Please read, absolutely disgusting.
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Thank you for sharing. It is an enlightening view of the Title IX process, at least in this case. So shocking that the school itself would not upheld its own explicitly stated policy about alcohol and lack of consent. Iâm glad she is still fighting and telling her story.
As in the comments on the article, I wonder too why criminal charges were not pursued, this isnât mentioned. I suppose it is the victimâs choice whether to pursue criminal charges? Or perhaps forgoing those is part of the Title IX process (I surely hope not, I just donât know).
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I read the story. Colleges are a reflection of society. The rich and connected get what they want (feel they deserve). The author was fortunate to be able to afford a private attorney, but I am guessing Râs daddy was more powerful.
I was tangentially involved in Title IX cases while working at a college. My coworker came to me to ask questions because her D, at another school, was a victim. That school did nothing. I explained the regulations & encouraged her to hire a lawyer. She did, and her D was able to move her case forward. Like R, the young man didnât end up being held as accountable as he should have been, but it was better than the nothing that had been done before the lawyer got involved. Had my coworker not been able to afford a lawyer, nothing at all would have been done. This was prior to the last administration, which actually weakened the Title IX regulations.
Itâs an issue at all schools. It was not so easy being involved in Title IX investigations, either. I think many schools donât take it as seriously as they should, in terms of devoting time & money to training staff - until they get in trouble.
The bottom line for me, though, is that society has to do better when raising boys. The whole boys will be boys thing needs to just go away. But I donât see that happening. I can only hope that the next generation is better at holding perpetrators responsible than mine has been.
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The victim can pursue both criminal and Title IX cases. Many victims choose not to pursue criminal charges because our system makes it even harder to get criminal justice in these cases than it is to get Title IX justice.
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It is an important point that lawyers (ie $$$$$) makes a big difference. It was also enlightening that the victim had to spend some much time and effort on her Title IX case that she had to withdraw from classesâŠthe system shouldnât work that way, and not everyone is able to pay that price.
I know consent is talked about at my public school (middle school level and up) and both of my college kids had consent training as a part of their college orientation. I hope this isnât just âlip serviceâ from the colleges but it is a start. The entire concept of consent was not talked about it all, in school or in society, during my school years.
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The prosecutor has to be convinced to bring a criminal case. They are hesitant to do so because in cases like these (he said/she said, alcohol use, college students, etc.), itâs tough to get a conviction. Thereâs a lot of pressure not to waste time & money on cases that are unlikely to win. Often, a student-victimâs only recourse is to go through Title IX & the university.
A friend of my daughterâs had almost this same scenario happen to her in her dorm room during freshman year. Similarly, she received no justice and no action by the university to remove her rapist from campus. Although almost 10 years old (?), the documentary, âThe Hunting Groundâ is a horrifying and sobering account of how these cases are handled (or mishandled) at some of the most elite universities in our country. After the documentary was released, many universities made noise about doing more to protect women students but in most cases these measures are overshadowed by universityâs ultimate desire to protect itself from liability. They do just enough to check off the âreasonable duty to provide a safe environmentâ box. They are sufficiently âlawyered upâ and able to weather potential lawsuits brought by victims, most of whom lack the funds to endure a years-long lawsuit.
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The often murky circumstances probably also mean that college administrations dealing with such cases under Title IX probably botch the job often, since they are likely to be less knowledgeable about investigations, evidence, and forensics than police and prosecutors (who may not always be doing that great a job) are.
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I hope people will callâespecially alumni and parents of current or prospective Vanderbilt studentsâthe Chancellorâs office and the Title IX office. Itâs important to let them know that a student who has been found responsible for raping a fellow student should be permanently expelled, not just temporarily, and that they should not be granted a Vanderbilt degree.
I certainly donât want any student unknowingly coming into contact with this unidentified young man on campus, whether it is now or in the future, whether in their dorm or in their classes. This is especially relevant with this individual since there is a possibility that he is a serial rapistâas Franâs editorial outlines, another student came forward with similar allegations against this same person. There simply is no meaningful way that Vanderbilt can guarantee that students are safe around him.
Vanderbilt needs to know that this isnât okay. Itâs not okay to put other kids in danger when they themselves have determined that this young man has raped at least one student.
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Yes!
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Hi. If you could please comment this on the article itself that would be greatly appreciated. Same for everyone else, please comment on the article!
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The comment button will be on right side of the webpage.
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Vanderbilt is off the list then. I will not send my daughter there knowing there is at least one serial rapist roaming the campus. Shame oh you, Vanderbilt.
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Sadly, this is most likely the case at every college campus. Make sure you have a very frank discussion about the dangers that are out there. I was very open and honest about things with my D before she went off to college. Arming our daughters with knowledge is really important.
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This is so disgusting. I always regraded Vandy has one of the finest institutions but reading comments on the article it seems there is a culture of âsexual misconductâ and protecting the perpetuators. It just does not seem safe for women
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Was the crime reported to the state police? Why werenât any official charges filed?
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My money is on Râs mother being the defender, as the women in this NYT piece have done.
âOne mother, Judith, said her son had been expelled after having sex with a student who said she had been too intoxicated to give consent.
âIn my generation, what these girls are going through was never considered assault,â Judith said. âIt was considered, âI was stupid and I got embarrassed.ââ
If the victim were willing to give up her anonymity, she could probably do much more to punish both the rapist and Vanderbilt than a plea in a school newspaper that no one will ever read.
She has a guilty verdict she can shop around to national TV shows, creating bad publicity for Vanderbilt, and creating a permanent online footprint of the rapistâs actions.
But no matter how much anyone is punished, she must live with the horror of that night forever. One of the outcomes must be the recognition that alcohol is a drug, and that drinking alcohol is âdoing drugs.â Donât do drugs.
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This is victim blaming.
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You should do some digging on all the colleges your daughter is considering (and watch the documentary I referenced above). Vanderbilt is not an outlier. Most colleges also wonât take action to isolate the accused from his accuser during the case evaluation and trial process (which in my daughterâs friendâs case, took almost her whole 4 years of college). Can you imagine the anxiety associated with the thought that you could run into your attacker at the campus coffee shop or gym?
Statistics on sexual assaults and rankings on how colleges handle them arenât something youâll see on Niche or USNWR. Even if many people read the article, itâs doubtful that applications to Vanderbilt will decline because of it (but I applaud those who truly do take them out of the running.) Justifications will be made because the victim was highly intoxicated and âmy kid would never put herself in that situationâ (victim blaming) - but sexual assaults not involving alcohol happen too.
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Colleges arenât equipped to handle criminal cases. Students who are victims of crimes should be encouraged to report it to the proper authorities. Schools have a vested interest in the outcome of Title IX cases. Too many ânot guiltyâ verdicts of young men puts their federal aid in jeopardy which puts truly innocent young men in jeopardy.
Was this young woman tested to see if anything was slipped into her drink? She should have been.
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Do colleges share metrics around Title iX cases? trends over years? processed vs new etc.
Is there any site where one can see such data?