University defends policies on sexual assault allegations, seeks lawsuit's dismissal

Story here. Excerpt:

'Washington and Lee University urged a federal judge in Lynchburg on Friday to toss out a lawsuit filed by a student who was expelled last year on grounds of sexual misconduct.

The student, referred to only as John Doe in court, is claiming the school’s disciplinary process violated federal law by discriminating against him because he’s male.

His lawsuit also argues he was deprived of due process and claims the decision against him was influenced by the now-discredited Rolling Stone article on an alleged assault at the University of Virginia. The article came out one day before the student’s hearing at W&L.

W&L maintained its process was reasonable. The process is sensitive to students who file complaints of sexual assault, it argued, but that alone is not gender bias.

“It’s not a question of gender,” said W&L attorney R. Craig Wood, adding federal guidelines direct colleges to show sensitivity to victims and that would hold true regardless of their gender.

“The complainant’s real disagreement here is with federal policy,” he said.