Howard Law Professor Guilty of Sexual Harassment Over Test Question

Pretty wild situation here.

The story:
https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2017/07/07/brazilian-wax-question-lands-professor-hot-water

The question:
https://www.thefire.org/howard-university-professor-reginald-robinsons-test-question-sept-17-2015/

The professor's lawyer:
"[It’s] silly but relatively harmless [if Howard Law School] wants to treat its students as delicate snowflakes who must be protected from unpleasant hypothetical cases… [But a] formal finding that a professor is guilty of ‘sexual harassment’ because of a discussion in class, that’s libelous of him as an individual and debases the whole concept."
From Law School Final Exam Basis Of Sexual Harassment Charge | Above the Law

 

I read the exam question. Am not in favor of treating students like delicate Ming vases--ask my students--and there are times where teaching certain subjects you must get a little ribald (e.g., the Miller Test for Obscenity). That said, while there's legitimate issues about whether this test question standing alone would be actionable sexual harassment, the prof obviously was: 1). trying to make some cute point about Title VII law and is tone deaf, clueless, and it completely backfired, 2). has a frat boy attitude and was playing what he thought was a funny prank, or 3). is a pervert getting his kicks. That was way inappropriate.

 

Or, it could be something I do sometimes. It creates distraction on top of stress to test if students can remain focused. Different field, but lawyers can have lots of distraction.