> It did make me wonder about how we could restructure academia/society so that random individuals don't have so much power over other people. It seems like a r

> It did make me wonder about how we could restructure academia/society so that random individuals don't have so much power over other people. It seems like a recipe for disaster. As someone working my way through (and hopefully out of) academia, the issue here is that the thesis advisor is not some random individual. Yes, even under favorable conditions the circumstances are ripe for abuse. Unfortunately I'm not sure what the solution would be.