Student leaders at 76 U.S. universities are fighting for their right to sit on the panels that decide whether or not someone committed a crime of sexual assault on campus.
Originally, the Department of Education has recommended that undergrads should not be involved in the process, but student body presidents from schools including Yale, Brown, and Barnard, agree that their opinion may be more valid than those of school officials.
On Monday, an Ohio University senior by the name of Celia Wright sent a letter signed by dozens of likeminded students to Education Secretary Arne Duncan, explaining, “students have a modern perspective on sexual assault and campus life that, unfortunately, faculty and staff might not have.” She went on to conclude that, “the presence of peers in hearings is really instrumental to ensuring people have context” when it comes to what the accused is saying.
Wright speaks from experience; Ohio changed its policy in September, allowing students to be on panels, and Wright has served on a hearing board at Ohio State for a sexual assault case.
[H/T: Bloomberg]
