Op Ed: Education vs Legislation

Are there enough laws yet? Freedom is being whittled away, one law at a time. Whenever there is a problem or someone does something unacceptable, governing bodies supplement laws. I disagree with this approach; I think there are way too many laws. Problems will not go away by making laws because laws don’t solve problems. They move, alter and push problems out of sight. Laws never solve problems.

This tradition of legislating issues is an authoritative, restrictive, anti-humanitarian approach to problem-solving. Think about it. What does a law do? It takes away a freedom that we formerly had, and it’s generally permanent. How many laws are lifted after they no longer serve a purpose? How many “stupid laws” have you heard of, like “you can’t spit on the sidewalk in Alabama.” This is an outdated, small-minded way of dealing with issues. Resorting to legislation is the same as saying “I don’t know how to fix this and I’m lazy, so I’m going to make a rule.”

FGCU is subscribing to this small-minded approach to the issue of consensual relationships on campus. This is clearly a response to a particular event that has happened recently on campus, in which a student-teacher relationship was deemed inappropriate, and (surprise surprise) here comes the newly supplemented policy on consensual relationships. The very first line of the policy states:

“Consensual relationships between individuals of unequal authority have the potential of resulting in the following:

• A conflict of interest
• An abuse of authority and/or trust
• Behavior which shows favoritism, bias or unfair treatment
• Perception or allegations that the relationship was the result of coercion, exploitation or harassment
• Allegations of sexual harassment
• Other allegations of inappropriate conduct”

Without reading any further, it can already be said that this policy is unnecessary, de-humanizing and outrageous. Every one of the side effects listed is already legislated. This redundant law-making serves only to further limit freedom. Why shouldn’t people mix professional and personal relationships? Is it impossible for someone to have both respect and love for another person simultaneously? Is it impossible for a person to differentiate between work and play? Do we really need laws on top of laws on top of laws? Didn’t Mister Miagi establish a personal connection with Daniel-san while remaining the sensei? Emotionally-tight groups of professionals tend to be highly effective, but this emotionally-tight professional behavior is prohibited in fear of its possible side effects. These side effects continue to be problematic, even through a growing mountain of legislation; maybe a new approach is in order…

My motto is “education over legislation.” Teaching a person why a certain behavior or action is undesirable and teaching a better approach (education) is surely more effective than simply saying “you can’t do that” (dictation). Unfortunately the latter is the mainstream method of dealing with problems.

Why can’t I do that? “Because it’s illegal.” Why is it illegal? “Because bad things might happen” or “bad things have happened before.” Either way this argument is illogical. Legislating something that might happen is no different than arresting someone for a crime that hasn’t even been committed. Prohibiting something based on specific contextual events is no better. Is it logical to say “one time I hired a minority and he didn’t get the job done, so I will never hire another minority?” I’m pretty sure it’s illegal to do that, yet it’s ok to create legislation that discriminates in the exact same fashion. FGCU’s new policy basically says “one time a consensual relationship created problems, so no more consensual relationships.” I call bull crap.

If the possible negative effects of consensual relationships are already legislated, then there is no justifiable reason to legislate consensual relationships themselves; legislation clearly cannot control the problem anyway. Maybe it’s time to fulfill the university’s responsibility to educate itself and its students, faculty and community. Instead of continuing with the failing tradition of legislation, let’s set the example for the future. Let’s use logic, reason and compassion to govern ourselves rather than fear, judgment and discrimination. Let us educate rather than legislate.