(A landmark piece of legislation passed in the 1970s, Title IX basically forbids sex-based discrimination in education. Only recently, under the Obama Administration, has it also come to be increasingly associated with addressing sexual assault and harassment at college campuses.)
In her speech at George Mason University on Thursday, Secretary DeVos was quick to clear the air re: her position on rape and sexual assault and her approach to reworking sections of Title IX policy. "Acts of sexual misconduct are reprehensible, disgusting and unacceptable," she said. "Every survivor of sexual assault must be taken seriously. Every student accused of sexual assault must know that guilt is not pre-determined."
Yet the moment she elucidated the flaws in Title IX's protections for victims of sexual assault and those accused of committing sexual assault or harassment against another student, she was readily thrown to the wolves for "perpetuating rape culture" and "victim blaming." The anecdotes she provided, many Leftists asserted, shouldn't be used as a device to strip survivors of their Title IX protections, which is so off-base, I could write another piece just on this claim alone.
So let's get to the bottom of all this, then. Why is DeVos being attacked so vehemently by the Left? Why was #StopBetsy trending within minutes of the Department of Education's broadcast going live?
The answer is simple: Because DeVos called them out for deliberately excluding the falsely accused from the conversation, for setting up a system that is designed to deprive the accused of their due process rights. Because she proposed the radical stipulation that we defend the rights of ALL citizens in this country, not just those of the victims. Because she presented yet another threat to their carefully constructed house of cards that's about to come crashing down on top of them.
The system set up by the Obama Administration "does a disservice to everyone involved." The asinine guidelines provided within Title IX are difficult for even the most experienced lawyers to navigate, let alone university administrators with little to no knowledge of the law they are being asked to enforce. Title IX is setting the stage for universities to violate the legal rights of those who are sexually assaulted and those who are falsely accused of sexual assault, and it is allowing guilty rapists to go free on legal technicalities that the universities overlooked in their haphazard pursuit of justice.
A key part of this issue is the "Dear Colleague Letter," a memo distributed by the Obama Administration in 2011, which requires colleges to investigate complaints even if there is a separate criminal inquiry. In the criminal court system, guilt must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt in order to justify conviction and sentencing. However, this memo bypasses all that; it merely requires that colleges judge students based on whether it is "more likely than not" that they committed the offense.
This in and of itself is unconstitutional. Since sexual assault is considered a crime, legally speaking, it should be treated the same as any other crime (e.g. stealing, murder, aggravated assault). The "Dear Colleague Letter" effectively denies those accused of sexual assault the right to due process (the right to counsel, a trial by jury, etc.). The administrator at the college serves as the judge and jury of the student accused, rather than a criminal court judge and an impartial jury. No counsel is provided for the student, regardless of whether or not the student can afford said counsel.
Whether the accused is innocent or guilty, such a provision opens the door to a plethora of legal issues. If a guilty student is found guilty through this method, he/she can claim violation of due process rights and be released. This has happened before. Too many times. Miranda v. Arizona, anyone? If an innocent student is found guilty through this method, it's his/her word against their accuser. And we all know how that turns out, don't we? Whatever your accuser says you are, that is what people believe you are.
Just look at the allegations leveled against Trump, and the Left's reaction to those allegations. He IS a sexual deviant, in their view, because the victims said he is. Same with Bill Cosby. Same with Bill O-Reilly. Title IX has perpetuated this.
"The notion that a school must diminish due process rights to better serve the victim, only creates more victims," DeVos went on to say. More people are being screwed over by the justice system because it is tilted to cater to the victim while leaving the accused to fend for him/herself. Lives are being ruined over baseless allegations. Lives are being ruined over asinine legal restrictions. Lives are being ruined by Title IX.
Toward the end of her speech, DeVos said, "The rights of one person can never be paramount to the rights of another." The 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution makes it clear that citizens of this country have equal protection under the law. But that is clearly not the case here. Clearly, some are receiving preferential treatment because of their victimhood status. DeVos wants to remedy this, by pursuing true equality under Title IX re: sexual assault allegations and cases. If the Left stands for "equality" as they so adamantly claim, why do they denounce this? Why do they project such hatred toward a woman who wants to revise the policies so they protect everyone, not just the victims? They'll readily defend pedophiles and Sharia-law supporting activists like Linda Sarsour, but suddenly allowing due process rights to the accused is authoritarian? Why do they behave this way?
Again, the answer is simple: Because the Left is Anti-American in every sense of the word. They have thrown logic and common sense to the wayside. They have discarded any and all regard for the sacred principles our Founding Fathers spent years fighting for. They despise this country. And they actively seek to destroy it, one piece at a time.
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