4.
Presumption of a Policy Violation:
The faculty member or supervisor who contemplates a romantic relationship with a student
or employee must realize the complexity of the situation and its potential negative
consequences. Regardless of consent or mutual attraction, the faculty member or supervisor
generally will be judged guilty of sexual harassment if any complaint eventually emerges,
either from the partner in the relationship or from his or her fellow students or co-workers. A
romantic relationship between any minor employee or student and an adult employee is
presumptively deemed not to be a consensual relationship and constitutes sexual
harassment.
5.
Voluntary Consent Not a Defense:
Faculty members and supervisors exercise power over students and their subordinates,
whether in giving or failing to give praise, criticism, performance evaluations, promotions or
other similar actions. Romantic relationships between faculty members and students, or
between supervisors and subordinates, can destroy necessary professional relationships.
Voluntary consent by the student or subordinate is always suspect, given the asymmetric
nature of the relationship. Moreover, such unprofessional behavior, or even the appearance
of such may affect other students, faculty, and staff, because it gives one student or
subordinate the appearance, correctly or incorrectly, of power or favor at the expense of
others.
** For more information on procedures please refer to the Merritt College Catalog 2017-
2019.
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