CHANGES to Title IX Rules Will Restore Balance to Every College Student of Every Sex
Women have nothing to fear from the Title IX proposed changes by DeVos’s Dept. of Education. On the contrary, it is a fair process and they stand to gain a lot. The changes to Title IX enforcement are completely common sense, restoring some semblance of justice to the kangaroo court “trials” that have been taking place across America’s campuses for the last several years. Let’s start with a fact that all corners of the political spectrum should be able to face: the old process was not working. The country got a hard look at the campus Title IX environment during the hearings for now-Justice Kavanaugh, and most Americans didn’t like what they saw. Americans recognized that the emotion-soaked melee that has replaced traditional principles of justice is antithetical to the pursuit of truth, and what they saw on display comes directly from the model of university Title IX investigations. Almost 60 percent of men and women no longer think a man accused of sexual misconduct has the presumption of innocence. DeVos’ changes roll back some of the madness and place appropriate boundaries on how allegations of sexual assault at universities can be investigated. For example, the proposed rule reintroduces cross-examination — “the greatest legal engine ever invented for the discovery of truth” — back into the process. Despite fake news from some, this does not mean that accusers will be cross-examined by their alleged assaulters; in fact, the two never even have to be in the same room. Other key changes include banning the increasingly popular but grossly unfair single-investigator model where a single fact finder both examines the facts and renders a decision. The new rule also properly limits the jurisdiction of Title IX to campus and school events, recognizing the reality that while they don’t always act like it, college students are adults for whom universities cannot always be responsible.
thehill.com By Inez Stepman COMMENT on TIX New Rules Here
