FEDS INVESTIGATING Northwestern’s Title IX Process After 2 Males Claim Gender Bias & Failure of Due Process
The U.S. Education Department is investigating claims that Northwestern failed to offer due process to two men accused of sexual misconduct against female students. The complainants are asking for corrective actions and reversals of apparent action taken against them as a result of Northwestern’s investigations. One accuses the University of engaging “in the gender-biased practice of ‘always believing the victim.’” The complaint also accuses the University of violating Education Department guidelines for investigations of sexual misconduct.
The grievances are detailed in documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act. Citing FOIA exemptions for an “unwarranted invasion of personal privacy,” The Education Department redacted 50 of 73 documents they found relevant to the request and heavily redacted others. The remaining content details common grievances by due process advocates that college Title IX processes, including at Northwestern, unfairly disadvantage males.
The news comes amid an expected overhaul of Title IX procedures at college campuses across the country. In November, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos unveiled a proposal of the regulations that would bolster the rights of the accused with measures like cross-examination and the repeal of the so-called single-investigator model. Northwestern administrators have said they support much of the agency’s attempt to make the process equitable, though they share some concerns with students, including the potentially harmful effects of requiring cross-examination.
Men’s rights groups and due process advocates like the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education [and Families Advocating for Campus Equality] have criticized colleges for disregarding fair processes and discriminating against men. DeVos’s proposal seeks to address those criticisms by strengthening due process rights to those accused of sexual misconduct.
This isn’t the first time Northwestern has been denounced for alleged flawed investigative procedures. In 2017, Communication Prof. Laura Kipnis penned a book in which she referred to NU’s Title IX process as “kangaroo courts.” Later that year, an expelled student sued the University claiming “grievous mishandling” of a sexual assault investigation and gender bias. The complaints that prompted the Education Department to open investigations into Northwestern’s Title IX process in October 2018 mirror those criticisms.
dailynorthwestern– Alan Perez
