Sex assault fight spurs civil rights complaints

Article here. Excerpt:

'An ongoing federal crackdown on campus sexual assault has brought the issue to the forefront on college campuses, and sparked debate between victims' activists and advocates for the accused.

The federal government took decisive action last year against campus sexual assault, announcing investigations of dozens of schools, including the University of Michigan, Michigan State University and Grand Valley State University, for their handling of complaints. The inquiries followed President Barack Obama's formation of a task force, announced a year ago last week, that suggested ways of preventing and responding to assaults.

Supporters of the campaign say the response is long overdue after years of universities ignoring or giving lip service to women who reported assault. But critics say federal and school officials are going too far, trampling the due process rights of the accused and punishing them, in some instances, for consensual sex.

"They are making a mess out of things, making a hot mess out of going to college," said Deborah Gordon, a Bloomfield Hills attorney who represents a student who is suing several UM officials over his suspension for sex-assault allegations. "What the government has done is to take a bunch of political soundbites and thrown people's due process rights out."'