Wella (457 posts) http://www.democraticunderground.com/10025792198
When a Student Confides a Rape, Should a Professor Have to Report It?
In California, K-12 teachers are mandatory reporters of all kinds of abuse, including sexual abuse. Many colleges are extended this responsibility (though not a legal obligation) to college professors.
This should be interesting.
Vattel (5,084 posts)
1. Yes they should
Donald Ian Rankin (11,600 posts)
2. No, absolutely not, unless the student is a minor. Adult rape victims (by which in this context I mean anyone over 18, at least) should be allowed to make their own decisions about whom they do and don't tell, and they should be able to seek help and support from professors without having to tell the police if they don't want to.
kcr (7,891 posts)
51. They have to consider the safety of other students. If they don't report it it puts other students in danger. Edited to clarify that I'm talking about if the report is involving another student or faculty member.
Vattel (5,084 posts)
3. Obama's Education Dept has been threatening to withhold funding from universities if they do not ignore due process for those accused of sexual harassment or sexual assault. This is the sort of disrespect for the Bill of Rights that I have come to expect from Obama.
Wait a second... WHAT? E.D. is wanting the colleges to NOT follow due process for sexual assault? Why whould they want that?
geek tragedy (41,745 posts)
11. Now you are just making shit up. Unless you have evidence to support your wackadoodle claim that Obama is withholding Title IX funds unless states rewrite their criminal statutes.
Definitely in Ted Cruz territory here.
WHAT?
Vattel (5,084 posts)
16. You missed my point.
I assume that you don't think that we should eliminate due process for criminal defendants in sexual assault cases. Obama is not suggesting that we should, of course. But Obama's department of education is forcing universities to ignore due process for those threatened with expulsion or termination in campus investigations of sexual harassment or sexual assault. And you are all for that.
WHAT!? Is anyone getting what this DUmpmonkey is saying?
geek tragedy (41,745 posts)
27. So, your complaint is that the new rule is that if it is more likely than not that a man raped a classmate, he should be the one to leave rather than her.
Boo ****ing hoo.
You will not find many progressives siding with your rw invocation of the bill of rights in an attempt to keep campuses consequence-free zones for rapists.
Now men will have to show about 1/100 the care women have to.
Note that the letter you linked to was re: sexual harassment and classroom activities, in other words academic freedom.
I am not aware the Republican platform is ALLOW RAPE ON CAMPUS!!!
moriah (4,617 posts)
38. Do you really think there is no justice for men under university policies?
An expulsion is a hell of a lot kinder than prison, which is what they would have gotten if the victim went to the cops instead.
Most of those "boards" are a joke and the victims are actively deterred from filing criminal charges.
I think that the DUmpmonkey is saying that Barry's Ed Dept is saying expell the 'criminals' prior to any proof that they are in fact 'criminals'. I think that's what it's saying...
geek tragedy (41,745 posts)
50. So you think justice is served by forcing the university
to act as if rape victims are lying if it's more likely than not that they're telling the truth, and forcing them to choose between being around their rapist or withdrawing and leaving campus themselves.
Crystal clear which gender's rights concern you.
Fortunately, President Obama is more progressive than you on this count.
So- you think justice is served if someone is accused of rape they are kicked out of college without any evidence at all being presented?
branford (1,149 posts)
56. Defendants are not rapists until convicted. "Alleged" is a very powerful word.
Individuals accused of rape have the same protections as any other criminal defendant, regardless of whether rape is difficult to prove in court, particularly in state run colleges and universities.
How about we let the criminal and civil justice system deal with alleged rapes? A university campus is not exempt from the requirements the rest of society must obey. If a rape is alleged, the university should report it to the police and local district attorney. College administrators lack the requisite training, expertise or legal mandate to essentially prosecute criminal rape allegations. More importantly, the most essential constitutional protections such as presumption of innocence, right to representation, cross-examination of witness, due process, etc., cannot, and should not, be sacrificed simply to tilt the scales of justice in favor of preferred social outcomes.
In fact, many universities are now being sued because of the ridiculous standards and procedures demanded by the Department of Education, as as these cases progress, the universities are losing badly or settling for large sums, often paid from the public purse.
geek tragedy (41,745 posts)
12. You are the one claiming without evidence that he
is doing away with due process.
Just like the Ted Cruz crowd does.
Here is a hint: preponderance of the evidence is not a violation of due process if there is no risk of incarceration.
this monkey really doesn't like Ted Cruz.
alcibiades_mystery (30,966 posts)
66. My take as a professor
I am a tenured professor. If a student reported a rape to me, I would immediately follow the protocols of the university on reporting sexual assault, which does indeed mean reporting the alleged assault to university and police officials. It wouldn't even be a question. I believe that there should be mandatory reporting enshrined as state law for university teachers, precisely so that there would be no question of choice in the matter, and that students would also know professors to be mandatory reporters.
What is being described in the article, to some extent, is the idea that professors should act as private counselors for students. That's incorrect. I am not trained to be a counselor of any kind, much less a sexual violence counselor. I am not a depression counselor. I am not a counselor. Students, however, do indeed treat their professors this way - as informal counselors. But it is a misunderstanding of the mentoring relationship.
Mandatory reporter status would actually remove a burden from professors by removing the appearance of an informal counseling relationship on these issues. AAUP should recognize that.
Wella (457 posts)
73. So you'd report it to the university power structure before the young woman goes to the real police? As a tenured professor, you must know that the administration is not really about the protection of the students but about the protection of the university and its reputation.
Well, who has made the entire world afraid of litigation?
