[Jon Stratis]

Honestly, the YPP doesn't affect my team at all - we already have all these policies in place. The basic idea is to try to prevent any situations that could even look funny from the outside.

I can understand how many people might think all of this is maybe a little extreme or draconian, but it's as much for our protection, as mentors, as it is for the students. It's important to avoid giving even the impression of any impropriety. All it takes is one incident, one accusation (even a fallacious one) to create a situation that could severely impact our lives as mentors, and the team for years to come. By following the YPP policies, we work towards preventing even the opportunity for such an event. If we have multiple mentors at each meeting, then we know nothing untoward happened. If we avoid connecting with active students over social media, we don't provide an opportunity for someone to say we're too friendly with a student, or suspect that something more is going on. If we keep all of our e-mails, texts, etc focused on team activities and career growth, they can't be pulled out later as "proof" that we were being to friendly or forward.

Maybe I'm a little over sensitive about the whole thing, but I think that's par for the course when you're a young male working with an all female team. Due to many crappy incidents in the past, society has almost come to the point of instant suspicion in those situations, and you have to spend a lot of time and energy proving you're there for the right reason. All it takes is one "incident" (could be real or imagined) to confirm the suspicions society already has. It's generally better to prevent any scenario where such an "incident" can occur.