What do you all thnk about Terence Kealy's 'Lust' article, for the Times Higher's '7 Deadly Sins of Academia', and the surrounding hoo haaah then?

Here's the article
http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=26&storycode=408135&c=2

Here's subsequent the Times Online blog
http://timesonline.typepad.com/dons_life/2009/09/sex-with-students-is-terence-kealey-as-misunderstood-as-juvenal.html

i cannot seem to load the original story although have seen the hoo haah!

Loving the political procrastination today!

I thought it was he didn't quite get the humour right. He should have weasel worded it up a bit, that way he would have got off the hook!

Although, I think the article brings into question the suitability of academics as lecturers... Just because someone knows a lot doesn't mean they can teach a lot, or as this article points out are suitable people to be around naive 18 year olds.

I'm hoping to see a Germaine Greer-esque follow up with sordid 60 year old women admiring the young Adonis like UGs... lol.

Bottom line is that no one should be shocked by this, it is soo obvious that old men like looking at young women it's barely worth raising an eyebrow. The only thing is you're not allowed to say it when you hold a VC position. He should have waited until after retirement before publishing.

When I read it, all I could think of was a Flash Harry St Trinian's-esque character leching over Buckingham University's female student body.

@TheAce, a Germaine Greer follow-up would be funny.

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I think it was intended to be a bit of heavily ironic satire, but didn't quite work, and backfired. I'm sure full on letching was common place from male lecturers in days of yore - the older guys I used to teach with were very similar in tone to the article during staff chats over our tea and toast; but in practice they were very fair and professional in their treatment of the studes. Not sure if that's just because they knew they wouldn't stand a chance though...


I'm usually too concerned with teaching to think about how sexy my studes are! Although, I know the more relaxed (less newbie) lecturers must appreciate the opposite sex students occasionally, the way human beings do.


@ Bug: I had to wait ages for the article to load, I think it could be overloaded, the whole thing was covered on Jeremy Vine (Radio 2) today.


Yeah, there should be one in the style of Germaine Greer, although some of the students may be a bit old!

I thought the controversy was alot of hullabaloo about nothing. There seems to be a fashion nowadays for people looking to be offended, searching text and people's words and seizing on anything they can take offence to, and promptly complaining. I'll probably get in trouble for the following remark, but, as a male of the species with a heterosexual persuasion, there would have to be something seriously wrong me if I didn't notice the opposite sex. And, as the auther says, you can look but you can't touch. Goes for life in general.

BHC

The one about lust caused a particular storm in a teacup and was picked up by major mainstream news services.

Clearly, there is a witch hunt happening, but there is something worrying about the way academic freedom is being suppressed so someone can't even express an opinion without being in fear of offending.

In some ways I am less concerned about the idea of either lecturers perving over students (which although unpleasant is not exactly paedophilia or murder) or humourless puritans banning satire (people can adopt whatever attitude they want). Its more about the climate of censorship and the right of the offended to immediately demand other people conform to their way of thinking.

If this is the way things are going in the future, is there any point of being an academic any more? '


I think it's been like this for a very long time! And has as much to do with a general witch hunting climate which is rife (witness the slating of Madonna, anyoone would think she was a mass murderer, not a divorcee in the throws of a mid life crisis!) in the UK.

The hoo hah would not put me off being an academic - the guy isn't going to lose his job, just become more famous, in time for retirement.

I'm not even sure that he was being heavily ironic.... having heard via a trusted source this guys take on his Univ of Buckingham students I wouldn't be surprised if the humour element was largely tagged on in response to the backlash.
In any case, it's often forgotten that humour has been (and is) frequently used to maintain unequal balanced of power, and is often more effective than other techniques.

Incidentally I initially read the article before it 'broke' in the mainstream media.

i'm quite disturbed that statements like the following are thought to be acceptable:
'Normal girls - more interested in abs than in labs, more interested in pecs than specs, more interested in triceps than tripos - will abjure their lecturers for the company of their peers, but nonetheless, most male lecturers know that, most years, there will be a girl in class who flashes her admiration and who asks for advice on her essays. '
So, 'Normal girls' are not interested in working hard???? It's this, rather than the overtly sexual content, that gets me.

The article might have been written to come across as lighthearted/funny/satire etc but the content is still offensive. As a vice-chancellor he is always representing the university when he writes in a personal opinion capacity like this and he has to be very careful about offending people.

Using academic freedom to defend what he has said is pretty desperate - we are not discussing some research he has carried out that has unpopular findings, it is his personal opinion he is putting forward.

Surely female students, studying at Buckingham (paying £8000 or more in fees per year) have the right to feel offended if the person highest up in the institution says about them: "Enjoy her! She's a perk"?

If someone high up in a university makes offensive, nasty comments in a freely available newspaper they need to take the resulting criticism!

I feel sorry for his wife - or anyone's wife for that matter! It really annoys me that men think that it is ok to look at or feel attracted to other women when they already have a partner.
If you're still looking - you shouldn't be in a relationship.



(I wonder what trouble THAT comment will make) 8-)

Cobweb!!!
What do you propose we do to married people; make them wander around with a blindfold on?!!
Admittedly there will be a wide range of perspectives on this one, but I don't think you can stop your partner being attracted to other people.... flirting outrageously is another issue....

I'm undecided about this now -I think the context of the guy being a VC, and writing in a national newspaper means he should have been more careful - satire or no satire. The article is clearly open to mixed interpretation, and the students should not be left in any doubt as to the professionalism of their teachers.

As a woman, I, personally, am not offended by the article, but I may have felt differently as a young undergraduate in his care.

As for admiring your prefered sex, well, I know I do it as a kind of reflex action, I seem to be programmed, and being in a relationship makes no difference - it certainly doesn't mean I'm contemplating being unfaithful - my relationships are based on far more than eye candy potential. But I don't make it obvious - especially not in a professional context.