Sexual assault is so awful that it ought to be treated as the crime that it is. That means it shouldn't be treated the same way Judge Wapner might have decided a small-claims dispute on The People's Court.
Yet that's what the Massachusetts Senate apparently wants on college campuses. This past week, the Senate breezily approved a bill (Senate Bill 2191) that provides a "preponderance of the evidence" standard for college tribunals adjudicating claims of sexual misconduct made by students.
BOSTON — A bill that addresses campus sexual assault and harassment allegations swept through the Senate in a unanimous vote this week, but a close inspection of the language suggests it may open up the Bay State's colleges and universities to a batch of lawsuits from the accused.
The unintended consequences stemming from the measure, titled "An Act Relative to Sexual Violence on College Campuses," could be similar to the legal ramifications that dogged former President Barack Obama's Title IX directive instructing colleges and universities to rely on a "preponderance of the evidence" standard instead of due process.
