Despite U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos’ proposed changes to federal sexual assault policy, Boston University students should not anticipate any major changes to the way the university handles sexual misconduct cases.
DeVos issued new guidelines on Friday granting colleges greater discretion on how to investigate and adjudicate cases of sexual assault under Title IX. She also rescinded two executive letters from the Obama administration, as well as guidance information from 2001, informing colleges on how to handle sexual assault allegations.
BU spokesperson Colin Riley pointed out that because DeVos’ new guidelines are currently just interim suggestions, there won’t be any immediate changes on campus.
“Until there is final guidance, [DeVos’ directive] remains unclear,” Riley wrote in an email. “That said, the university will continue to provide full support and services to students who need it. We will follow the university’s policies and practices in ensuring a fair and thorough process to adjudicate any allegation of sexual misconduct.”
BU law professor Naomi Mann, who worked as a civil rights attorney for the Department of Education during the Obama administration, said DeVos’ interim guidance may be offering students accused of sexual misconduct more protection than they had under the 2001 guidance at the expense of the victims.
DeVos’ interim guidance stipulated that gag orders will no longer be enforced on both parties involved in a sexual assault case, Mann said, which could potentially create a hostile environment for victims.
“If schools lift the prohibition on talking to people,” Mann said, “what could very easily happen is worry is going to spread about it and it’s a classic hostile environment liability waiting to happen … People start asking the victim what happened, she starts feeling that it’s a hostile environment and the school has then opened themselves up to that liability.”
Mann added that under Obama’s policies, victims of sexual misconduct were empowered in a way that may no longer be possible under the new guidelines.
“In the system under the Obama administration, where they were really encouraging and allowing for conditions in which victims could report sexual assault, a lot of really important conversations were happening,” Mann said. “There was a lot of really positive movement for individuals in the community to really be talking about sexual assault and what it means.”
DeVos’ interim policy could be tipping the scales unfairly when it comes to sexual misconduct allegations, Mann said. The goal is not to give any one side an advantage — the goal should be justice in the way the case is handled, she added.
“It’s really about what’s fair,” Mann said. “It’s not about taking one side or the other. It’s about fairness and equal access to [sexual assault] education.”
BU students expressed mixed perspectives on DeVos’ updated sexual misconduct policy.
Eric Hansen, a College of Communication sophomore, said he thinks the new guidance could offer important protections for students who are falsely accused.
“In some aspects, I think [the new guidance] is a good idea because the consequences for somebody who falsely accused another person aren’t very great,” Hansen said. “[The consequences for] somebody who is accused … if they were found guilty … is much greater than [that of] the person who falsely accused them if it’s ever come to light that they were falsely accusing.”
Valerie Garcia, a COM freshman, said she does not like the changes the new interim guidance promotes.
“They shouldn’t go forward with this [guidance],” Garcia said, “because if they do, sexual assault victims are not going to get the justice they deserve.”
Lily Burchell, a College of Arts and Sciences freshman, said she disapproves with the Department of Education’s new guidelines.
“I’m personally more against it because I think that sexual assault is something that happens a lot on campuses,” Burchell said, “and it’s already hard enough to prove when it happens. It’s really tough for the victims to have to go through trials and testify and everything.”
Shaun was the Editor-in-Chief for the Spring 2019 semester. Before that, he was the Multimedia Editor, the Layout Editor and a News writer. He also sat on the Board of Directors. Follow him on Twitter @shaun_robs.
