[BostonCard]

I think the challenge is that the instinct of most senior administrative personnel is to protect the University over the students, whereas Bob is suggesting the opposite, and that perhaps it's not the world's worst thing to afford accused students protections similar to those of accused criminals in the USA. 

If the instinct was to protect the university, then the decision to forge ahead with the Meyer investigation backfired spectacularly.  But even more to the point, I’m not sure what the case was that moving ahead would protect the University.  Even had she not taken her life, if word had gotten out, the media would have run with the idea that a male football player who committed sexual assault on a minor was not disciplined while a female soccer player was dragged through the investigative bureaucracy for standing up for her teammate.  Something about this case doesn’t totally add up.

On your other point, I agree, and I think having access to defense counsel probably would have increased the likelihood of a resolution that worked for all.  There might be a tendency to think that “lawyering up” is what guilty people do to avoid responsibility, but it can just as much lead to the equivalent of a plea deal that can mostly satisfy everyone or most people.  And it also does protect innocent people from being railroaded.  And it helps vulnerable people see a path forward to resolution.

One thing that needs to be pointed out is that any protections afforded by due process are afforded to the worst people you can imagine as much as sympathetic accused.  Think of someone like Brock Turner using the protections of due process.  That can produce friction with victims rights advocates, and even with the everyday people who want maximum protections for sympathetic defendants but to have the book thrown at those “clearly guilty”.  To me, I am willing to accept the necessity of protecting the most odious to ensure that everyone is treated fairly, but you have to have the courage of conviction to say that due process means due process for all and not just for the people you like.

BC

[BostonCard]

I think the challenge is that the instinct of most senior administrative personnel is to protect the University over the students, whereas Bob is suggesting the opposite, and that perhaps it's not the world's worst thing to afford accused students protections similar to those of accused criminals in the USA. 

If the instinct was to protect the university, then the decision to forge ahead with the Meyer investigation backfired spectacularly.  But even more to the point, I’m not sure what the case was that moving ahead would protect the University.  Even had she not taken her life, if word had gotten out, the media would have run with the idea that a male football player who committed sexual assault on a minor was not disciplined while a female soccer player was dragged through the investigative bureaucracy for standing up for her teammate.  Something about this case doesn’t totally add up.

On your other point, I agree, and I think having access to defense counsel probably would have increased the likelihood of a resolution that worked for all.  There might be a tendency to think that “lawyering up” is what guilty people do to avoid responsibility, but it can just as much lead to the equivalent of a plea deal that can mostly satisfy everyone or most people.  And it also does protect innocent people from being railroaded.  And it helps vulnerable people see a path forward to resolution.

One thing that needs to be pointed out is that any protections afforded by due process are afforded to the worst people you can imagine as much as sympathetic accused.  Think of someone like Brock Turner using the protections of due process.  That can produce friction with victims rights advocates, and even with the everyday people who want maximum protections for sympathetic defendants but to have the book thrown at those “clearly guilty”.  To me, I am willing to accept the necessity of protecting the most odious to ensure that everyone is treated fairly, but you have to have the courage of conviction to say that due process means due process for all and not just for the people you like.

BC