It is the position of GEOC that romantic or sexual relationships between faculty or instructors and a student at any level in which the faculty has advisory, academic, or professional power over the student should be prohibited and subject to disciplinary action. Any action or recommendation regarding relationships between faculty and students that falls short of protecting the physical, emotional, and academic safety of students is a counterproductive and empty gesture. Failing to protect students from abuses of power like an unequal romantic relationship places the esteem of the university above the safety and well-being of its student population. Students are inherently the lifeblood of a university. Universities do not exist to cater to the romantic whims of faculty. GEOC further clarifies that prohibitions of romantic or sexual relationships applies to any empowered employee, including graduate employees assigned to grade or assess classrooms of students who may at times be their peers.