Illegal Immigrants Have More Rights Than College Students Accused Of Date Rape, Law Professor Claims

George Washington University law professor John Banzhaf suggests that illegal immigrants surging across the southern border into the U.S. receive more due process rights than college students accused of date rape.

The humanitarian and law enforcement/national security crisis at the border is ongoing, but has dropped off the headlines because of the media’s 24-7 focus on the Ferguson, Mo., shooting and subsequent civil unrest. As a digression, have you noticed how the news media can only focus on one story at a time?

Banzhaf’s contention comes as the U.S. Education Department in Washington has been pressuring colleges to toughen their disciplinary procedures when it comes to student-on-student rape allegations which generally involves a female accuser and a male suspect. According to the Obama White House, one in five American female students become victims of sexual assault on campus. Moreover, a number of colleges are under investigation for allegedly concealing the extent of rape incidents at their institution.

Defining what constitutes consensual sex to protect victims more effectively has emerged as a major issue in academia. “From the University of California system to Yale, schools have been adopting standards to distinguish when consent was given for a sexual activity and when it was not,” the Washington Post reports. “Legislation passed by California’s Senate in May and coming before the State Assembly this month would require all schools that receive public funds for student financial assistance to set an ‘affirmative consent standard’ that could be used in investigating and adjudicating sexual-assault allegations. That would be defined as ‘an affirmative, unambiguous and conscious decision’ by each party to engage in sexual activity. Silence or lack of resistance does not constitute consent. The legislation says it is also not consent if the person is drunk, drugged, unconscious or asleep. Lawmakers say consent can be nonverbal, and universities with similar policies have outlined examples as maybe a nod of the head or moving in closer to the person.”

Parenthetically, Banzhaf’s advocacy of individual freedom might appear to be somewhat inconsistent because he is the same educator who reportedly required students to lobby local and state government officials in support of a sugary drinks ban.

In a press release, Banzhaf asserted the following with regard to the campus date rape issue:

Tens of thousands of illegal immigrants, both children and adults, now streaming across the border, have more procedural protections – like the right to an impartial hearing, to require the production of documents, to present evidence, to cross examine those testifying against them, and to have their own lawyer present – even though it appears that most will never be deported, and those who are deported will simply be returned to their homes, whereas the much smaller number of college students who face expulsion and all of its life-altering consequences for alleged date rape have no such rights… So far, more than a dozen students have successfully sued their universities for improperly finding them guilty of date rape, and more than a dozen more cases are pending…In sharp and dramatic contrast [to legal representation provided by the government to illegal aliens] — even though the issues in typical ‘he said, she said’ date rape proceedings tend to be far more complicated to resolve, and often require skilled cross examination to get to the truth — students accused of date rape and other sexual assaults are often not permitted to even have their own attorneys present, much less to conduct cross examination, something which would cost colleges nothing…”

Banzhaf helped get the charges dropped against three Duke University lacrosse team players back in 2007. The widely publicized allegations, advanced by a now-disgraced prosecutor with an eye on reelection, turned out to be false. Last year, a jury convicted the accuser of second degree murder in a 2011 knife attack on her then-boyfriend.

With regard to what in some ambiguous circumstances turn out to be false accusations, the professor told Campus Reform that “colleges have abandoned that ‘very high standard of proof, particularly in cases of date rape,’ despite the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that the Constitution requires due process protections. Rape is a crime and colleges shouldn’t be involved at all, There are more and more individual cases where students are found guilty and suffered consequences are winning these cases [when they sue their school.]” He also insisted that investigating these campus date rape cases should be a matter for professionals such as cops or retired lawyers: “That way you’re having someone who has the training and is completely impartial step in.”

To establish consent, “I’m seeing more cases where students are videotaping their sexual encounters,” Prof. Banzhaf claimed.

Do you think that universities are doing enough to combat sexual assault and protect women on campus from predators? Do you believe that individuals subject to university disciplinary action for alleged date rape currently receive adequate campus due process protections?

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