Democratic Senators Call Out Fraternities For Wanting Fair Investigations In Campus Sexual Assault Cases
Two Democratic senators are pressuring Greek organizations over a bill that could determine who investigates sexual assault allegations.
Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) held a conference call with reporters on Thursday over the Safe Campus Act, a bill regarding who can do what when sexual assault allegations arise. This is the same bill former Senate Majority Leader/Mississippi Republican Trent Lott is lobbying for.
From Slate:
The so-called Safe Campus Act would prevent colleges and universities from taking action to make their campuses safer under Title IX after a sexual assault unless the victim made an official report to law enforcement. Even then, the university would not be able to enact final disciplinary measures against the perpetrator until the police finished their investigation—a process that could take months or years, during which the perpetrator could remain on campus.
So, essentially, due process for the accused student or students. Insane, right?
McCaskill, a former Kappa Alpha Theta at the University of Missouri, sent three Mizzou fraternities letters recently asking why their nationals supported this bill.
Not surprisingly, McCaskill and Gillibrand are co-sponsoring a competing bill, the Campus Accountability and Safety Act, or CASA. That bill says, in short, that universities can investigate and take disciplinary actions against students accused of sexual assault even when the law enforcement investigation isn’t complete or even when police aren’t involved.
That is a scary notion.
Sexual assault allegations are messy no matter how you look at them. I have personally seen it time and time again: students lives absolutely ruined due to one false sexual allegation claim. The accusation comes up, the university catches wind of it, the fraternity is forced to kick the student out, the university “investigates” and expels the student, only for the accuser to admit in court that they weren’t raped and only made it up so they didn’t have to come clean about cheating on their boyfriend.
The evidence for the accusations doesn’t even need to be that strong for universities to suspend students or fraternities first and then, maybe, ask questions later. Universities’ reputations are at stake when any rape allegations arise, and it’s in their best interest to distance themselves ASAP.
Let’s leave the investigations up to the police. They’re good at more than just handing out MIPs..
[via Slate]
Image via Twitter
Read title IX and it’s a joke even professors will admit it. Your lawyer can’t help you. They don’t have to turn evidence over so you have no idea what you’re up against. The investigator is “impartial” and determines whether you are guilty or not based off of “whatever they feel is most true” they also will exclude as much evidence as possible if it could indicate you are innocent and add anything to show you’re guilty. Hearsay evidence which would be inadmissible in court is also allowed (if you’re the defense then it is usually left out if it supports your side). You’re left in limbo for up to 60 business days waiting to find out what’s going to happen with your life ,this doesn’t include the time it takes for student conduct to meet with you or set up an ethics board. Basically if any girl decided to wreck a guy’s life she can walk into the title 9 office pretend to cry and say she was raped, name her friends as witnesses and if any of them say anything that slightly supports her claim you’ll be expelled. Same goes if your ex claims you hit her or made her fear for her safety. Thank you feminism!
10 years ago at 2:35 pmBeing falsely accused of rape is infuriating and you’re completely right, helpless and guilty until proven innocent. Worse, you aren’t allowed to provide witnesses to your own case. Long story short, don’t accidentally bang the wrong twin sister so she doesn’t claim rape to make her sister forgive her.
10 years ago at 11:50 pmFalse accusations of sexual assault are a real issue and can ruin someone’s life even if it doesn’t get to the school. I was recently expelled from my fraternity because some people thought I sexually assaulted someone even though she’s been adamant that it wasn’t a sexual assault and the university isn’t going to do anything. If my life can still be flipped upside down by an accusation that never came to fruition, it really scares me that people are not going to be allowed due process for such a serious accusation at a level higher than within the chapter.
10 years ago at 2:36 pmThat’s tough man. People keep their mouths shut on shit like this this that they know is fundamentally wrong because we all have a kind of “It’s your head not mine” instinct. The problem is that the more cases like this we allow to happen, the more it becomes the norm, and soon it is all of our heads.
10 years ago at 5:01 pmWait, I’m confused. Aren’t these the same people who claim that 90% of all rape accusations are true? So why should they suddenly have a problem with this actually going to the courts?
10 years ago at 2:41 pmThere will never be a rapist in SAE
10 years ago at 2:44 pmYou can hang em’ out to dry, cause’ they exploited title nine
There will never be a rapist in SAE
10 years ago at 4:33 pmWhat bothers me is that these laws apply to public schools. State funded schools. Government shouldn’t allow schools to come up with their own Kangaroo court, because it’s inadvertently government rule but without the training or lawfulness of an actual court. Could you imagine presenting a case against a liberal board of questioners who already hate Greek life?
10 years ago at 3:07 pmThat is just the type of logical response I’d expect from a Libertarian and I couldn’t agree more. Well said.
10 years ago at 4:41 pmmy a
10 years ago at 3:40 pmzmt
#fratlivesmatter
10 years ago at 3:44 pmMcCaskill has always been an unethical piece of shit. She’s got enough skeletons in her own personal life–I sure wish somebody would take that bitch on.
10 years ago at 7:44 pmThe main problem with Title IX is who is conducting the investigations. The “Title IX Coordinators” at my college are the Vice President for Strategy, Administration, & Board Affairs, Deputy HR Director, and the Assistant Athletic Director. None of the aforementioned have any law enforcement experience, nor do they have any connection with Greek Life. Title IX also requires a preponderance of evidence as an evidentiary standard. It prohibits the use of evidence beyond a reasonable doubt, so a college can ruin a student, most usually man’s, life without the same evidentiary standard used in a court of law.
10 years ago at 9:36 pm