A case of the 5th amendment? or a mistake of our administration?

There is an opinion article in the New York Times on the 21^st of July this year on five weeks ago, by a journalist named Cathy Young, who has covered a number of subjects and written many pieces for a significant number of known and established news pieces across the country. She leads in the article about how many Congress Democrats, activists, and sexual assault survivors are “up in arms” about what she informs is the present Trump Administration and the Department of Education overhauling present sexual assault policies implemented by the previous Obama administration in 2011 with a “Dear Colleague” letter sent by the Department of Education’s office of Civil Rights. Young informs her readers that the letter recommended the colleges to investigate sexual assault under a “Preponderance of the evidence” bias, completely ignoring the previous “clear and convincing evidence” constraint, where colleges have to assume that accusations are true forfeiting due process and “beyond a reasonable doubt” at the threat of their federal funding being pulled. Young then gives links and events where an accusation was false, and a student the accused still was expelled, and yet no criminal charges or investigation ever being filed or attempted.

            Journalist Cathy Young then gives her own opinions, such as how universities should hold a higher standard of proof in disciplinary proceedings, and have better coordination with law enforcement as simple expulsion is a weak punishment for something as heavy as rape, and also combating the prevalent culture of binge drinking, all of which are great points and pieces of advice that could be well used. Young, though, feels it unfortunate that such reforms are being done under the Trump administration, as she feels that he would be a poor choice for challenging present sexual assault policies, to which I and most probably agree. Sadly, according to Young, present efforts have been nothing but minefields and simple mistakes made by Candice Jackson head of the Justice Department’s civil rights office, and even with Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos.

            Young Declares that the issue of Due process in these policies are not fringe right issues, and have actually been voiced by prominent liberals, and are important issues regarding the rights of all Citizens.

            The Article I read by Cathy Young was “Betsy DeVos is Right: Sexual Assault Policy is Broken” https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/21/opinion/betsy-devos-college-sexual-assault.html?ref=opinion which I think could be an interesting read for anyone, especially my classmates, who are interested in any present issues regarding the 5^th Amendment, or cases regarding Campus policy on Sexual Assault. Cathy Young does point out in her article the dangers to our fifth amendment, and how many people in current times feel more obliged towards “GUILTY until proven innocent” instead of the constitutional and obligatory belief in “Innocent until proven guilty.”