It will all come down to proof on the so-called "voluntary" status of submitting to the ultrasound. I've worked in the medical field and I've had several of those ultrasounds during pregnancy, so I'm conflicted when it comes to this case. Trans-vaginal ultrasounds are very invasive even when done in the privacy of an office with a medical provider, but part of being in the medical field is learning how to view a patient as just a patient. We all have the same parts and medical professionals have seen them all--many times--so embarrassment over just about everything goes out the window quick both as a provider and a patient. However, a classroom situation is not at all like a clinical situation, and it doesn't seem, from the report, that this was approached in the proper manner.

I would not permit it on my watch, just because twelve of my peers might not view things the same way a medical professional would. Do I think it's wrong? Yes, if grades were contingent upon spreading legs and accepting probe in front of classmates. That's embarrassing, and very few among H. Sapiens are so liberated as to accept such a thing with a devil-may-care attitude. That said, I wouldn't make the girls millionaires because of it, either. Bottom line is they could have said no, grades or not. So why should they get a free ride?

I have to agree with you on that point of the issue--is it right to make this necessary or even voluntary for school? No. Should it stop? Yes. Especially with the increasingly available robotic and computer assisted training options, trainees can gain experience without this outcome.

 

Let's talk about coercion though. If you invested your ability to support yourself by paying for this course in a school, yet are told that you will be failed--which could result in not being able to achieve graduation and getting a job to keep you from being unable to support yourself--if you do not do something that makes you feel personally and sexually violated, is that not a form of abuse? Not everyone has a lot of options; sometimes people have to do things they don't want to do in order to keep their job--or their potential for a job. All adults have probably faced that at some point or another--even if not to this extent.

 

Having been in the medical field and a patient many times, I have very little modesty between myself and medical professionals. Would it feel different in a classroom setting? Probably. Would I be uncomfortable? Likely. Would it feel very different if I were told "You have to do this or I will fail you"? Most definitely--especially if the school's official stance is that the exams are voluntary and the professor made them mandatory--because THAT is coercion.

 

And that is what I feel is the true crux of the matter. What abuse victim doesn't deserve compensation for their pain and anguish? Money doesn't make it right--but it can help them have options in their lives moving on. How much is these girls' mental suffering worth if it's proven that they were forced to disrobe and allow someone to touch their bodies in places and in ways that made them uncomfortable, or even traumatized, while others looked on? That's hard to know, and I'm glad I'm not in a position to have to decide.  

I think you covered the matter well. The only thing I'd add is my guesstimation for the victims' just and ethical compensation. I'd say cost of tuition-paid-to-date + living expenses for that time period + legal expenses. I'm opposed to a huge settlement is all. It's a huge scandal sure to get plenty of press--international coverage at that--and I'm 100% sure the college is not going to be doing that sort of thing going forward, so why beat up the taxpayers (i.e., me and you)? I bet there are millions of people that never even heard of that college before, and this will be their first introduction. To say the faculty and administration have been chastened would be an understatement. But ultimately this seems a bit of a brouhaha. The takeaway for most people will be an education as to the meaning of the word "transvaginal."