Biden says he'll reverse DeVos rule bolstering protections for those accused of campus sexual assault

The Hill ^ | 05 06 2020 | Jonathan Easley

[yesthatjallen]

Former Vice President Joe Biden said Wednesday that if he’s elected president, he will reverse a rule issued by Education Secretary Betsy DeVos aimed at bolstering protections for students who are accused of sexual assault on university campuses.

In a statement, Biden said the new rule was an effort by the Trump administration to “shame and silence” survivors of sexual assault.

“It’s wrong,” Biden said. “And, it will be put to a quick end in January 2021, because as president, I’ll be right where I always have been throughout my career — on the side of survivors, who deserve to have their voices heard, their claims taken seriously and investigated, and their rights upheld.”

The new rule issued Wednesday narrows the definition of sexual harassment and requires schools to produce evidence and allow for the cross-examination of students who say they were assaulted.

The rule is meant to ensure that those accused of sexual assault receive due process.

"Too many students have lost access to their education because their school inadequately responded when a student filed a complaint of sexual harassment or sexual assault," DeVos said in a statement. "This new regulation requires schools to act in meaningful ways to support survivors of sexual misconduct, without sacrificing important safeguards to ensure a fair and transparent process. We can and must continue to fight sexual misconduct in our nation's schools, and this rule makes certain that fight continues."

SNIP

[Sans-Culotte]

My wife used to work for a university in the office that handled “rape” cases. Everyone in her office (except for her) were raging libs, and they all thought most of the rape cases were bogus and that the accused never got a fair hearing.

[hoosierham]

As long as he votes for “abortion rights” a Democrat is a hero to leftist females.

[chaosagent]

Well, I was born in ‘48 so we’re not that much apart timewise. We had cars, and in fact, I had been driving since I was ten. Started out driving a tractor on my grandparent’s farm, plowing and bush hogging. Then taught myself to drive in an old work truck my family had. We lived in the woods of south Alabama and there were plenty of logging/fire roads around to practice on, bouncing off the trees and learning to shift gears

That’s what made it so frustrating. I could drive and could pass the test with no problem. But I just wasn’t old enough.

[mass55th]

You lived in rural America, and as a kid, I would have loved to have live in the country. I was born and raised in the city of Rochester, NY. My Dad worked on the NY Central Railroad. My Mom was a housewife. There were four of us kids. I was the baby of the family, and I’m now the only one left. If we wanted to go anywhere, we either walked or took the bus. I think we were the only family on the street that didn’t have a car. I don’t feel that I missed anything without one. We didn’t take vacations, go to the beach, or amusement parks. The highlight of my childhood was getting to ride the train for free because my father worked for it. We’d get up early on a Saturday morning. My Mom would pack sandwiches, and we’d take the bus to the train station. The train would take us to Buffalo, and we’d go to the zoo there, have our lunch on the grass, then get back on the train, and head to Niagara Falls for the rest of the day, then come home. We could sure use some of that peace and solitude, and sanity in this country right now.