touch and be touched

nearness vary in some degree. I think it correlates closely enough with the degree we know people around us. it is unlikely people that feel satisfaction at going in the overcrowded public transport. we choose those whom we want to hug, even if do that spontaneously. these days I notice some kind of dependence of nearness in people’s behaviour .. what does that indicate? there are a lot of people holding hands, hugging, kissing even if they are not very close with each other, this becomes as ritual, let’s say you meet someone and hug or kiss. is the loneliness expressed this way? why do we want such close contact?

to put it briefly…

it happened last week and brought different and equivocal feelings not just to me, but also to my group mates I am studying with. the opinions distribute according to the saying “taste differs”..

last week we had a new professor to deliver a lecture. and that was the most unusual lecture I have ever had. he started as every new don- introduced himself, said a few words on the plan we were going to cover, etc. and then turned to one of my group mate ( as we were sitting aroung, like in a circle) and asked her name, she answered, then he asked whether she could see the biggest key on his compiuter’s keyboard and took her hand helping her to press that key. and this was just a beginning, then he turned to the other side, touched other girl’s knee and asked her to read what was posted on the screen. and this lasted almost for 3 hours.. in the beginning some of us laughed.. and after each laughter he used to say “the ones who laugh the loudest will have to take off their trousers first”. as the auditorium was quite small and the air was getting stuffy someone asked to open the window and he just replied “disrobe/ undress”. maybe his words could be considered to be jokes if not the touching: as I wrote he turned to one or another side and touched those girls’ hands, knees or hips and when giving out the syllabi he touched some girls shoulders- I was among “those lucky ones” as well..

well, some my group mates thought this was fun, also that he had no “bad thoughts” on his mind and was just joking.. others considered this to be harassment.
what do you think? would this be acceptable for you? is this the way you would like to be touched? where is the line between inappropriate and right?

please let me know, I will appreciate your answers.