Seeing the play was thus crucial to the success of the whole undertaking, and we were fortunate to secure the rights to Oleanna from David Mamet and his producers. During the discussion conducted largely by a student-faculty panel, Phoebe C. Ellsworth , professor of law and of psychology , said that some incidents in the play are everyday occurrences in higher education. We don't like to talk about power difference. We think we should treat each other as equals and this can result in ambiguity in relationships. Some teachers even marry their students, she noted.
Personal relationships are risky.
Ellsworth said she would be hard pressed to find any women professors who are now in their 40s and 50s who had not been harassed or abused as a student, or at the least been subjected to remarks about their physical appearance. A teacher owes it to a student to value students' work, Howard said, but not their appearance. Sociology major Rebecca Kidder '94 said students should speak out when a professor says something that inhibits learning.