Letters: Accused students need protection

The National Organization for Men Carolinas routinely hears from college students who have been denied due-process rights such as having witnesses appear on their behalf and being allowed to introduce exculpatory evidence and question or cross examine the complainant’s account of what was alleged to have taken place.

Equally troubling is that, with young lives hanging in the balance, attorneys are not allowed to participate in Title IX-related hearings.

The half-dozen cases that falsely accused students recently shared with U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos represent a small sampling of the approximately 170 lawsuits filed against universities in which plaintiffs allege they were denied due process and subjected to kangaroo court tribunals complete with rubber-stamped expulsions as a direct result of university fear reprisal from the agency’s Office of Civil Rights.

Students recounted how they were presumed guilty by the university they attended, not notified of the allegations brought against them and in some cases not even provided the identity of their accusers.

They also related how they were pressured by the university to admit wrongdoing even in the face of evidence pointing to their innocence.

We’re counting on Mrs. DeVos to level the field.