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I'd like to attempt to do a complete end run around the impending anecdote war and ask: how the hell are academic professors, lecturers, staff, and students agr

I'd like to attempt to do a complete end run around the impending anecdote war and ask: how the hell are academic professors, lecturers, staff, and students agreeing to serve in a position of power where they make recommendations/findings/whatever on potentially criminal acts by university students without having any expertise whatsoever in criminal law? If one sits on a university panel and is shown evidence that one student raped another student, how is one's next action not to go to the police station and hand over that exact same evidence? If one is not being shown any actual evidence, how can one possibly rationalize participating in such a proceeding? If you are an academic and have served in this capacity, please explain to me how your decision was motivated by anything other than a desire not to rock the boat. Please also explain how serving in a non-expert position of power over students who have potentially committed criminal acts is compatible with being a humble and conscientious scholar.

extra88 9y ago
They don't operate with a criminal court's standard of evidence and the punishment meted out is not criminal punishment. The accuser is free to go to the police in addition to the school's administration, if they chose not to it would be wrong for others to do so. Say you had some friends over including someone you don't know well and a while later you discovered something valuable was missing. You think that person may have taken it because you don't know them well and they had the opportunity, would you not hesitate invite them over because you have no evidence? "Innocent until proven guilty" is a cornerstone of our criminal legal system but not every judgement can, or should, be based on the same standard. I'm not comfortable with the position school administrations are put in but recognize that often times it's better than counting on the criminal justice system in a timely fashion.

extra88 9y ago

They don't operate with a criminal court's standard of evidence and the punishment meted out is not criminal punishment. The accuser is free to go to the police in addition to the school's administration, if they chose not to it would be wrong for others to do so. Say you had some friends over including someone you don't know well and a while later you discovered something valuable was missing. You think that person may have taken it because you don't know them well and they had the opportunity, would you not hesitate invite them over because you have no evidence? "Innocent until proven guilty" is a cornerstone of our criminal legal system but not every judgement can, or should, be based on the same standard. I'm not comfortable with the position school administrations are put in but recognize that often times it's better than counting on the criminal justice system in a timely fashion.