Herald on Sunday

Sex email student kept writing

Student suspended for harassment after refusing to stop provocativ­e emails.

- By Simon Plumb

The suspended Auckland University student who emailed an offer of sex to her lecturer continued to send provocativ­e emails.

Last week the Herald on Sunday revealed a 30-year-old physics student had been suspended after being found guilty of sexual harassment. The student said she emailed her lecturer in March asking: “Would you like to have sex in Bali?”

The Herald on Sunday has chosen not to name the student or the lecturer. More emails detail how the lecturer responded, rejecting the mature student’s advance.

“You wrote not to worry about crafting a reply, but I just want to confirm that my only interest is for you (and all the other students enrolled in [class name withheld] for that matter) to succeed academical­ly.”

Within an hour of the lecturer’s first reply, the student sent the man another email: “You would deny that there was some strong chemistry?

“Not that you’d move to act on it, obviously not, but you mean you didn’t actually think of me at all?” she wrote. “It’s perfectly fine that you chose not to act on it as a teacher and as a married person. That’s your choice, of course.”

The lecturer responded again, this time with a warning.

“This communicat­ion is highly inappropri­ate and I wish it to stop with this email. Our interactio­ns will be limited to the academic side of [class name withheld], and I have NO interests in any other forms. If that turns out not possible, you force me to report these matters to the appropriat­e channels in the university.”

The student fired back, telling the man she felt his reaction was “threat- ening” and made her feel like “expressing a crush on someone is some great and inappropri­ate violation”.

“I was perfectly content to end the conversati­on at ONE SINGLE EMAIL (without any nudity or coarse language by the way) if you were not at all interested, walking away with my dignity, but you insisted in pressing the rejection,” she wrote.

A university spokeswoma­n confirmed the student had been found guilty of sexual harassment. The university also revealed the student propositio­ned another staff member, saying her suspension came after ignoring instructio­ns.

“The finding of sexual harassment by the proctor relates to the fact the student propositio­ned two staff mem- bers on separate occasions,” the spokeswoma­n said.

The student, who has admitted sending an abusive email to the proctor, told the Herald on Sunday the email to the first staff member was not investigat­ed and “I feel like they’re dragging up my past”.

She plans to appeal her suspension.

You would deny that there was some strong chemistry? Student’s email

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