Dive Brief:
- The Philadelphia Inquirer reports on a lawsuit filed against the University of Pennsylvania by a male student who says the school's investigation of a rape claim against him was gender biased and discriminatory in execution.
- The accused says he was not afforded a statement of charges until being informed of a recommendation for his expulsion, and he contends investigators changed elements of the accusation to make what he calls consensual sex seem to be more of a criminal act.
- An attorney for the accused says race may play a factor in the case, as the accused is a black male and the alleged victim a white female.
Dive Insight:
This suit is among several currently in judicial review and centered around the legitimacy of "preponderance of evidence," a campus judiciary standard which only requires that an accusation be "51% more likely than not" of having occurred as a violation of student conduct policy. This standard, which is separate and apart from criminal proceedings, allows campuses the benefit of sanctions without the need for a decision to be yielded in court.
However, given the nature of such claims, social media and other factors relative to rape on campus, many students are finding that unnecessary or incidental exposure of identity or actions associated with the accused is as much of a Title IX violation as the ignoring of a rape charge itself.