[TrumpCard]

And everyone in my peer group and all the younger people I know consider the relationship to have been inappropriate -- poor judgment on the part of the student and an abuse of power on the part of the dean.

I think most would agree that a relationship between a married 47 y/o university dean and a 22 y/o undergrad who was dating someone else at the time was inappropriate.  I know lots of people in positions of power, but I don't think I personally know anyone who's been in a relationship with such a tremendous gap in age and experience.  I know age gaps were common in my parents' generation, but in my circle, almost everyone is still married to their first spouse and spouses are mostly within a few years of each other.  I know some people who got divorced and ended up re-marrying someone maybe 7 years younger.  47 and 22 is gross.

The question of whether the dean abused power is a different one.  I don't have a strong opinion on that because of the lack of any sort of teaching or supervising relationship.  Maybe there were details in the article that I skimmed that addressed the power dynamics in this particular situation, but I didn't see those details.

[TrumpCard]

And everyone in my peer group and all the younger people I know consider the relationship to have been inappropriate -- poor judgment on the part of the student and an abuse of power on the part of the dean.

I think most would agree that a relationship between a married 47 y/o university dean and a 22 y/o undergrad who was dating someone else at the time was inappropriate.  I know lots of people in positions of power, but I don't think I personally know anyone who's been in a relationship with such a tremendous gap in age and experience.  I know age gaps were common in my parents' generation, but in my circle, almost everyone is still married to their first spouse and spouses are mostly within a few years of each other.  I know some people who got divorced and ended up re-marrying someone maybe 7 years younger.  47 and 22 is gross.

The question of whether the dean abused power is a different one.  I don't have a strong opinion on that because of the lack of any sort of teaching or supervising relationship.  Maybe there were details in the article that I skimmed that addressed the power dynamics in this particular situation, but I didn't see those details.