Discussion List for campus-based and allied personnel working to end gender-based violence on campus.

[Ashley Burczak <>]

I agree that there are a lot of due process concerns with mediation for
cases involving anything that could be a felony charge or an offense that
could result in expulsion.
 I also do not think such a process could possibly be helpful to someone who
just experienced rape or a sexual assault anywhere near that level of
severity. There really isn't anything to "talk out" after a rape.
 However, if your school differentiates degrees of sexual assault in its
disciplinary procedures (something I advocate), it could be possible to
provide mediation in a limited set of less serious cases. For example,
mediation might be appropriate (even ideal) in a case where someone slapped
a guy's backside in the bathroom in an attempt to humiliate him.
 Ashley Burczak
SAFER
 On 11/7/05, 

 
<>
 wrote:
>
> My suggestion: One of my favorite often-ignored facts is that student
> disciplinary hearings started out (during the civil rights protests era)
> as a means
> to protect students from arbitrary expulsion. (Jacqui, email me if it
> turns
> out you need the cite.) It does not sound as if "facilitated discussions"
> would meet those criteria at your school, so adopting them would mean that
> either disciplined students' due process rights were violated or that
> students
> could never be seriously disciplined for sexual misconduct. I think you
> may want
> to ask your school to consult its lawyers before adopting this position!
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