The alleged offender was found not guilty because it was literally the girl's word against his without any evidence. If she was sexually assaulted, then it's tragic that he was let off the hook. However, the way burden of proof works is that someone cannot be suspended/expelled when it's only one word against another.
Of course, you can see the quality of the community:
Quote:
Authorities complied with her request not to open an investigation, in part because she didn't want to draw attention to herself or risk angering the accused attacker and his friends by pursuing charges. He lived in a nearby dorm and his residence hall was the epicenter of her social life, too.
But months later, when several men who lived in his dorm promised to stick by her if she pursued the matter with the university's administration, the woman quietly brought her complaint to the campus disciplinary committee
|
So while the complaint did not work out in her favor, the community around her, including male students in the alleged offender's dorm (dorms being tight-knit, four-year communities), were very supportive, moreso than similar reports I have seen from other schools.
We cannot know what happened between these two, and we weren't in the hearing, but it seems like the victim's advocate and the board heard both students out; the article also highlights the risks posed to the male student. In cases like this, the university does punish students, and expels those who are convicted in court.
If these are beyond your standards, you should warn your daughter against Yale (
NYP,
CBS,
NPR), Harvard (
ABA), and basically any other college where students have sexual encounters.
Of course, if your daughter shares your penchant for overreaction, unsupported judgement, and not reading all the facts, maybe she should look elsewhere.