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Reexamining Sexual Assault Policies On Campus

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Education Secretary Betsy DeVos declared that "the era of 'rule by letter' is over" as she announced plans to change the way colleges and university handle allegations of sexual violence on campus, during a speech at George Mason University on Thursday, Sept. 7, 2017. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP)
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos declared that "the era of 'rule by letter' is over" as she announced plans to change the way colleges and university handle allegations of sexual violence on campus, during a speech at George Mason University on Thursday, Sept. 7, 2017. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP)

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos made waves last week when she announced the administration would be reexamining the current policies on how schools should handle allegations of sexual misconduct.

"The truth is that the system established by the prior administration has failed too many students," DeVos said at George Mason University. "Survivors, victims of a lack of due process and campus administrators have all told me that the current approach does a disservice to everyone involved. That's why we must do better, because the current approach isn't working."

There's a lot to unpack, and a lot at stake, so we reached out to two experts for an honest discussion about whether changes need to be made to the way most schools handle sexual assault allegations.

Guests

Lee Burdette Williams, former dean of students at Wheaton College in Norton. She tweets @leebwilliams.

Colby Bruno, senior legal counsel at the Victim Rights Law Center in Boston, which tweets @VictimRightsLaw.

This segment aired on September 14, 2017.

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