A college sex-ed professor stepped over the line drawn by a couple of students:
The first homework assignment, to do a self-exam on your breasts or testicles, went over pretty easily. But apparently the class discussion about shorn nether regions was a bit too much for two students in Michael Schaffer’s human sexuality class.George Washington University chose this summer not to renew the contract of the adjunct professor who had been teaching sexuality to a packed house for 17 years. Schaffer was given no explanation for the decision. But, he said, when he pressed Patricia Sullivan, the acting chair of the Department of Exercise Science, for answers, she told him “maybe you need to look at your student evaluations.”
Two of the spring evaluations, from women who took the course, said that the course was demeaning to women. One of the critiques, which specifically cited a class discussion on shaving pubic hair, threatened a sexual harassment lawsuit. That evaluation also pointed to the “look before you lick” advice that Schaffer includes with his comments on all students’ final papers as “a little humor to teach about safe oral sex,” he said.
This is definitely a class I'd have been too embarassed to take in college. On the other hand, I find I agree with the students who are quoted in the article as supporting Schaffer. The class is optional, the course content is explicitly stated, the enrollees are young men and women, Schaffer's sense of humor seems to be appropriate, and at least one young man notes that the class helped a friend identify the early signs of testicular cancer.
Posted by kswygert at September 13, 2005 08:26 AM