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N&N: Harvard Law School professors speak out against Harvard's new sexual assault policies

A group of 28 Harvard Law School professors said Harvard University’s new sexual assault policy is “overwhelmingly stacked against the accused” and “in no way required by Title IX law or regulation” in a letter published in the Boston Globe.

Harvard announced its new sexual assault policy in July, forming an Office for Sexual and Gender-Based Dispute Resolution to handle cases. The school also adopted the U.S. Education Department’s recommendation to reduce the burden of proof from “clear and persuasive” to the “preponderance of evidence” standard in adjudicating cases.

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The new policy also changed Harvard’s definition of sexual harassment, which the professors said “goes significantly beyond Title IX and Title VII law.”

The letter also says the new policy does not ensure adequate representation for the accused and that the school did not engage a broad group of faculty from its different schools, including the law school, when making its decision.

Princeton University recently adopted changes to its sexual assault policy under pressure from the federal government, reducing the burden of proof and removing student presence from the adjudication panel, among other changes.

 

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