“We’re gratified to have it behind us and that once again the innocence of the boys, the young men now, has been reaffirmed,”…Three Duke University lacrosse players and the City of Durham settled a long-running lawsuit Friday, closing another chapter in a case that exposed flaws in the Durham justice system and ended a district attorney’s legal career.
charlotteobserver.com By Anne Blythe
On March 5th, 2016, in Washington, D.C., FACE convened its third Meet and Greet event.
The formal presentations, FACE family sharing sessions, and the Friends of FACE (FOF) seminar provided participants opportunities to build relationships through education and shared experiences. “The Meet and Greet provided exposure to other cases, parents, legal experts, and the opportunity to hear from other students who have had this experience,” said one parent, “it means so much to know we are not alone.”
The Meet and Greet hosted presenters nationally recognized for their expertise in the field, including Stuart Taylor, Jr., Cecil Byrd, Justin Dillon, Kimberly Lau, Eric Rosenberg, and FACE’s own Joseph Roberts. Speakers covered topics including mental health issues such as PTSD and Depression and the devastating emotional impact of being accused, navigation of disciplinary and legal processes after an accusation, a review of relevant legal cases of 2015, and experienced practical advice on how to move forward in school and in life after suffering an accusation. Attorney and FACE board member Eric Rosenberg held a training for volunteers to learn how to help attorneys prepare pro bono research to aid in the defense of students accused of sexual misconduct both on campus and in the courtroom.
FACE family members and friends share nothing in common other than their experience of being accused. They come from all parts of the country and all walks of life, they hold different personal beliefs and political opinions, and they represent the full diversity that American higher education students have to offer.
The Meet and Greet event followed a mass political advocacy campaign by FACE’s members, who used the trip to Washington D.C. as an opportunity to share their stories with sixty-seven representatives in Congress and raise awareness about the frightening legal environment in which accused students find themselves as a result of controversial overreaching mandates by the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights.
FACE looks forward to the day when its efforts will no longer be necessary, and justice on campus will be strong, fair, and transparent. Until then, FACE will continue its dual efforts to bring accused students and their allies together and to pursue political advocacy on their behalf.
Accused students are often isolated and silenced by gag orders, post-traumatic stress, or shame. FACE believes the antidote to their struggle is to bring people together and to give them a voice, and the Meet and Greet event showed the strength of FACE’s community on a national stage.
Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn grilled the department’s acting secretary, Dr. John B. King, about a non-legally binding document issued by the department that has actually carried the force of law. “We do believe that equitable resolution means preponderance of the evidence—” King began to say before Alexander interrupted. “Well who gave you the right to believe that?” Alexander said.
washingtonexaminer.com By Ashe Schow
GOP members of the House and Senate have increasingly started looking into whether the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights has overstepped its bounds and bypassed regulations as it enforces the gender equity law Title IX.
huffingtonpost.com By Tyler Kingkade
Accused students, naively believing that the truth will set them free, are expelled based on no evidence other than an accusation. They are not allowed meaningful due process or any ability to properly defend themselves. Time and time again, schools have bent over backwards to ignore evidence that the accused was innocent. An accused student needs to figure out why he is being wrongly accused and present his case. Knowing that, there are a couple things to do immediately once an accused student receives notice of the accusation.
washingtonexaminer.com By Ashe Schow
“Sexual liberation” is having a nervous breakdown. It is impossible to overstate the growing weirdness of the college sex scene. Campus feminists are demanding that college administrators write highly technical rules for sex, requiring affirmative agreement to participate in each and every action or movement. And they are demanding that college administrators then aggressively enforce these rules, 50 years after the proponents of sexual liberation insisted that college adults stop policing student sexual behavior…This is sex that we’re talking about-doing something that you have no “clear understanding” about does not make it rape, it makes it sex.
newbostonpost.com By Heather MacDonald
Over 100 sexual assault lawsuits alleging lack of due process, sex discrimination, and/or breach of contract have been filed against colleges. While most of these cases are resolved by means of a confidential settlement, some cases are being adjudicated by the courts. Click on the link below to see the cases in which the plaintiff prevailed:
What happens when the campus rape narrative is scientifically proven false? Psychologists deeply invested in their discredited theory launched a crusade of retaliation against the people who proved them wrong, and filed a scientific misconduct case against Dr. Mary Koss. The dispute between Lisak/Hopper and Swartout/Koss may seem academic, but it has major implications for how the public confronts the issue of sexual assault on college campuses.
reason.com By Robby Soave
“An agenda driven propaganda film created by activists with a reckless disregard for the truth.”
“At first I thought they didn’t want me to participate in campus activities. Then I thought they didn’t want me to graduate,” he said. “Now they don’t want me to have a job or be part of society. Do they want me to commit suicide? Is that what they want me to do? What is the endgame?”
washingtonexaminer.com By Ashe Schow