A few weeks back, I mentioned that a former student of mine had been hurt by an abusive boyfriend. The campus judicial hearing was last week. In it, the accuser had to face trial herself.
Here’s the problem: Underage drinking laws and the equivalent campus rules deter victims of violent crime from reporting. As I learned at the eleventh hour, after I’d already written my character reference and shown up for the hearing, my student also faced multiple charges against her! One of them was underage drinking. After the original incident, she’d been frank with the investigators and told them she’d had two beers much earlier in the day. This was used against her, with no corroborating evidence.
Her alcohol charge stuck; apparently the panel felt it had to interpret university rules very narrowly. However, her punishment was extremely mild compared to the norm. She still doesn’t know for certain that he was found guilty, but the panel wouldn’t have been merciful if they hadn’t believed her version of events. (We also don’t yet know what will happen in the regular courts; that process seems to be stalled.)
My student’s problem is typical, I’m afraid. When dating violence and sexual assault occur on campus, alcohol is often part of the picture. Lots of assaults – sexual and otherwise – go unreported because the victims are afraid they’ll be punished for underage drinking. While this is a particularly pervasive problem on campus, it also potentially affects all women and girls who are underage.
May student is not a major-league partier, but she’s also not a teetotaler, and so these countercharges were used to intimidate her. (Her ex has done other things to intimidate her as well, but listing them might divulge identifying details, which I don’t want to do.) If she’d initially known that she faced possible suspension, she might have chosen not to press the case. She couldn’t have known in advance that the panel would impose the mildest penalty possible.
Why can’t we just have a blanket amnesty in the alcohol laws that would allow underage victims of violent crimes – male and female alike – to report those crimes without fear of repercussions? The university could easily enough change its policy. It has a great opportunity to do this, since it’s currently revising the sexual assault provisions of the student code of conduct (but any such change should apply to all violent crimes). It’d be harder to change state laws. But allowing people to report violence without fear of reprisals for drinking would obviously serve the cause of justice. It should help prevent violence, too, since potential perps would be aware that their targets would face one less deterrent against reporting.
One more thing: I spent my whole day at Judiciaries waiting around, and about five to ten minutes saying my piece. I could only take that much time because I didn’t have any teaching commitments that day. I don’t know how much it helped, if at all, to have a faculty member stand up for my student. Her family thought it was useful, and surely they felt better, knowing someone cared. But if the judicial process is going to be so time-consuming, faculty and staff will typically be boxed out of it, even if they might be able to add a valuable perspective. This, too, harms innocent students disproportionately.
Patron cat of Kittywampus (1985-2001)
Sungold, can you explain to us civilians (no longer very familiar with the way universities work) how it is that something like this winds up in a university tribunal rather than as an assault trial in the civilian courts? It strikes me that in the latter setting a couple beers underage would be a non-issue.
It’s actually a dual system. My student is also pressing charges in regular court. So far the process seems to be stalled (the police officer has not filed the paperwork) and we don’t know why. But ultimately this case should also be tried in criminal court.
To add weight to your argument, Sungold, I once served on a jury for a drunk driving case. I was 20 years old at the time, and I was asked whether I had ever consumer alcohol. Despite being in front of a judge, a prosecutor and at least one police officer, I answered truthfully and said I had. No one seemed the least bit concerned. I was selected for the jury and never heard another thing about the crime that I had just confessed to.
What makes the university think it must have higher standards than the criminal justice system?
The university actually has *lower* standards to find someone guilty of a charge. Unlike regular criminal cases, where an accusation must be proven “beyond a reasonable” doubt, the standard at my university’s Judiciaries is “the preponderance of evidence.” In other words, the standard is much like what civil cases require.
The university can discipline students for all kinds of things that aren’t necessarily crimes in the outside world. Plagiarism and other forms of academic cheating top the list, but the student code of conduct covers other behavioral issues as well. I actually think this is appropriate, but violations should be dealt with in ways that are reasonable and proportional.
I’d prefer to see the alcohol policy radically revamped, anyway. Prohibition on campus is an abject failure. Politically, that’s impossible, as our president has already refused to sign on to the Amethyst Initiative, a group of college leaders that wants to discuss decriminalizing alcohol consumption among college-aged people. At the very least, though, we could ensure that the alcohol policy doesn’t impede the much more pressing goal of preventing and prosecuting violence.
[...] may be left in fear of seeking help in an emergency if he or she has had something to drink. This blog entry I read today highlights get another terrifying problem: sexual assault victims who are afraid to report the [...]
[...] awesome post at Kittywampus on “how underage drinking laws enable violent crimes” on college campuses. Sungold is [...]
It is a very messed up situation. I am an advisor for a sorority and one of our girls was raped while at an unregistered party. She went to report the rape at our SAFE office (not this program) and the greek life director was called. She offered to drive her to the police station and on the way there told her “noone would be in trouble but I need to know how this happened” The girl told her and the next morning the sorority had been put on official probation for having an unregistered party. When I inquired what would happen with regards to the fraternity where the alleged rape happened and she said “That’s not my issue to deal with” even though said fraternity was a “Safe house”.
Long story short, the girl ended up not returning to campus as she felt embarassed and that she felt guilty that she had gotten the sorority and the other organizations that had been there in trouble, coupled by the all the people who blamed the rape on her. Not a good situation at all, especially due to the fact that the alcohol charge was viewed as a bigger deal than sexual assault.
Thanks for the comment – though I wish you didn’t have this story to tell!
I’ve heard from far too many students that their mutual friends blamed her, whether it was sexual assault or (in the case that prompted this post) dating violence. A young woman who comes forward is liable to lose most of her friends. Socially, there’s a presumption that she is presumed guilty until proven innocent. When the university bureaucracy then reinforces this by bringing charges against her – well, it’s amazing that anyone ever finds the courage to report.
[...] who responded to her call didn’t see any evidence of alcohol, nor did she order a blood test. As I previously argued, the university was wrong to bring charges against her through its internal j…. Students who are afraid of being charged with alcohol violations won’t report sexual assault [...]