Why Any Male Student Should Think Twice Before Applying to Washington & Lee University

From Hans A. von Spakovsky at PJ Media:

This should terrify any parent whose son is about to head off to college or is presently matriculating anywhere in the Ivory Towers of academia.

The fundamental lack of due process and oppressive tactics used by university administrators at Washington & Lee University (W&L) should lead any family to keep their sons from applying to the university. Male students at Washington & Lee risk serious consequences if they engage in an entirely consensual sexual relationship with a female student who later is convinced to “regret” what she did, or who becomes jealous if the male student starts a relationship with someone else. That is exactly what happened in this case.
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The facts show that what occurred was not only entirely consensual, but that Jane was more than just a willing participant. Jane continued to go to parties at John’s fraternity, where witnesses saw them interacting in an entirely unremarkable, normal manner. That is, until Jane saw John kissing another female “and left the party early, upset.” It became “public knowledge” that John and this other female “were an exclusive couple.”

Jane subsequently spent a summer break “working at a women’s clinic that dealt with sexual assault issues.”
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Jane got upset when she applied for a study abroad program in Nepal and saw that John was also one of the applicants.  She talked to a “therapist” on the “evolution about how she felt about” her sexual encounters with John. Most significantly, she attended a presentation by W&L’s Title IX compliance officer, Lauren Kozak, on her article “Is it Possible That There Is Something In Between Consensual Sex and Rape … And That It Happens To Almost Every Girl Out There?”  Ms. Kozak’s thesis is that “regret equals rape”; that even if a sexual encounter is entirely consensual, if the woman later regrets what she did, the sexual encounter was actual rape. Jane then filed a sexual assault claim against John that was investigated by — you guessed it — Lauren Kozak.
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The Dean of W&L, Tammi Simpson, told John that if he transferred to another school he would not be formally charged, a bizarre tactic to take for someone supposedly concerned about sexual assault. When he refused, John was formally charged and a hearing was held.
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Jane Doe’s testimony was full of inconsistencies. Early in the hearing, she described John as “disrespectful, dishonorable, and having treated her as though she was worthless.” But when asked later in the hearing what kind of connection she had with John, “she said that it was great and [John] was smart, interesting, sweet, and genuinely interested in her.” The tribunal, however, “did not question Jane Doe about these inconsistencies.”

Despite the overwhelming evidence of consensual sex, Jane’s inconsistent and conflicting claims, and the blatant falseness of the claim made against John, he was expelled from W&L by a vote of 3 to 1. No explanation was given for the decision, other than the claim that the preponderance of the evidence showed John did not have effective consent. John’s appeal to the University Board of Appeals lost by a 2 to 1 vote, again without any detailed explanation.
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However, the court refused to dismiss John’s claim under Title IX. In this case, the judge held that John has produced sufficient facts to “cast doubt on the accuracy of the outcome reached in the proceeding against him.” John’s allegations, taken as true, “suggest that W&L’s disciplinary procedures, at least when it comes to charges of sexual misconduct, amount to ‘a practice of railroading accused students.’”

In fact, under the totality of the circumstances shown by John, “including the alleged flaws in the proceedings and statements made by W&L officials, [John] has plausibly established a causal link between his expulsion and gender bias.”  Specifically, a reasonable jury could find that ”[b]ias on the part of Ms. Kozak [caused] the outcome of John Doe’s disciplinary hearing due to the considerable influence she appears to have wielded in those proceedings.” Further, given the pressure W&L was under from the government to convict male students of sexual assault, “a reasonable fact finder could plausibly determine that [John] was wrongly found responsible for sexual misconduct and that this erroneous finding was motivated by gender bias.”

This case is not over even though it should be. The court’s refusal to grant W&L’s motion to dismiss the case means it will go to trial — unless W&L’s lawyers are smart enough to convince the university to pay John a very large settlement.  Because given the facts as related in Judge Moon’s order, John Doe has a very good chance of beating W&L at trial. It appears highly likely that a jury will determine that W&L administrators conducted a one-sided, discriminatory, and unjust hearing of the allegations lodged against John Doe.

The more I read about this case, one, I'm not surprised about the railroading process, but I am just sickened about what the people who run Universities are teaching our youth.

I would take his warning one step further. Go to a public university. The Judge dismissed two claims, "violation of his right to due process because the Fifth Amendment applies to a private university like W&L only under very limited circumstances. It also dismissed his state law contract claim because the university code did not constitute a contract in Virginia law." That way,, these two claim will not be dismissed.

Remember, punch back twice as hard.