Student Union
- By VOA News
Rights Protection Group Sues US Over New Campus Sex Assault Rules
Saying Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has created a double standard that is devastating for survivors of sexual harassment and assault, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a lawsuit Thursday to block recently published rules on handling campus assaults.
The rule changes published last week "slash schools' obligations to respond to reports of sexual harassment and assault" and create a "second-class standard for reports of sexual harassment and assault," the lawsuit claims.
The ACLU filed the suit on behalf of four advocacy groups, including Know Your IX (a reference to the 1972 education law known as Title IX) and Stop Sexual Assault in Schools, to block DeVos' rule changes before they are implemented August 14.
"Betsy DeVos has created a double standard that is devastating for survivors of sexual harassment and assault, who are overwhelmingly women and girls. We are suing to make sure this double standard never takes effect," Ria Tabacco Mar, director of the ACLU's Women's Rights Project, said in a statement.
The U.S. Education Department issued the new rules that modify Title IX, a law that prohibits "discrimination based on sex in education programs or activities that receive federal financial assistance."
The new provisions bolster the rights of due process of the accused, reduce legal liabilities for schools and colleges, and narrow the scope of cases schools will be required to investigate.
DeVos argued that the new rules would replace policies from the Obama administration that pressured schools to violate the rights of accused students.
"This new regulation requires schools to act in meaningful ways to support survivors of sexual misconduct, without sacrificing important safeguards to ensure a fair and transparent process. We can and must continue to fight sexual misconduct in our nation's schools, and this rule makes certain that fight continues," she said in a statement last week.
The ACLU and law firm Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP challenged her assertion, saying in a released statement that, "the rule subjects reports of sexual harassment to a different and more skeptical review than reports of harassment based on race, national origin, or disability," and will lead to 32% fewer reports of sexual harassment and assault.
The suit also argues that under the new rule, schools will not be required to investigate alleged sexual assault incidents that happen off-campus or during a study abroad program. A study published five months ago by the American Psychological Association found that students experience a significantly increased risk of rape and other forms of sexual assault while studying abroad in non-English-speaking countries.
"The new Title IX regulations are a blatant threat to the years of work to create safe, supportive academic environments for students across the gender spectrum," Ashley Sawyer, a policy director at Girls for Gender Equity, said in a statement. "We want to do everything we can to ensure that the true spirit and original intent of Title IX remains, to ensure that everyone has meaningful access to education, without being hindered by sexual violence."
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One group of students in Oregon built a for-profit snowboarding business as part of their degree. Colleen Flaherty reports. (April 2024)
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US college students face muted graduations amid Gaza war protests
Commencement ceremonies are being scaled back or canceled at U.S. universities because of security concerns over pro-Palestinian student protests. While some campus demonstrations have resulted in concessions, others have led to violent confrontations. VOA’s Tina Trinh has the story from New York.
- By Melos Ambaye
Police arrest 33 at George Washington University protest encampment
Police in Washington cleared a pro-Palestinian protest encampment at George Washington University early Wednesday, arresting 33 people, authorities said.
Arrests were made on charges of assault on a police officer and unlawful entry, the District of Columbia's Metropolitan Police Department said.
A congressional committee canceled a hearing on the university encampment Wednesday. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and Washington Police Chief Pamela Smith had been scheduled to testify about the city’s handling of the protest before the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability.
University parents and faculty members gathered Wednesday afternoon for a press conference to condemn the handling of the protests by police and school leaders.
“The university clearly does not value the students at all and has endangered the safety of our children by unleashing officers dressed in full riot gear to assault and spray our children in their eyes with pepper spray,” said Hala Amer, whose son participated in the campus protests.
Police said they dispersed demonstrators because "there has been a gradual escalation in the volatility of the protest."
American University professor Barbara Wien said she stayed in the encampment with GW students. She described the student protesters as democratic and peaceful.
Police started to shut down the tent encampment after dozens of protesters marched to GW President Ellen Granberg's on-campus home on Tuesday night. Police were called, but no arrests were made.
Speakers at the conference called for Granberg’s resignation because, they alleged, she refused to meet and negotiate with student protesters.
“You keep inciting violence and ignoring the students,” Amer said about Granberg in an interview with VOA after the conference. “It will just lead to more violence. You need to talk to your students.”
GW officials warned students that they could be suspended for engaging in protests at the school’s University Yard, an outdoor spot on the campus.
"While the university is committed to protecting students' rights to free expression, the encampment had evolved into an unlawful activity, with participants in direct violation of multiple university policies and city regulations," a GW statement said.
More than 2,600 people have been arrested at universities across the country in pro-Palestinian protests, according to The Associated Press.
Students are calling on their university administrations to divest investments from Israel or companies with ties to Israel. Demonstrators have gathered in at least 50 campuses since April 17, carrying signs that read "Free Palestine" and "Hands off Rafah."
Rafah is Gaza’s southernmost city, where most of the territory’s population has clustered. The area is also a corridor for bringing humanitarian aid into the Palestinian territory.
Israel seized the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing on Tuesday, while shutting off the nearby Kerem Shalom crossing, drawing criticism from humanitarian groups. Israel said Wednesday that it had reopened Kerem Shalom.
The nationwide campus protests started in response to Israel's offensive in Gaza that began after Hamas launched a terror attack on Israel on October 7, killing about 1,200 people and taking roughly 250 hostages.
More than 34,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's offensive, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Israel warned it could "deepen" its operation in Rafah if talks failed to secure the release of the hostages.
Some information for this report came from The Associated Press.
- By VOA News
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