[Goose]

In this background it is hard to imagine that any restriction on student and faculty behavior can really be enforced. The students want to be left alone to do as they wish. Most of the faculty feels the same. History has shown that sanctioning behavior that the majority (or even a significant minority) embrace is doomed to fail. Anything that is inside societal norms is going to de-facto be allowed. As a result, if it isn't literally illegal it will happen. So it is at Stanford, both "then" and "now", no matter what "the rules" may say.

I tend to agree with this.  I thought the facts in the article seemed unremarkable, but thought it was notable that it made the news because it's the kind of thing that would not have made the news when I attended college.  IMHO, the only practical limitation that Stanford can impose is to prohibit TAs and faculty from relationships with undergrads, grad students, or other TAs/faculty whom they are teaching/supervising.  That's the line where people doing what they want interferes with the mission of an academic institution.  That said, I do hope that Stanford and other institutions are getting more serious about holding that line because I think doing so would benefit the school and protect people in lower positions from being exploited.

this appears to be Stanford's policy on these sorts of relationships

https://adminguide.stanford.edu/chapters...prohibited.

how well it is followed and enforced is another question

The Stanford policy is very much like typical policies adopted by the military and by many large companies. The restrictions on "teachers" are stronger than typically seen in industry. The lack of a direct reporting relationship being involved is not typical. Otherwise it is similar to industry. As history has clearly shown these policies generally do not work all that well, even in industry where dismissal is the specific consequence of violating the policy. I suspect it will work even less well at Stanford because of the strong "mind your own business" ethos present there. That said, I can't imagine what better policy could be adopted.

[Goose]

In this background it is hard to imagine that any restriction on student and faculty behavior can really be enforced. The students want to be left alone to do as they wish. Most of the faculty feels the same. History has shown that sanctioning behavior that the majority (or even a significant minority) embrace is doomed to fail. Anything that is inside societal norms is going to de-facto be allowed. As a result, if it isn't literally illegal it will happen. So it is at Stanford, both "then" and "now", no matter what "the rules" may say.

I tend to agree with this.  I thought the facts in the article seemed unremarkable, but thought it was notable that it made the news because it's the kind of thing that would not have made the news when I attended college.  IMHO, the only practical limitation that Stanford can impose is to prohibit TAs and faculty from relationships with undergrads, grad students, or other TAs/faculty whom they are teaching/supervising.  That's the line where people doing what they want interferes with the mission of an academic institution.  That said, I do hope that Stanford and other institutions are getting more serious about holding that line because I think doing so would benefit the school and protect people in lower positions from being exploited.

this appears to be Stanford's policy on these sorts of relationships

https://adminguide.stanford.edu/chapters...prohibited.

how well it is followed and enforced is another question

The Stanford policy is very much like typical policies adopted by the military and by many large companies. The restrictions on "teachers" are stronger than typically seen in industry. The lack of a direct reporting relationship being involved is not typical. Otherwise it is similar to industry. As history has clearly shown these policies generally do not work all that well, even in industry where dismissal is the specific consequence of violating the policy. I suspect it will work even less well at Stanford because of the strong "mind your own business" ethos present there. That said, I can't imagine what better policy could be adopted.