Thursday, August 14, 2014

Should universities and colleges replace courts for sexual violence and harassment?

Should universities and colleges replace courts for sexual violence and harassment? « Hot Air:
"This is not a new question, and it’s becoming more and more of an issue. It began over three years ago, when the Obama administration sent out a directive to universities and colleges that sexual violence and harassment of any kind violated Title IX laws against gender discrimination. This was an innovation prompted by the later-debunked claim that 1 in every 5 female college students became the victim of sexual violence. "
....Last week, the Boston Globe reported on a lawsuit from a student expelled by the University of Massachusetts at Amherst after a kangaroo-court process found him “responsible” for sexual violence even when none had been specifically alleged:
During a night of drinking, playing card games, and dancing with friends, the two students became friendly and flirted, and she later invited him to her room to have sex, the lawsuit said. They had consensual sex, and the female student at no point showed signs of intoxication, according to the suit.
The next day, the female student could not remember what had happened, according to the lawsuit. At her roommate’s urging, the female student went to the campus health center for an evaluation. The following day, she filed a complaint with the dean of students’ office.
In her written complaint, she never called what happened harassment, assault, or rape, according to the lawsuit.
Three days later, the university told the male 

student he was under investigation for threatening behavior, sexual harassment, sexual misconduct, and violating community living standards, the lawsuit said. He was immediately ordered to move off campus and was barred from the premises except to attend classes, the lawsuit said.
Two months later, the university held a disciplinary hearing, the lawsuit said. But the male student had not been given copies of case documents beforehand, key pieces of evidence were not presented during the hearing, the male student was repeatedly interrupted, and questions he had were ignored, the suit said.
Two days later, the student was told he had been found “responsible” for three violations: “sexual harassment, sexual misconduct and community living standards,” and he would be expelled.
The student’s appeal was denied.

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