Dear Prudence,
I am a relatively young, male, and not-yet-tenured professor at a university. My department is overwhelmingly older (55-plus), white and male.
Several of the senior professors in my department, including the chair, have attitudes toward women that are downright sexist. On a number of occasions I have heard these faculty members make comments about the physical appearance of young women that are inappropriate and creepy.
However, recently a female student confessed to me something that truly disturbs me. She said that two of the senior faculty, one of whom is the chair of my department, pays her for sex. She said she does not want to tell anyone else, partly for fear of getting in trouble because prostitution is illegal, but also because the two professors are essentially paying her college tuition in exchange for her services.
I feel this is an extreme ethical violation, and judging by the character of the two professors probably only the tip of the iceberg. But I am at a severe power disadvantage in this situation. My boss can easily fire me. The dean and provost at my university are also member of this misogynistic “old boys' club” and I don't feel I can trust them.
If the student refuses to testify, then the perpetrators can simply deny it and no one would believe me. What should I do?
Ethical Dilemma
Dear Ethical,
I'm sure you're right that this young woman is not the first student this pair of predators has targeted. Perhaps, long ago, they were somewhat more dashing figures accustomed to inviting female students to office hours for “private meetings” - back when such things were tacitly tolerated. Then they aged and codes of conduct changed. But lucky for them, tuition rates soared, which allowed these now pension-aged lotharios an opportunity to offer their own financial aid programme.
I wish you could just blow the whistle on this sickening pair and end their academic careers. But as you note the blowback to you could be severe.
For suggestions on courses of action, I turned to employment law attorney Philip Gordon. First of all, Gordon said you have to find out if you are a mandatory reporter, meaning you have an obligation to report this sexual misconduct. If so, that will force your hand.
If you aren't, then I agree with Gordon when he says that before telling anyone else, the right thing is to get the consent of the student who confided in you. She came to you because she is in distress over the mess she's in. So you need to have further conversation with her about what she wants to do, and whether she would consider exposing what's going on. (Gordon said it is unlikely a prosecutor would go after her for prostitution, as the professors seem a better target.)
She has to be prepared that revealing what's happened could potentially be as traumatic as living through it. If the student is undecided, encourage her to seek out a confidential counselor on campus, one who can give her support and guide her through her alternatives.
If you become part of this process, whether or not she wants to tell, you might also want to consult an employment lawyer on your own. I'm hoping that this pair of faculty members, who have violated every tenet of their profession, get caught. If they do, I bet a generation of female students will come forward to tell their own appalling stories,
Prudie
* Emily Yoffe is an advice columnist, using the name Prudie.
Washington Post/Slate