He should have been suspended, and he was.
Yay.
Imagine the kerfluffle if it was a male student and a male teacher!
I think the fact that he was writing directly about the teacher is reasonably an issue. If he had written a generic piece about the hotness of teachers, or of some teachers, or the effect that beauty has on a teacher’s effectiveness, I could see his point. But it was about her, specifically. The First Amendment does not protect sexual harrassment. I don’t know if his essay rose to that level, but it was a definite expression of sexual interest in her, which to my knowledge she had not welcomed in any way.
The term “college student” conjures up an image that is quite different from the reality here, that this is a skeevy 57 year old man who is sexually harassing a teacher.
This is very far from an innocent young student having his 1st amendment rights of expression infringed. This 57 year old man should be mature enough to realize that this is not appropriate, but apparently he is stuck in some pre-perv stage of development.
Well, one way in which those two things are similar is that the First Amendment does nothing to prohibit a publically funded school from suspending a student for doing either of them. That is why this case was dismissed. I hope this clarifies things.
Feminists are doing everything they can to stop men from being men. What is happening to our country
It’s being dragged kicking and screaming into maturity, that’s what is happening.
I shouldn’t even bother to answer you, but seriously? This is how you define masculinity?
Funny how your definition of masculinity and mine are miles apart. I thought it had something to do about accepting responsibility, taking care of your own, and admitting fault. Qualities of ADULTHOOD, I might add.
But oh noes, it’s all about being able to perve publicly on your teachers. You hear that, men?! GATHER ROUND!
It may not be how I define manhood, but it is how I define being able to write about whatever you want. I never would have even dreamed that writing about how hot your teacher was was off limits. I had students crushing on teachers all the time in school. And, in college, I’m pretty sure some wound up dating (after the school year was over).
It is really fucked up that the idea that someone is attracted to you creeps you out, and that we as a society keep acting like it’s a big deal. Unless the guy came off as a rapist, there’s no reason to be creeped out. And, yes, there are other things (like the uncanny valley) that are creepy for no good reason, but we, as adults, deal with that. We don’t kick people out for it.
It is in fact a basic part of being a straight male to express your attraction to a woman. This isn’t anything special: it’s a basic part of being anything to be able to express your attraction to others. I wanted to be a teacher for a while, and I can’t imagine getting a woman (or gay guy) in trouble for writing such a thing. Yeah, it’s inappropriate, but when I tell you to write about anything without inhibitions, it becomes MY FAULT for that, not theirs.
I’m not contesting that it’s not a freedom of speech issue. But I am contesting the idea that this should be normal. It’s ridiculous. Stop coddling these people who can’t deal with the real world. If you are attractive, a lot of people probably think these things about you. Why the fuck should writing them down scare you so much?
I sure wouldn’t want to have a teacher who can’t handle life teach my students. For the words “stacked” and comparing you to some hottie? You guys seriously support this bullshit?
And, no, it’s not fucking harassment. Harassment requires being told to stop and not stopping. If it weren’t, then just flirting would be harassment, and no workplace romances would ever happen. It is not reasonable to think that the word “stacked” would get you kicked out of college.
Seriously, I want someone to give me a rational reason why sexual comments creep you out so much. I get that they are crass. I get that they can be misogynistic, depending on how they are said. But I cannot for the life of me figure out why they would be creepy unless you are afraid someone is going to rape you.
I’ve had it happen to me before, as I’m sure pretty much everyone has. I was flattered, even though I had no desire to return the feelings. Why would I not be? I obviously did what I could to make myself look good, just like everyone else does.
I can’t come up with any reason other than our society being so completely hung up about sex that it’s taboo to even show attraction. Attraction, which, BTW is not the same thing as even wanting to have sex with you. People who think like that are the ones I consider perverts. It means that, every time you see something pretty, you’re thinking about boning it.
I have no interest in defending the author of the “Hot for Teacher,” piece. The university was well within their powers to suspend him.
But I’m curious about this comment of yours. I agree that accepting responsibility, taking care of your own, and admitting fault when at fault are qualities of adulthood. But you say they’re qualities of masculinity and also of adulthood. So my question to you is: are there qualities that are uniquely masculine, rather than shared among adults of both genders?
Do you know how you handle someone writing smut about you in your creative writing class? You instigate corrective action. That shit’s not acceptable and a fifty-fucking-seven year old should damn well know better. That you are trying to defend him is embarrassing.
If this is how you define “being a man” then you’re damn right we are. You should thank us for saving you from yourself, in that case.
You didn’t ask me, but I’ll answer anyway.
Are there qualities that are uniquely masculine, rather than shared among adults of both genders? No.
Well, you got the rational reason right there in the last part of your paragraph, so I’m not sure why you’re confused.
People who behave in creepy stalkerish ways need to be smacked down with quickness, and a senior citizen should definitely know better.
The age of the student is irrelevant. It would be wrong for a 20-year-old student to write such an essay as part of an assignment too.
It would be- but it might be more forgivable on the basis of immaturity.
No , it doesn’t *always *require being told to stop and not stopping. Otherwise it wouldn’t be harassment until at least the second time my supervisor said he would fire me if I didn’t have sex with him.
I really don’t think siblings count. Amiright?