Freshman sues Clemson to overturn sex misconduct suspension

Article here. Excerpt:

'A federal civil rights lawsuit was filed against Clemson University last week by a freshman who is seeking to overturn a one-year suspension that he received for sexual misconduct and other infractions.

The student, identified only as John Doe, contends that he had consensual sex last October with another Clemson student who later filed a complaint claiming that she was a victim of sexual misconduct, according to the suit.

After an administrative hearing, Clemson officials found that "complainant was incapacitated during the incident and unable to give consent," according to the suit. The suit says that the male student was suspended for six months and evicted from his dormitory for violating university rules involving alcohol, disorderly conduct, harm to person and sexual misconduct.

The male student appealed the ruling, according the suit. On May 27, university Chief of Staff Max Allen upheld the ruling and increased the student's suspension to one year, the suit says.

The suit lists a series of alleged "wrongful actions" by the university. They include failure to conduct a thorough and impartial investigation, improperly advising and advocating on behalf of the female accuser, gender bias, failure to provide the male student with a presumption of innocence and an unilateral and arbitrary increase of unwarranted sanctions.

The suit also claims that there is no indication that the incident involving the two students was reported to the Clemson University Police or the Clemson Police Department.'