In November 2025, the Marin Group Faculty District revised its harassment coverage to ban most relationships between college students and staff.
“Such relationships current an inherent imbalance of energy and carry a big danger of exploitation, compromising the integrity of the tutorial surroundings,” the coverage states.
The faculty didn’t reply to questions on what prompted the change. Spokesperson Nicole Cruz mentioned it was campus coverage to not touch upon particular scholar or employment issues.
“Faculty of Marin is dedicated to offering an educational and work surroundings freed from illegal discrimination on the premise of intercourse, together with sexual harassment below Title IX,” she mentioned through electronic mail. “Faculty of Marin has a strong and thorough course of for investigating complaints of illegal discrimination … Additional, Faculty of Marin strictly prohibits retaliation.”
Mueller advised investigators that Papineau initiated most of their contact and continuously shared particulars about her private life. At one level, he mentioned she advised him she’d damaged up together with her boyfriend and moved out of his residence, in response to the investigators’ report.
In an announcement, Mueller mentioned: “In my 35 years of instructing, I’ve by no means, not as soon as, requested a lady out on a date or accepted an invite to exit on a date that was at the moment enrolled in one in every of my lessons.” He mentioned in two situations, in 2024 and 1998, ladies that he “was in well-established relationships with” wished to take his lessons and he couldn’t prohibit them from enrolling.
Papineau was first Mueller’s scholar within the spring of 2023 and advised Mueller in Could 2024, earlier than they started courting, that she deliberate to take his course that fall, in response to emails considered by KQED.
A sample of favoritism
Earlier than Papineau filed her grievance, different college students mentioned they’d already come to view Mueller as a professor who rewarded favored college students and marginalized others.
Lily Wales enrolled in Mueller’s environmental science course in fall 2024 throughout their first semester at Faculty of Marin.
Mueller was “type of legendary” on campus, in response to Wales. However he was additionally identified for being harsh with college students, whereas singling out some — together with Wales — as favorites.
“He would pull me apart after class and inform me how good I used to be doing and say that he had quite a lot of connections within the biology world,” Wales mentioned.
Wales, who was 17 on the time, mentioned Mueller complimented them, provided networking alternatives and invited them on hikes, which they declined.
At first, Wales mentioned the eye was validating.
“I used to be fairly younger, and so I used to be actually naive,” Wales mentioned. “I used to be like, ‘It’s so nice that so early on there’s any person within the subject that actually desires to assist me.’”
Round midterms, nonetheless, they turned uncomfortable with the eye.
When college students have been engaged on group tasks, Wales mentioned Mueller critiqued different teams whereas praising theirs with out carefully inspecting the work. Wales mentioned they didn’t examine nicely for the midterm examination and answered a number of questions incorrectly, however have been awarded an ideal rating.
“That was a second the place I used to be like, ‘I really feel like there’s one thing happening and I don’t need it to get to some extent of there being a relationship that’s being fashioned,’” they mentioned.
Shortly after, Wales mentioned they stopped attending Mueller’s class and had averted taking any of his others all through their time at Faculty of Marin. Mueller reached out to Wales to precise his concern after they’d missed a number of weeks of sophistication, in response to an electronic mail considered by KQED.
The price of staying in good standing
Walker Newell took about 5 lessons with Mueller throughout his first few years at Faculty of Marin. He alleges that the professor gave preferential remedy to younger, fairly ladies, whereas treating others harshly.
“There’s undoubtedly individuals who get weeded out of the classroom that basically [are] those that Joe doesn’t need within the classroom,” Newell advised KQED.
Newell recalled that Mueller would typically pause mid-lecture to make feedback a couple of scholar who had an lodging permitting them to take notes on a laptop computer. In line with Newell, Mueller advised that the coed’s typing distracted classmates and slowed the category.
One other former scholar and faculty worker, who requested anonymity out of worry of retaliation, equally mentioned Mueller was typically uncooperative with lodging and singled college students out at school.
Mueller mentioned that he tries to discourage college students from typing notes and asks those that do to talk with him about the advantages of handwriting.
“I don’t disparage them; any person may take it that method,” Mueller mentioned.
Mueller described himself as a devoted trainer and mentioned he would by no means deliberately deal with college students unfairly.
Newell mentioned Mueller preferred to be seen as “all-knowing” and “grand.”
Initially, Newell mentioned, he benefited from Mueller’s favor, and it felt good to be praised.
“Once you’re on his aspect, it’s nice. You get questions incorrect on a check, they usually get marked proper,” Newell mentioned. “However then, after some time, you simply can’t see that occur to different individuals and simply really feel OK.”
