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These Democratic Senators Are Blasting Betsy DeVos For Her Approach To Campus Rape
On Thursday, DeVos will hold a series of meetings with various groups on how schools handle sexual violence, broken up into three 90 minute sessions. One will feature groups representing rape victims, another will include groups that work with students accused of assault, and a third will involve educational groups, attorneys, and lobbyists.
Earlier Wednesday, Sen. Bob Casey, a Democrat from Pennsylvania, called DeVos's inclusion of a men's rights group, the National Coalition for Men Carolinas, in her meetings "a slap in the face to the victims of campus sexual assault."
"It is disturbing that the Department of Education would place these radical groups on the same level as those working tirelessly to confront the crisis of sexual assault on our campuses."
The coalition is a branch of the National Coalition for Men, which has referred to rape survivor advocates as "anti-male," and last week it called Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, a New York Democrat, a "misandrist" on Twitter. "We are dedicated to bringing attention to the very real and damaging war on men that is being waged in classrooms, in the media, in our courts, on college campuses, in the workplace, even in places of worship,” the group says on its website.
The Education Department said that the men's rights group will participate in a meeting for "Students who have been falsely accused and disciplined under Title IX," and is bringing two students and two parents. The group has also posted photos of women it believes made false rape accusations, and suggested half of all sexual assault reports are lies.
"It is disturbing that the Department of Education would place these radical groups on the same level as those working tirelessly to confront the crisis of sexual assault on our campuses," Casey wrote in his letter.
Murray also focused on an internal memo from Jackson telling OCR offices to narrow their Title IX investigations to focus on individual cases and shift away from class action reviews geared toward uncovering systemic issues. Jackson said the goal was to finish investigations more quickly and clear a backlog of cases, some of which have languished for years. Murray said this change, combined with plans to decrease OCR staff, shows DeVos "is outright neglecting ED’s civil rights responsibilities."
Earlier Wednesday, Sen. Bob Casey, a Democrat from Pennsylvania, called DeVos's inclusion of a men's rights group, the National Coalition for Men Carolinas, in her meetings "a slap in the face to the victims of campus sexual assault."
"It is disturbing that the Department of Education would place these radical groups on the same level as those working tirelessly to confront the crisis of sexual assault on our campuses."
The coalition is a branch of the National Coalition for Men, which has referred to rape survivor advocates as "anti-male," and last week it called Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, a New York Democrat, a "misandrist" on Twitter. "We are dedicated to bringing attention to the very real and damaging war on men that is being waged in classrooms, in the media, in our courts, on college campuses, in the workplace, even in places of worship,” the group says on its website.
The Education Department said that the men's rights group will participate in a meeting for "Students who have been falsely accused and disciplined under Title IX," and is bringing two students and two parents. The group has also posted photos of women it believes made false rape accusations, and suggested half of all sexual assault reports are lies.
"It is disturbing that the Department of Education would place these radical groups on the same level as those working tirelessly to confront the crisis of sexual assault on our campuses," Casey wrote in his letter.
Murray also focused on an internal memo from Jackson telling OCR offices to narrow their Title IX investigations to focus on individual cases and shift away from class action reviews geared toward uncovering systemic issues. Jackson said the goal was to finish investigations more quickly and clear a backlog of cases, some of which have languished for years. Murray said this change, combined with plans to decrease OCR staff, shows DeVos "is outright neglecting ED’s civil rights responsibilities."
https://www.buzzfeed.com/tylerkingkade/these-democratic-senators-are-blasting-betsy-devos-for-her