Why do Universities in the United States deal with Rape Accusations?

NemosHero · 2013-06-03T21:09:20+00:00

Honestly it is bullshit and something feminists are right about. It's to cover their asses. By having control of the gheist of sexual assault they get to determine the face they present the world, specifically that they are perfectly safe and never have to deal with crime.

Ma99ie · 2013-06-03T23:22:47+00:00

Feminism.

pcarvious · 2013-06-03T23:29:36+00:00

Because universities don't want outside entities interfering with the campus life. They also have their own rules and regulations that they want to enforce. Make no.mistake though, the primary reason is image control. Half the shit that gets you a reprimand at college isn't illegal but is politically incorrect. If people start seeing that a school has a Rep for rapes, sexual assaults, student misconduct, etc then they're going to not be considered safe for college kids to go to.

rightsbot · 2013-06-03T21:04:17+00:00

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2013-06-03T23:37:43+00:00

That's a damn good question. What ever happened to a functioning court system?

Nomenimion · 2013-06-03T21:47:21+00:00

It's so they can give the falsely accused the shaft, even when the case stinks so badly that even the police won't touch it.

2013-06-04T02:10:56+00:00

Its stupid, rape is a very serious offence and having a university taking care of the acusation is wrong for everyone because their procedures fail to both ensure due process for the accused and lack the ability to proporly investigate to find the culprit.

mikesteane · 2013-06-04T05:40:22+00:00

I would also question why universities are allowed to award degrees. These institutions are training providers and are not independent of the people whom they assess for qualifications. They should either provide training or assess for qualifications. Its time these obsolete institutions were seriously reigned in.

2013-06-04T10:10:40+00:00

I think a lot of it has to do with housing. Americans usually live on campus while studying, right? Maybe it's a sort of boarding school spirit, that what their students are doing is their responsibility, reflects on them, if it's bad then maybe people won't send their children there, etc.

I'm not sure how that works in the UK, actually. Kind of embarrassing, I probably should. But here in Norway, anyway, students don't live on campus. The closest thing would be student association subsidized housing, and even that is mostly a good distance away from campus.

Also, funding. Our living costs are covered by government student loans rather than parents (not so much anymore in Britain, I understand, that sucks :( ). This means parents have less say about where you go to study. If bad things happens to students in Oslo (and they sometimes do), that this reflected poorly on the university would occur to few prospective students. You probably feel a lot more in control of your personal security in a rented apartement than in boarding school-like conditions, whether you actually are or not.

TytalusWarden · 2013-06-04T20:49:42+00:00

If you were going to certify that someone is of good judgement and sound moral fortitude wouldn't you want to make sure they didn't commit an egregious violation of either of those statements?

If a graduate of ABC school goes out in the world and kills 25 people before finally being brought down in a hail of gunfire that one person is a very minor statistic. What if a dozen people from ABC school do this? Or what if hundreds of people who graduate from ABC school were caught stealing prior to graduation? Wouldn't it reflect poorly on ABC school if they are willingly graduating students who are known to behave criminally?

TL;DR: Schools have a reputation to uphold, and graduating known criminals isn't a way to keep that reputation good.

MechPlasma · 2013-06-03T23:58:43+00:00

In theory, it's to keep rapists off the campus until they're actually sentenced. Since it's not a criminal case and they can't do full investigations, and since being temporarily suspended isn't a big punishment, they don't use quite the same level of burden of proof, but they can't just kick any old person who's accused.

In theory.

But the system is so badly designed that it's not even close. Y'know how I said "temporary"? It's rarely temporary, campuses will permanently ban people even if they're found not guilty. And while they don't really need the same level of proof, now it's gone so far in the other direction that it's easier to 'prove' someone IS guilty than for them to 'prove' they're not. Basically, it's become just a way to have someone take a second trial but with a much higher chance of getting screwed over.

They're only supposed to not call the police if it's a minor offence though, not rape accusations.

Ragnrok · 2013-06-04T00:53:27+00:00

Once upon a time it was to sweep sexual assaults under the rug to make the university look better, today it's to bring vengeance down upon anyone/everyone accused with a fiery passion to make the university look better.

Regardless of why, universities being involved in criminal cases more serious than accusations of theft or the ilk is idiotic.

Funcuz · 2013-06-04T03:25:41+00:00

I've been asking myself that very same question since I first heard that universities do it.

The best I can come up with is that they would be justified in sanctioning a dangerous student's access to their student body. However , that one falls flat when you consider that if there's an actual assault of some kind then it's a criminal matter and therefore belongs in the realm of the justice system. Once a determination of guilt or innocence has been reached I could understand a "trial" of sorts at the university level but then it would only be conducted for the purpose of deciding what , if any , action would be taken as it relates to the university's best interests.

From a more hypothetical perspective I guess it goes something like this :

Professor Steelsnapper teaches Feminism 101 at the university. She spends her days telling mostly young women that the justice system doesn't do anything for victims of rape. Prof. Steelsnapper actually believes this too so when she realizes that she has a tool at her disposal where she can "get justice" for all the "victims" she decides to put it to use. She knows that it's not legally binding in any way as a criminal matter and she's used to operating in the social bubble that is the modern university. To her way of thinking , she's just doing what she can to get justice.

In short , it's more about an opportunity to show those mean , nasty boys what a feminist with power can do to them.

AceyJuan · 2013-06-04T04:31:18+00:00

The blunt answer is, it's required by law (Title IX). Maybe someone can tell us the history behind the laws.

iMADEthis2post · 2013-06-04T05:15:40+00:00

It's probably for the best in some cases. They do actually seem to have a common sense aspect to them in some instances. What is more than a little crazy is needing only a 50% probability of being a rapist.

Title	Why do Universities in the United States deal with Rape Accusations?
Author	BeginnerSociologist
Upvotes	15
Comments	31
Date	June 3, 2013 9:03 PM UTC (13 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/MensRights
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/MensRights/comments/1flu7a/why_do_universities_in_the_united_states_deal/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/MensRights/why-do-universities-in-the-united-states-deal-with.1172181 https://theredarchive.com/post/1172181

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