[SCA-AE] Fwd: From Pennsic Mayor

[fridrikr at rochester.rr.com]

---- David Friedman <ddfr at daviddfriedman.com> wrote: 

> >1. How does the new policy, which is essentially the same as the 
> >policy from last year, as far as I can tell, take care of the fears 
> >expressed in point one. (Oh, by the way, as a former teacher who has 
> >on occasions had to ask teens their ages, I do not find that 
> >creepy... however, if the Mayor does, I suppose we all should).
> 
> I found that part a bit odd too, although I don't know the girl's 
> age. Consensual sex with an eighteen year old is legal in 
> Pennsylvania. Sex with a seventeen year old is contributing to the 
> delinquency of a minor. Sex with a fifteen year old is rape. And you 
> can't reliably tell someone's age to within two years by looking at 
> him or her.
> 
> Taking advantage of teaching a class as an opportunity to flirt might 
> be a bit offputting, depending on how it's done, but it's not 
> illegal. So if the instructor is interested in a lady in his class 
> and isn't sure of her age, an obvious option is to ask-and see if he 
> can take matters farther if she turns out to be eighteen or above.
> 
> ...
> -- 
> David/Cariadoc
> www.daviddfriedman.com


That wasn't where I was headed, Your Grace.  I taught high school English for 33 years before my restirement.  On more than one occasion I had to find out a student's age, whether male or female.  There was nothing "creepy" about asking the student.  The implication of the Mayor's statement bothers me as a professional teacher.

If I ever heard of a teacher at Pennsic or in any other SCA venue flirting with an underage (or possibly underage) student, even if it were reciprocal, I would report the teacher to the Chancellor of the University and the autocrat to ensure that appropriate action was taken.  I would hope others would as well.

In service,

Fridrikr