Gov. Ted Kulongoski wants to see policies and procedures from all public universities

Sexual harassment is clearly prohibited at Oregon State University, and there are consequences that perpetrators can face. However, bring up consensual relationships, and not only is the OSU policy nebulous, but campus attitudes can run a wide spectrum as well.

For some, a relationship between two consenting adults, regardless of the power structure between them, is private and no one's business. For others, a relationship between a supervisor and employee or professor and student is inherently unequal and should be prohibited.

The university's consensual relationship policy is being revisited for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is that Gov. Ted Kulongoski has asked all public universities to provide him with a copy of policies and procedures regarding sexual harassment and consensual relationships on campus, as well as an assessment of their efficacy. He's asked for the information as part of a push to expand access to Oregon universities and make them safe places to study, and wants a full report from each university by May.

OSU President Ed Ray already had requested the campus human resources office to revamp the university's policy on consensual relationships, and that effort, combined with information being gathered by the Office of Affirmative Action, will be put together in the next two months and presented to the governor.

Currently, the OSU policy requires that "all employees conduct themselves in a professional manner. With regard to consensual sexual or romantic relationships, it should be noted that when they occur between teacher and student, or supervisor and supervisee, there is a concern that they may involve an abuse of power … all employees should recognize the possible negative consequences of sexual or romantic liaisons in the workplace and academic program."

Beth Rietveld, director of the Women's Center at OSU, is adamant that consensual relationships between unequal parties be addressed because she hears reports all the time of such relationships taking place, and of the negative consequences, mainly for the person of lesser power.

While these relationships occur on all levels, she said, it's especially prevalent at the graduate school level, where graduate students are often working closely with professors who are helping them with research, or perhaps supervising their graduate committee.

"They have tremendous power," Rietveld said. "If the relationship goes bad, the student doesn't have any power."

Rietveld believes the university's policy should mirror those in other occupations with unequal distributions of power, such as the lawyer and client or counselor and patient relationship.

"There's an ethical obligation not to sleep with your client," Rietveld said. "I think we need a statement that strong."

A draft of the redesigned consensual relationship policy includes the requirement that if a relationship develops between people in a supervisory position and those below them, such as an employee or a student, those in the position of power must disclose that relationship to their own supervisor, and then relinquish responsibility over the person they're in a relationship with. That includes grading and job performance evaluations.

"If they're truly in love or attracted, they can be honest about it," Rietveld said. "It's the predatory relationships that really bother me, like when I hear about a teaching assistant checking out students in their class."

Angelo Gomez, director of the Office of Affirmative Action, said a new policy is far from complete, because to create a policy that accurately reflects the views of the campus, they must first gather input from all campus communities and put those ideas into the new policy.

Those ideas, in addition to examining the policies of other universities around the country, will be combined into a final product that they'll present to the governor.

"It's difficult to prohibit purely consensual relationships," he said. "But the university may be within its rights to make it a requirement that faculty members (and others in power) take active steps to separate their professional responsibilities from their love relationships."

If the university chooses to draft a policy that requires disclosure and changes to the power relationship, then those who choose not to disclose that relationship could face consequences.

"There's always a consequence if there's a violation," he said. The consequences are tailored to each case, including the severity of the offense, whether or not it's the first time, and other issues.

While Gomez said it seems reasonable to at least include a disclosure policy, he said the language could become even more restrictive if the campus community indicates it wants something stronger, such as prohibition of any amorous relationships between people in unequal power situations.

"We'll encounter a spectrum of views," he said.

For Rietveld, in an ideal world professors would wait until their students were out of their class to pursue relationships, and avoid the potential dangers of an unequal relationship. Being pursued by a professor may be flattering to a student, but it's also very confusing, and can be potentially threatening, or make them feel like they have to pursue a relationship.

"You could be stunned when it turns into something sexual," Rietveld said. "It feels like the whole bottom drops out of your life. ‘He just wanted me to go to bed with him.' "