DR. WALLACE: I'm a college student who is a 20-year-old female. I enjoy my university and have seen nothing but the utmost in integrity and organization throughout my two years of college here so far.

However, this changed for me last week. I forgot a textbook in one of my science classes and about three minutes after this class, I was pretty far along a path walking toward my next class when I realized what I had done. So, I turned around and headed back to my previous classroom to pick up my textbook, and as I got about 10 feet from the door, which was slightly ajar, I could hear our professor talking to another female student.

He was obviously flirting with her tremendously. In fact, I overheard him invite her out to dinner on the upcoming Saturday night. She accepted his offer, and they made plans to meet at a restaurant about 45 minutes outside of our city. I was so shocked that I didn't know what to do, so I turned and quickly walked down a different hallway. I waited until this girl left the classroom and then just as the professor finally came out the front door a few minutes later, I walked up from about 50 feet away and called out his name and asked him if I could retrieve my textbook. He of course obliged me and let me in to pick it up. I said nothing to him about overhearing his conversation with this other student.

I've already decided that I'm not going to say anything at all about this because I don't want to create any problems for myself and I'm already a pretty good student in this class. My question for you is, do you think it's acceptable for college professors to date their students? This professor is somewhere around 40 years old and the other female student is likely 19 or 20. — Accidentally overheard their flirting, via email

ACCIDENTALLY OVERHEARD THEIR FLIRTING: To answer your question, I do not feel it is acceptable for a college professor to date a current student. You mentioned their ages, but my reason has nothing at all to do with their respective ages. They're both adults and, in other circumstances, they could date each other if they chose to do so.

My issue instead is with the dynamic of the professor-student relationship. A professional of any gender should be a neutral third party when it comes to interacting with teaching and grading students. Entering into a personal relationship, no matter how mild it may start out, breaks the implied neutrality and integrity of the grading system within that class. I'm not saying that this particular professor would do so, but professors of both genders have been proven in the past to have given unearned and unwarranted high grades to students they have had personal relationships with.

We need as a society to look no further than the recent national college admissions scandal to see what undue influence can bring about.

No professor should ever date a currently enrolled student in his or her classroom, period.

WE'RE BEING CHOKED OUT

DR. WALLACE: My dad smokes in our house because he thinks the dangers of secondhand smoke are only a myth. It's not so bad in the summertime when I can keep the windows open, but it's brutal in the winter, and things have been pretty cold around here lately.

My mom does not smoke but she does not tell my dad to smoke outside either, so she's breathing in his smoke just like we are.

How can I get my dad to understand that secondhand smoke does present danger to other people, especially teenagers? — Choking on dad's smoke, via email

CHOKING ON DAD'S SMOKE: Your father is way out of line! If he insists upon smoking in the wintertime, or any time of year, he should do his smoking outdoors or in the garage with the garage door open to allow the smoke out and away from your living quarters.

Tell your father that his smoking exposes you and your siblings to carbon monoxide inhalation. Furthermore, secondhand smoke can cause damage to the lungs of nonsmokers and also reduce lung capacity over time.

You should also enlist your mother to help you. Go over all of the details I've outlined here and even show her some pages on the internet that explain in great detail what the true dangers of secondhand smoke are. You all deserve to live in a smoke-free environment, and your mother should become a big part of insisting that your father change his ways on this topic immediately.

Dr. Robert Wallace welcomes questions from readers. Although he is unable to reply to all of them individually, he will answer as many as possible in this column. Email him at rwallace@thegreatestgift.com. To find out more about Dr. Robert Wallace and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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