Sophie’s dad wants change at uni

THE father of a student killed by the tutor she used to date says the University of Otago should follow a move to ban relationships between staff and students.

Sophie Elliott was murdered in 2008, aged 22, stabbed to death by her former economics department tutor Clayton Weatherston.

Her father Gil Elliott believes the relationship should never have been allowed and he is calling on the university to follow the lead of Victoria University of Wellington.

It last week became the first university in New Zealand to ban relationships between staff and students, with ‘‘isolated, intimate, consensual encounters’’ no longer allowed.

The University of Otago is reviewing its policy.

Mr Elliott said he had long supported such a change.

‘‘I strongly believe that there should not be those relationships.’’

He and Miss Elliott’s mother Lesley Elliott voiced concerns to the university in a consultation process before the university’s policy on staffstudent relationships was changed in 2010.

However that ‘‘really didn’t get anywhere’’ as instating a strong recommendation against such relationships was all the university would do, he said.

The university’s current ethical behaviour policy ‘‘strongly discourages’’ staff from entering relationships with students, stating they risk taking advantage of implicit power differentials.

Staff are required to declare any possible conflict of interest, so steps to remove or mitigate conflicts can be taken, and ongoing monitoring of the situation should occur.

Mr Elliott said he did not believe that was sufficient, as his daughter’s relationship had adhered to those requirements.

‘‘Sophie’s socalled boyfriend at the time, Weatherston, went along at Sophie’s insistence to the dean of economics and said that he was having this relationship with a student.’’

The economics department made sure any exams she sat were not marked by Weatherston, Mr Elliott said.

‘‘They didn’t like it at all but there was nothing they could do with the rules of the university.’’

Two people meeting outside university who happened to be a student and a staff member but who conducted their relationship entirely outside the university might be acceptable because of privacy reasons, but that had not been the case in his daughter’s relationship.

‘‘It shouldn’t have been allowed, it was inappropriate and I think Sophie saw that in the end.’’

University human resources director Kevin Seales said a review of the ethical behaviour policy was under way and had begun before news of Victoria University’s policy change.

‘‘The University of Otago aims to achieve an environment of safety, respect and dignity for staff and students and has an established ethical behaviour network and mediator which any member of the Otago University community can use,’’ he said.

The Otago University Students’ Association did not comment on whether it would support a ban on staffstudent relationships.

However, student support manager Sage Burke said the association’s focus was on supporting students to have healthy relationships.

‘‘From time to time OUSA Student Support receives requests from staff and students for advice in this area, but it is not frequent.’’