Campus sexual assault policies, at U and elsewhere, drawing scrutiny

Article here. Excerpt:

'Weeks into her freshman year at the University of Minnesota, Courtney Blake was sexually assaulted in her dorm room. She reported it to campus officials, rather than police.

Though the young man argued the sex was consensual, he was found to have violated the student conduct code and put on disciplinary probation, given mandatory counseling and assigned to write a paper, according to an investigation document. Blake was moved to another dorm.

Less than a year later, Blake was assaulted at an off-campus party by a different student. This time, she turned to the police as well as campus officials, but quickly learned the justice system’s limitations. She got a more tangible response from the U, which expelled her assailant.
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Critics of these internal investigations say colleges and universities are ill-equipped to handle cases that in a courtroom would constitute a felony. Because schools don’t have subpoena power, investigators and panels have to make decisions based on whatever evidence they can get.

“They lack a lot of critical powers that law enforcement has,” said Samantha Harris, director of policy research at the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education. “This is why you don’t see university judiciaries adjudicating murder cases.”'