The Republican Party platform draft criticized federal involvement with universities and sexual assaults on campus. Delegates met in Cleveland on Monday to discuss the language in the draft that condemns the Obama administration for its crackdown on how universities address rape.
The language condemns the Obama administration’s “distortion of Title IX to micromanage” how universities handle cases of assault. Title IX is a federal law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in any federally funded education program or activity.
Under Title IX, universities must adopt procedures to deal with sexual assault on campus just as they would with issues of theft, rather than leaving the issue to the criminal justice system.
If a school sees fit to punish a student for theft or vandalism, for example, without involving the criminal justice system, but does not also discipline students apart from criminal charges in cases of sexual assault, the school is guilty of discrimination that Title IX exists to eradicate.
“Whenever reported, it must be promptly investigated by civil authorities and prosecuted in a courtroom, not a faculty lounge,” the draft platform reads. “Questions of guilt or innocence must be decided by a judge and jury, with guilt determined beyond a reasonable doubt. Those convicted of sexual assault should be punished to the full extent of the law.”
Colleges have long since investigated cases of sexual assault much as they have other issues such as assault, drug use, or theft, in addition to involving law enforcement. But the Obama administration has demanded action in regard to how colleges handle sexual assault.
Around 200 colleges and universities are currently under investigation for how incidents of rape have been handled.
Many students and administrators view the pressure by the Obama administration as government overreach. One general counsel for a liberal arts college who wished to remain anonymous described how the approach can put anyone accused of sexual assault at a disadvantage because the incidents typically involve “two individuals who are alone and behind closed doors,” making the cases “massively difficult to resolve.” He added, “We are committed to being fair and equitable to all of our students.”
