US Education Chief Cancels Rules on Sexual Assaults

 

American colleges are deciding whether to change how they investigate sexual assaults after a directive from Education Secretary Betsy DeVos.

Last Friday, DeVos withdrew official guidance on how college and university officials deal with sexual assault cases. Those rules were established during the presidency¹ of Barack Obama.

DeVos became education secretary after Republican Donald Trump² replaced Obama as president. She said the Obama rules used the “lowest standard” of evidence and sometimes denied a fair hearing to students accused of sexual attacks, including rape³.

The Obama administration had called on colleges to use a standard that held a preponderance, or majority, of evidence was enough to decide guilt⁴. Obama’s Education Secretary, Arne Duncan, had said the guidelines were needed because some colleges were not taking sexual assaults and dating violence seriously enough.

DeVos will let colleges choose between the preponderance standard and another measure -- “clear and convincing evidence.” That second standard is harder to meet.

Legal experts say a change in evidence requirements can be important because often no one saw the sexual assault other than the victim and person accused of the attack.

Stephen Schulhofer is an expert on criminal justice issues and a professor at New York University's School of Law.

Schulhofer said that if both the victim and accused make statements, “a preponderance standard requires only a determination which version is more likely to be true.”

“In contrast,” he said, “a clear and convincing standard is much harder to meet, requires real confidence that one version is true, the other not true.”

Stephanie Spangler directs the Office of Health Affairs and Academic Integrity at Yale University in Connecticut.

She said, “We remain committed to policies that effectively address sexual misconduct and processes that are fair to all."

Spangler said she believes that Yale’s current policies meet new requirements announced by DeVos and Connecticut state laws.

Janet Napolitano is president of the University of California system. She formerly⁵ served as Homeland Security Secretary in the Obama administration.

Napolitano said she is “deeply worried” the new rules “will in effect weaken sexual violence protections.”

DeVos said that the Education Department is not backing away from strong actions to stop sexual assault.

“Schools must continue to confront these horrific crimes and behaviors head-on,” DeVos said.

In her announcement last week, she also removed an Obama administration rule that called on colleges to decide sexual assault cases within 60 days.

Some critics had said that 60 days was not enough time for colleges to collect evidence. But others said a 60-day time period was needed so assault victims are not put under more pressure by the accused and their friends to drop charges.

Elizabeth Boyle works with Know Your IX, a group that helps survivors⁶ of sexual assault. She fears the new guidelines will make even more victims of sexual assault unwilling⁷ to report the crimes.

As it is, she said, many victims of sexual assault are afraid to report being attacked for fear that their charges will not be taken seriously.

“These changes will only make things worse,” she added.

Boyle is a student at Notre Dame⁸ University in Indiana.

But the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education said that the Obama administration guidelines made it difficult for people falsely accused of sexual assault to get a fair hearing.

“It made it impossible for campuses to serve the needs of victims while also respecting the rights of the accused,” said Robert Shibley, the group’s director.

Now, he said, the U.S. finally has the chance “to get it right.”

DeVos said the Education Department will spend the next few months developing new rules on sexual assault through a public process.

She said the department will not allow sexual assault to be "swept under the rug." By swept under the rug, she meant hiding something to avoid looking bad.

In a series of questions and answers sent to college officials, the Education Department said it is looking for fair treatment of both sexual assault victims and people accused of such attacks.

"Any process made available to one party…should be made equally available to the other party,” the department said in one answer. It noted⁹ that both the victim of sexual assault and the person accused should be able to bring the advisor¹⁰ of their choice to hearings.

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Words in This Story

assault - n. the crime of trying or threatening to hurt someone physically¹¹

standard - n. a level of quality, achievement, etc., that is considered acceptable or desirable

dating – adj. of or related to meeting someone for a social outing

convincing - adj. causing someone to believe that something is true or certain

confidence - n. a belief that a statement is true

address - v. to deal with a problem

confront - v. to deal with a problem in a direct and forceful way

1 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

2 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

3 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

4 guilt   

n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责

参考例句：

• She tried to cover up her guilt by lying.她企图用谎言掩饰自己的罪行。
• Don't lay a guilt trip on your child about schoolwork.别因为功课责备孩子而使他觉得很内疚。

5 formerly   

adv.从前，以前

参考例句：

• We now enjoy these comforts of which formerly we had only heard.我们现在享受到了过去只是听说过的那些舒适条件。
• This boat was formerly used on the rivers of China.这船从前航行在中国内河里。

6 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

7 unwilling   

adj.不情愿的

参考例句：

• The natives were unwilling to be bent by colonial power.土著居民不愿受殖民势力的摆布。
• His tightfisted employer was unwilling to give him a raise.他那吝啬的雇主不肯给他加薪。

8 dame   

n.女士

参考例句：

• The dame tell of her experience as a wife and mother.这位年长妇女讲了她作妻子和母亲的经验。
• If you stick around,you'll have to marry that dame.如果再逗留多一会，你就要跟那个夫人结婚。

9 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

10 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

11 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。