COURT RULING: Judge Orders RPI to Stop Violating the Constitutional Rights of John Doe
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute attempted to punish a male student from a different school, and a recent court ruling against RPI sheds light on their appalling behavior. The story begins in 2015 when Doe, a graduate student at a school that is not RPI, was in a relationship with an RPI student. When their relationship ended the RPI student filed a Title IX complaint with RPI against Doe. As the court would later observe, the alleged conduct at issue “took place off campus and was not in anyway related to an educational program or activity of RPI.” Despite this, RPI launched an investigation of Doe and interviewed him. Doe’s attorneys argued that RPI had no jurisdiction over Doe and that, even if it did, its disciplinary process was flawed. Doe-v-RPI The court ruled that RPI went too far in asserting jurisdiction over Doe and subjecting him to its disciplinary process. Per the ruling, a New York state court judge stated RPI’s interview of Doe constituted “a clear violation of Doe’s constitutional rights,” deemed RPI’s conduct “arbitrary” and “capricious,” and annulled RPI’s finding that Doe had sexually assaulted an RPI student.
RPI makes Title IX applicable to non students thefire.org By B. Madway
