Betsy DeVos Changes Sexual Assault Guides

LYLLI DUONG

STAFF WRITER

In 2011, President Obama’s administration decided to make the policy toward sexual assault more strict by putting more effort into finding the person at fault. Betsy DeVos, the current Secretary of Education, on the other hand, wishes to change the decision made. According to San Gabriel Valley Tribune (SGVT), DeVos claims that the guide Obama’s administration used is ineffective and failed to protect the students.

Under Obama’s policy, schools must carry out their own investigation, even though there may be a separate criminal case. Schools must also resolve any sexual assault complaint. During a criminal case, the evidence leads to the person at fault, while in a school investigation, the school leans toward the student who is suspected to have committed the offense.

In some cases, the schools may completely ignore the fact a sexual assault took place. When a sexual assault is investigated, the file can get out into public records.A student has the power to look into a college’s history on sexual assault. Colleges could use this to their advantage. DeVos plans to change the guidelines of how to deal with sexual assault, but has not yet decided on the specific details to be changed. She wishes to seek information from the public and universities on the matter.

“I believe that changing the current policy is a good idea,” junior Joaquin Cruz said, “It doesn’t only save people from false accusation, but it also gives time to investigators so that they can have the ability to thoroughly find the abuser.”

On Thursday, Sept. 7, DeVos spoke about the subject of sexual assault at George Mason University in Arlington, VA. During her speech, she described the guide as increasingly elaborate and confusing which ended up harming students on both the assaulter and the person that was assaulted. According to SGVT, the speech held at the campus had about two dozen protesters waiting outside of the auditorium, where the speech was held. Some of the protesters were women who had been assaulted on their campus.

During the Obama era, the schools could place a person as the assaulter, without much solid evidence. This protocol brought in people who actually did sexually assault someone.

“I believe that the Obama era policy to change the evidence standard was a positive step toward making victims more confident in reporting assault,” biology teacher Amy Ngo said, “I believe that schools need to remain aggressive in responding to and investigating assault complaints. DeVos’ move to rescind the Obama era policy takes away the consistency and clear guidance for campus enforcement, which could lead to confusion and the passing on of responsibility, ultimately hurting victim rights.”