CIVIL RIGHTS UPDATE: DeVos sets stage to rewrite Obama-era sexual assault guidance.
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on Thursday blasted President Obama’s sexual assault policy for failing to foster an environment of safety and fairness on college campuses.
“We need to get this right,” DeVos told reporters following her meeting with sexual assault victims and those who have been wrongly accused under the current policy, saying that federal guidance should take both the victim and the accused into account.
“No student should feel that the scales are tipped against him or her.” Tweet This
“No student should be the victim of sexual assault. No student should feel unsafe,” she declared. “No student should feel like there isn’t a way to seek justice, and no student should feel that the scales are tipped against him or her.”
President Trump’s administration has indicated openness to reforming the current sexual assault guidance in light of criticism that it violates the due-process rights of the accused.
The Office of Civil Rights’ “Dear Colleague Letter,” a document that outlined certain school policy expectations when it comes to sexual assault on college campuses, is said to be the primary culprit behind the ineffective trial system adopted by most universities around the country.
Report crimes against persons and property to the police. Use the student-conduct system for things like cheating and plagiarism.
Related: Professor calls DeVos “a powerful handmaiden to a hegemonic white supremacist capitalist patriarchy.” It’s weird that feminists in the 21st century seem to be living in a mediocre 1980s novel. But this type of talk isn’t exactly going to build a wave of popular opposition to reform.