrimination and Harassment Prevention keeps basic stats on the complaints received, but doesn’t disclose details on them, says director Ann Whiteside.

Her office received around 100 complaints in 2004-05, 45 per cent being sexually related.

Most of them were from female students and there have been recent complaints relating to student-professor relationships, Whiteside said.

Some believe there’s an inherent sexual tension in the  education process. “There is something erotic about the relationship between student and professor,” said philosophy instructor James Cunningham, who teaches a class on love and sex at Ryerson.

But sex would take away from learning, which is the goal of the professor-student relationship, he said.

But of course, not all teachers exhibit restraint.

In 2002, the dean of law at the University of California, Berkeley, John P. Dwyer, resigned amid allegations that he molested a student. Dwyer said the incident was consensual.

Closer to home, an anonymous complainant placed posters in women’s washrooms in Kerr Hall East last year accusing an unnamed popular social work professor of having “sexual interactions” with students.

After reading week, students learned that Anthony Hutchinson was no longer teaching at Ryerson.

Administration offered no explanation.

Nothing was made public to tie the posters to Hutchinson, but a colleague acknowledged to the Eyeopener that Hutchinson was “accused of something.”

“I can’t comment on anything. Everything has been resolved. Everybody’s happy,” Hutchinson said when contacted by The Ryersonian.

Hutchinson would only add that he wasn’t actually dismissed from his position.

In his two years on the job, Ryerson Faculty Association president David Mason said there’s only been one allegation of inappropriate behaviour.

He also added that the number of romantic relationships at Ryerson is so low that prohibitive policy isn’t necessary.

But from the limited studies done, evidence indicates these relationships are more common than Ryerson’s officials say.

These relationships range from “a really bad idea to a serious violation of policy,” Michael Dewson, Ryerson’s vice-provost of faculty affairs said.

Ryerson’s policy says when an amorous relationship exists, the professor must “decline or terminate a supervisory or evaluative role.” Dewson said the policy applies equally to relationships between professors and TAs or graduate students.

This is less clear when the student isn’t in the prof’s class.

Ryerson ethics professor Kathleen Carlin said an instructor can never ethically have a relationship with a student because “a professor could influence the student’s career.”

Canadian case law seems to support Carlin’s opinion. 

In 1995, Fariba Mahmoodi tried to initiate a sexual relationship with University of British Columbia psychology professor Donald Dutton in an attempt to get into grad school. Dutton said they didn’t have sex, but they did have dinner at his home, complete with candles, wine and music, according to a January 2000 University Affairs article by Shirley Katz.

Though the tribunal questioned the sincerity of both Mahmoodi’s and Dutton’s testimony, the university was held liable for sexual harassment.

Given the legal implications, there’s inconsistent policies at most universities. None of U of T, York or Ryerson has specific policies beyond those governing conflict of interest and sexual harassment.

But Ryerson policy warns that if a sexual harassment complaint is filed regarding a consensual relationship, “the imbalance of power in that relationship could make it difficult to prove mutual consent.”

Around campus, virtually all professors agreed that student-teacher relationships are inappropriate. “I don’t think anybody thinks it’s an OK idea,” English professor Jonathan Rollins said.

But one Ryerson professor, who asked not to be named, said it’s unreasonable to assume these relationships are always inappropriate.

“Personally I know four professors (not at Ryerson) . . . who ended up dating their students,” he said.

Three of these couples later married or became common law spouses, he added.

Ryerson students’ opinions were also mixed. “It’s a free country and there shouldn’t be a law against it, as long as both parties are consenting adults,” said Sean Perry, a second-year politics student.

But fourth-year engineering student Shahrzad Parandeh said it’s wrong because it may affect how the professor grades assignments.

Ombudsperson Nora Farrell, who works independently of Ryerson administration, offers confidential advice and seeks to resolve conflicts.

In 2005-06, 60 complaints were made about the conduct of instructors.

Fear of academic penalty may make students reluctant to report these student-prof relationships, Dewson said

This situation may lead to a complaint with the discrimination office, which then tries to find an informal resolution.

“I would really suggest that as a first step, the complainant tell their prof that the advances are unwanted,” Whiteside said.

If they continue, an investigation takes place. The evidence is given to an administrator, who then recommends the next steps.

For example, if the complaint involves unfair grading, a new marker can be assigned, Whiteside said.

“If the process is formal, it can be quite long, and both parties can be in pain or feel like their reputation is at stake,” she said.

Stott said she never considered making a complaint against James, despite her mixed feelings. “Well, he was a scumbag teacher . . . it was like falling into a trap that you know you shouldn’t have gone near.

“On the other hand, I kind of feel . . . privileged to say that I’ve slept with a college professor. I just wish I did it to change my grade or something rather than just getting laid.”