A former student has reportedly filed a complaint alleging that Northeastern University did not adequately respond to her report of having been raped by another student in 2011. The university allegedly discouraged her from reporting, failed to inform her of her rights, and withheld counseling services. It then took the university four months to hold a hearing. The university did find the accused student responsible for the rape, but he appealed, arguing that there was not enough evidence for the university to find she had not consented. The appeal remained pending for a long period of time, during which he withdrew and transferred, and she dropped out in defeat.
This case helps illustrate why delay is such an effective tactic by universities seeking to suppress sexual assault and -- for political, financial, and legal reasons -- avoid expelling or otherwise sanctioning offenders. Delays increase the
likelihood that the victim will graduate or otherwise
leave before the final resolution of the case. Because of cases with delay allegations like this one, the Department of Education now requires investigations to be completed within 60 days in most cases and imposes a "reasonably prompt" time frame over disciplinary proceedings.
Though not directly raised by the allegations against Northeastern, another common tactic that universities use to avoid sanctioning for sexual assault is to find the accused student responsible after the initial hearing,
but to allow him to secretly and successfully appeal his sanction. We do not know that Northeastern was playing that particular game, but that may only be because the student transferred before his appeal was resolved. Notably, the Department of Education now requires the university
to notify both parties to a grievance proceeding of the outcome of both
the initial hearing and any appeal.
It is now up to OCR to decide whether to open an investigation against Northeastern. If so, Northeastern would join the list of 55 schools with similar pending investigations.
Showing posts with label Northeastern University. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Northeastern University. Show all posts
Thursday, May 08, 2014
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
UNCC decides to add football
The trustees at the University of North Carolina Charlotte have decided to go forward with the plan to add a football team. The team will make its debut in 2013.
This is also a good time to mention that Hofstra University cut its team last week, shortly after Northeastern University announced it was cutting its team due to the expenses associated with the team and the inability to properly upgrade facilities.
And in the wake of these two announcements there was a fair amount of desperate "football is dying" talk.
But it seems UNCC has granted some people's holiday wishes and brought peace on earth to football-loving folks.
It will not be a cheap endeavor, however. The stadium will cost $40.5 million and the student body is slated to bear most of the financial burden with fees predicted to be raised by $320 over the course of the next few years. This number could go down, according to the Chancellor, if private donations increase. Of course, by this logic, they could also go up if donations go down. I mean they say the recession is over, but...
It was not an uncontroversial decision as you might imagine--especially because of the above-mentioned economic uncertainty. But it had many proponents as well.
The decision is not final final yet. It has to be approved by the Board of Governors in February.
This is also a good time to mention that Hofstra University cut its team last week, shortly after Northeastern University announced it was cutting its team due to the expenses associated with the team and the inability to properly upgrade facilities.
And in the wake of these two announcements there was a fair amount of desperate "football is dying" talk.
But it seems UNCC has granted some people's holiday wishes and brought peace on earth to football-loving folks.
It will not be a cheap endeavor, however. The stadium will cost $40.5 million and the student body is slated to bear most of the financial burden with fees predicted to be raised by $320 over the course of the next few years. This number could go down, according to the Chancellor, if private donations increase. Of course, by this logic, they could also go up if donations go down. I mean they say the recession is over, but...
It was not an uncontroversial decision as you might imagine--especially because of the above-mentioned economic uncertainty. But it had many proponents as well.
The decision is not final final yet. It has to be approved by the Board of Governors in February.
Tuesday, December 01, 2009
Is collegiate football dying?
Well if you listen to the commentary that has come with the announcement that Northeastern University has cut its football program you would think we were back in the early 1900s when football almost died a quick death due to concerns over morality and mortality.
The story on NESN (New England Sports Network) keeps running over and over. It starts with footage of Doug Flutie's Hail Mary pass 25 years ago when he was Boston College's quarterback and then shows footage of NU's women's hockey team (probably one of the few times women's ice hockey makes it to NESN) where the network found NU AD Peter Robie who made the announcement last week. But the whole story is framed around Boston football and how Boston University cut its football team (years and years ago) and now Northeastern is "following suit."
It is unfortunate when any sport gets cut--as we have noted time and time again. But the loss of NU football is not an augury or comment on the state of football. After all, as the NESN story noted, BU has done just fine since cutting its program. (I heard the other day that it offers the 2nd-most expensive undergraduate education in the country. So the lack of a football program has not hurt enrollment.)
When the story first broke, and before the panic attack, I looked at NU's numbers. The school has a 50/50 male/female undergraduate ratio and women receive 47 percent of athletic opportunities. So Title IX was not a factor in the cuts. It was truly a money issue, primarily over the cost of renovating facilities that would attract quality players in order to become competitive again.
But what I did notice was that with football gone, NU would--if it chooses to comply with prong one--be able to add a men's sport. They have women's swimming and diving already. They could add men's swimming and diving which is generally considered a lower cost sport (they already have the pool after all!). And at a time when many eastern schools are cutting men's swimming, it might make NU a popular destination. (Note that I do not know several important factors that would influence such a decision including the current state of the swimming facilities or what kind of competition exists in NU's conference or geographic area.)
In other words, the loss of NU's football program will sting for a little bit, but like BU did, NU will move on and likely improve the overall strength of its athletic department. And football is nowhere near dying.
The story on NESN (New England Sports Network) keeps running over and over. It starts with footage of Doug Flutie's Hail Mary pass 25 years ago when he was Boston College's quarterback and then shows footage of NU's women's hockey team (probably one of the few times women's ice hockey makes it to NESN) where the network found NU AD Peter Robie who made the announcement last week. But the whole story is framed around Boston football and how Boston University cut its football team (years and years ago) and now Northeastern is "following suit."
It is unfortunate when any sport gets cut--as we have noted time and time again. But the loss of NU football is not an augury or comment on the state of football. After all, as the NESN story noted, BU has done just fine since cutting its program. (I heard the other day that it offers the 2nd-most expensive undergraduate education in the country. So the lack of a football program has not hurt enrollment.)
When the story first broke, and before the panic attack, I looked at NU's numbers. The school has a 50/50 male/female undergraduate ratio and women receive 47 percent of athletic opportunities. So Title IX was not a factor in the cuts. It was truly a money issue, primarily over the cost of renovating facilities that would attract quality players in order to become competitive again.
But what I did notice was that with football gone, NU would--if it chooses to comply with prong one--be able to add a men's sport. They have women's swimming and diving already. They could add men's swimming and diving which is generally considered a lower cost sport (they already have the pool after all!). And at a time when many eastern schools are cutting men's swimming, it might make NU a popular destination. (Note that I do not know several important factors that would influence such a decision including the current state of the swimming facilities or what kind of competition exists in NU's conference or geographic area.)
In other words, the loss of NU's football program will sting for a little bit, but like BU did, NU will move on and likely improve the overall strength of its athletic department. And football is nowhere near dying.
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
Conference of interest
The Center for the Study of Sport in Society at Northeastern University will be holding a conference on sport and social justice in June. The Power of Sports Summit is open to scholars, activists, and those working in sport and for social justice (everyone from coaches to program coordinators/administrators) and will be held at NEU June 14 and 15. Topics to be addressed include legal issues and gender segregation but many many more (see the above link for topics and registration information). What is intriguing about this gathering is the format which will breakout groups lead by facilitators from the center. It looks to be very interactive and hopefully will draw people with a range of experiences and knowledge.
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