tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746692.post6558319192858001571..comments2024-03-19T11:28:58.168-04:00Comments on History Unfolding: What's happening on campusDavid Kaiserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05020082243968071584noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746692.post-84102828460408939862017-10-02T00:24:07.761-04:002017-10-02T00:24:07.761-04:00Professor
There are, of course, many other things...Professor<br /><br />There are, of course, many other things going on, apart from your brief account in this passage, as good as its analysis is, as far as it goes:<br /><br />"When sexual assault activists are asked why colleges cannot simply leave criminal accusations to the criminal justice system, they routinely reply that survivors (that is, accusers) do not want to undergo the ordeal that would result, and that it is very difficult to get convictions there. That is true, and there are two reasons for it. The first is that much of what constitutes "sexual assault" on campus today, such as simple unwanted touching with clothes on, isn't illegal at all. But the second is that our criminal justice system requires proof beyond a reasonable doubt, which by definition is most unlikely to be available in what is referred to as a "he said, she said" situation. When the accused tells one story and the accuser another, and there is no very damning evidence ot undermine the credibility of either one, there is very little basis for a jury to conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that one of them is telling the truth. That in turn requires them to find the accused innocent. That, for many sexual assault activists, is an unacceptable outcome."<br /><br />One of the points to make is that academia does not want its campus quarrels turned into criminal cases, for various obvious reasons which you might imagine, not merely the difficulty of obtaining a conviction, something also which the academic institution would not necessarily welcome.<br /><br />There are other aspects...more than noted here. <br /><br />Obtaining convictions is often less difficult than one might imagine, especially if there is prior bad behavior, or a marginally credible additional prosecution witness, of whatever kind or quality.<br /><br />On the other hand, the past behavior of the victim is subject to elaborate attack, and it may not be merely the so called ordeal, but also the alleged victim's libertine past that is brought into issue in some cases.<br /><br />There are of course so many aspects to such a topic....<br /><br />All the best<br /><br />Bozonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18078858723231122013noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746692.post-63884583570013001832017-09-23T08:37:04.148-04:002017-09-23T08:37:04.148-04:00Thought you might find this interesting re your po...Thought you might find this interesting re your post.<br />https://troublethinking.com/2017/09/21/not-unwanted-advances/amp/<br />Mike Doylehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08883239399467042838noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746692.post-83351236409393123692017-09-16T15:07:33.859-04:002017-09-16T15:07:33.859-04:00Professor
Just a little bit of a very timely anal...Professor<br /><br />Just a little bit of a very timely analogy here.<br /><br />"To begin with, there is no presumption of innocence for men accused of sexual harassment. The women who bring accusations are routinely referred to not as accusers, but as survivors, implying that the question of whether a crime took place has already been resolved. That is connected to a second principle of the new procedures: the survivors, not impartial third parties, decide whether a crime has been committed, based on their own feelings." <br /><br />If a police officer believes he is threatened with serious injury or death, then he is. Who, after all, could credibly say him nay, in many circumstances?<br /><br />After all, the threatening person apprehended is normally now rendered silent.<br /><br />The liberal radio is filled with discussions of this topic, in the wake of findings of not guilty, or no liabilty, re officers accused of wrongdoing.<br /><br />That is where our system stands, not just on harassment in schools, but also elsewhere. There are legion analogous situations in the non education workplace.<br /><br />All the bestBozonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18078858723231122013noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746692.post-37889001523486434302017-09-16T04:19:13.290-04:002017-09-16T04:19:13.290-04:00Kant's categorical imperative that your guidin...Kant's categorical imperative that your guiding principle should be a univesal maxim is clearly ignored nowadays. Only personal interests count whoever you are. Jesus said do unto others as you would have them do unto you. This is similar. I remember a t-shirt at school in the 70s 'do unto others then split'. The latter is the modern morality. Make up rules which only benefit yourself ( your example above) or bend existing rules or hide evidence( pentagon weapon smuggling to syria). All this ends badly as it is basically evil or sociopathic or antisocial. <br /><br />I could criticize islam for its practice of forcing two women to testify against one man. There is historicallly, as in racial relations, much bad blood between the sexes. Men can be violent. Women are afraid of coming forward to testify against husbands who control their daily lives, courts. Female reputations were easily destroyed earlier similar to what is done with men today. Being a ladies man used to be good, now it is dangerous as misogynistic, showing little affection, stereotypically male callousness but if a woman has lots of lovers she is now strong, <br />independent, successful. So the balance of power has changed and needs some correction. If boomer feminism which was rebellious disappears with that generation then the xer conservative cynicism on all points will become the fall back position. This is the position you have stated. Legal convention based on centuries of experience, non activist either to left or to right, to female or male. Activism is generally dangerous as it sets off a seies of events which ends very badly. Be careful what you wish for they say. One acquires rights gradually through experience and gaining of responsibility as females have since middle ages(similar to old muslim concepts perhaps) and voting rights and introduction of the pill and mass employment out of household. Basic sexuality cannot change in and of itself however despite technological or social revolutions. Love is a basic component, absolute necessity of biological existence for all animals. To every positive result however hard work is necessary not just pleasure. Old fashioned ideas as in a simon and garfunkel song when the young couple slept platonically the night away and then feared 'their reputation is gone' has gone the way of casual internet dating and mass infection with SIDs(sexual infectious diseaes). Internet boom brought us 2000 bubble, arab spring, amazon, facebook, google, total surveilance state, porn on demand and 25% of Americans pay for a dating service, many of them married or in a relationship. Progress brings freedom but as in Eastern Europe after fall of the wall many found freedom chaotic, destructive(arab spring too). 500 years exactly after Martin Luther( resulting in bloodiest European conflict a century later) we keep relearning what freedom is. Thinking for yourself, being responsible for own actions, Kant's maxim and Jesus words remain basic touchstones like Confuscius' principles. Women are free but will they abuse increased power as badly as men did when unsupervised or allow law and tradition to create a detente, spirit of trust.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746692.post-38564468161125632352017-09-15T20:00:09.588-04:002017-09-15T20:00:09.588-04:00Professor
Fascinating post.
I take it that we a...Professor<br /><br />Fascinating post. <br /><br />I take it that we are talking here mostly about student faculty relations, rather than about student student ones, but that is not at all clear to me from the discussion, and I haven't read Title IX. <br /><br />It seems to me that it has been forever that campuses have mostly had a general, and well reasoned, policy that faculty are not supposed to become intimate with students. They can become friends but those friendships are supposed to be and remain strictly platonic. That is what I recall. These rules were sometimes violated. Problems arise, as you point out, where stories differ...<br /><br />"The most important thing to understand about the new campus doctrine and procedures, in my opinion, is that they are totally contrary to Anglo-American legal traditions as they have evolved at least since Magna Carta in 1215."<br /><br />Magna Carta had to do with rights and privileges of nobles vis a vis the king. Rumpole, for example, of course follows long Anglophone usage in claiming Magna Carta as a warrant for rights and liberties of all Englishmen. This was hardly its meaning at the time.<br /><br /> "To begin with, there is no presumption of innocence for men accused of sexual harassment. The women who bring accusations are routinely referred to not as accusers, but as survivors, implying that the question of whether a crime took place has already been resolved. That is connected to a second principle of the new procedures: the survivors, not impartial third parties, decide whether a crime has been committed, based on their own feelings. That is how Hartley, the grad student, could get a finding against Ludlow despite reams of texts showing that she had been not only a consensual but a very enthusiastic and lovestruck participant in their relationship." <br /><br />Part of Ludlow's problem here, it seems to me, is that his behavior, regardless of Hartley's consent, would have been, per se, against campus policy, regardless, perhaps, of what Title IX happens to require. That, it seems to me is one point, but maybe I am wrong about it. In that sense, the quantity of evidence against Ludlow was apparently truly overwhelming, regardless of consensuality. <br /><br />She might even have begged them not do dismiss him, and the case had still been made.(There are plenty of those types of cases too I imagine.)<br /><br />All the best Bozonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18078858723231122013noreply@blogger.com