Title IX college campus justice is a failure, victims and accused argue in wake of Cornell 7 scandal

The system colleges rely on to investigate allegations of sexual assault and rapes on campus is failing alleged victims and the accused alike, a special Post report can reveal.Legal experts, alleged victims and accused students all told The Post that lives have been ruined by years of badly managed investigations, false allegations, and “equality” officers who lack proper training.Under current Title IX regulations, federally funded colleges must address sexual harassment, violence, and retaliation claims through specialized Title IX offices and determine internal discipline based on evidence.This was never part of the original 1972 Title IX legislation, signed into law to prevent sex-based discrimination in educational institutions.In 2011, President Obama issued guidance expanding the definition to include instances of sexual violence.

Then in 2020, President Trump introduced regulation requiring “live hearings” for complaints, much like a real court.Except, of course, it isn’t.It’s a limited system whose rules and regulations successive presidential administrations have repeatedly rewritten.And it’s coming under even greater scrutiny following allegations that seven fraternity brothers at Cornell University drugged and gang-raped a student.One of the accused students later alleged in a lawsuit that a panel hearing member drove for roughly 45 minutes during live Zoom testimony from a “critical witness” to his defense and argued that her “repeated inattention” “irreparably compromised” the proceeding.But beyond Cornell, students and experts point to several glaring problems with this equality-driven system, including Title IX officers with inadequate training, potential institutional bias, countercomplaints, and investigations that can drag on for months or years.Although all universities operate under the same federal law, they have considerable discretion over investigations, and the qualifications of the individuals handling them can ...