Sexual Harassment and Sexual Consent at CSU Sacramento

The State Hornet, CSU Sacramento Student newspaper has some straightforward reportage on a case of alleged sexual harassmentat Cal State U Sacramento.  As described by the alleged victim, the professor engaged in unwanted sexual attention directed toward student Judy Aguilar  The student is suing CSU Sacramento and the Board of Trustees of the California State University system.  What makes this story disturbing is that toward the end of the article there becomes a change in focus, the focus being on consensual relationships.

The person engaging in this detour was administrator Peter Lau who took the initiative to state that at CSUS there can be no such thing as a consensual relationship between a student and a professor.  In his terms, such is the case since differential power precludes consent.  Such reflects the hardcore feminist principle that functions to strip individuals of the ability to consent. Even though both parties mayfeel that their long-term loving relationship is consensual, such does not matter to Peter Lau, their relationship becomes one of sexual assault.  No consent therefore the situation is one of assault.  Of course, this is assault on the senses of anyone who values civil liberties and the value of privacy.  However, unfortunately all too many persons  buy into this perspective since it is the presented in the context of discussing sexual harassment. The Hornet article with the help of Lau ends up confounding sexual harassment and sexual consent, and it is on that note that the article ends.

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Barry M. Dank aka the dankprofessor.
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