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

["Shaffer, Jyl R" <>]

Our school does not do mandatory expulsion for our sexual misconduct cases, although expulsion is certainly an option in our Sexual Misconduct Cases. While we (like most schools I think) will look at previous cases that are similar to maintain a level of consistency in sanctioning, we are very conscious that each case is unique. It’s also very important to us that we talk to the survivor about what they think is appropriate or would help them. Remember, under Title IX our obligation is to stop the discrimination, prevent its re-occurrence, and address the impact on the individual and the community. If I had a survivor who felt strongly that expulsion would cause on-going harm to them, that should be strongly considered by the institution.

 

Personally, I think mandatory expulsion policies will create a chilling effect for victims who may not come forward because they don’t want to be the one “responsible” for “ruining their lives”. Students often cite that as a primary concern in moving forward with our formal process. I have to do a lot of prep work to explain who is responsible for actions taken by our university before many people file formal complaints. I would imagine too if schools began doing mandatory expulsion in these cases we will see law suits from respondents who claim discrimination, as we are seeing related to other elements of sexual misconduct processes on campuses. While I don’t think we need to make policies that limit our liability, I do think it’s important for institutions to be aware of the impact lawsuits have on victims who enter into our processes and have policies that limit their exposure due to simply coming forward.

 

Dartmouth’s mandatory policy is a good example of looking at what a mandatory expulsion policy really means- from what I read it was only if it was proven that the accused used drugs and/or alcohol to facilitate the assault. As an investigator, I can tell you that even at preponderance of the evidence, that is not an easy thing to show in many of these cases, especially when a victim may have thought they voluntarily drank or used drugs prior to or during an incident. I would wager that Dartmouth will not invoke that policy very often.

 

Jyl R. Shaffer

Equal Opportunity Specialist

Office of Equal Opportunity Services

University of Houston

153 Student Service Center 2

Houston, TX 77204-3020

Direct line: (713) 743-8821

Fax: (713) 743-0959

Office main line: (713) 743-8835

www.uh.edu

 

From: Jessie Mindlin [mailto:]
Sent: Tuesday, March 18, 2014 9:39 PM
To:
Subject: know of any schools?

 

Hi all – Do any of your schools (or others you know of) have a policy that requires the expulsion of a student found responsible for sexual assault? Any thoughts on how effective these policies have or have not been? Thanks in advance for any insights you can provide!. - Jessie

 

 

 

 

  Jessica Mindlin, Esq.*
  National Director of Training & Technical Assistance
  Victim Rights Law Center
  520 SW Yamhill, Suite 200
  Portland, OR 97204

*Admitted to practice in Oregon
Tel: 503.274.5477 x 1 and 855.411.5477

Fax: 503.715-2183   www.victimrights.org

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