勿让潜规则玷污大学校园
Don’t let “hidden rules” stain universities
Source: Global Times
中央音乐学院一位70岁的知名教授、博士生导师自曝曾与一名准备考取该校博士研究生的女学生,发生肉体关系,并收受该生10万元贿赂。最终因女学生并未如愿上博,老教授向校方纪检部门坦白此事。
Liang Maochun, a renowned professor at the Central Conservatory of Music, admitted Saturday to university authorities that he had had sex with a female student of his and accepted a 100,000 yuan ($14,624) bribe from her in return for assurances that the woman would be admitted as a PhD student.
After failing to secure the student’s admission to the conservatory’s graduate program, Liang decided to admit his conduct under fear of being exposed by others. The Central Conservatory of Music responded by canceling Liang’s rights to teach or enroll any students.
Liang was reported in tears when he confessed his behavior and had already returned the woman’s bribe.
It is yet another astonishing case of the so-called “hidden rules” in college, where sex scandals and corruption seem widespread. Last year, Fu Chengli, a student of the China University of Political Science and Law, killed a professor with a kitchen knife, claiming he was seeking revenge after the professor had sex with his ex-girlfriend.
In a field where professors and students will inevitably encounter the opposite sex, there should be more specific formal rules against such behavior. As things stand, sexual harassment by professors is treated as expected behavior, and universities faced with accusations from students often resort to bribery to keep the matter quiet.
Liang’s case wasn’t an isolated example. Recently, a female student from a university in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province revealed that she refused her professor’s proposal that she be his mistress two years ago; later, her final graduate dissertation failed to pass, even though her score was high enough. She wrote a letter to the university committee and it turned out that it was the professor whom she had earlier rejected who gave her the failing grade, in an act of revenge.
It is disheartening to see cases like these happening one after another in China’s universities. These hidden rules are an obvious stain on universities where the academic environment should be pure and professional. University officials abusing their positions of power in attempts to get sexual favors or financial gain are engaging in a type of corruption that casts a dark cloud over the supposedly sacred “ivory towers” of academia.
This loss of basic morality in some professors reflects an often-hidden but nonetheless saddening side to the hard reality of the academic world.
Surprisingly, reaction to Liang’s scandal in the music world varied. As a much-respected professor, Liang’s scandal was followed not only by criticism but also by a strange sense of sympathy. Some even expressed the sentiment online that Liang is a good professor, and that this is an isolated single case and therefore he shouldn’t be punished so severely.
However, if a highly regarded professor’s behavior like this could be accepted, how much lower could people’s expectations for universities go?
Keeping strict supervision on such cases, promptly investigating complaints, and severely punishing violations would be a good start to fixing the problem. Universities should be free from this type of hidden rule.