In the past year there has been significant push back against colleges by men who claim they were unjustly expelled after being found responsible for sexual assault. Since January 2014 nearly 40 men have brought suits, among which about two dozen are pending, including high profile cases at Colgate, Cornell, Boston College, Duke, Drew, UMich, UMass and Wesleyan,
Recently, several colleges have reached settlements with former students, including Amherst, DePauw, Marlboro, St. Joseph's, Swarthmore, Temple, UC-Boulder and Xavier.
But contrary to this trend, last week, a highly publicized case brought by Peter Yu against Vassar was dismissed by Ronnie Abrams, a US District Court judge. Abram ruled that Yu was not discriminated against by Vassar College and that the College followed its Title IX procedures as mandated by the Office of Civil Rights. Yu's lawyer plans to appeal.
Yu, a Chinese National, was accused of sexual assault a year after he participated in what he claims was consensual sex with a fellow student, who happens to be the daughter of a Vassar professor. Yu was subsequently found responsible and expelled, on the grounds that the accuser was believed by the adjudicating panel to be too intoxicated to consent.
The judge's summary makes for interesting reading, notably, I think, the section in which she dismisses the significance of exculpatory Facebook messages that the accuser sent to Yu over several weeks after the event (see page 41). These indicate that the sex was consensual (and at one point the accuser even suggests that she may have seduced Yu, who was a virgin at the time); however, for various reasons the panel accepted the accused's excuse that she didn't mean what she wrote.
But the part of the judge's decision that should chill the hearts of parents of any college student (but especially parents of sons) is: Since Vassar is a private college, and not a state actor, "the federal Constitution does not establish the level of due process that Vassar had to give Yu in his disciplinary proceeding."
So basically, if you attend a private college, under the OCR's Title IX's Dear Colleague letter, college sexual assault committees do not have to grant due process rights.
From FIRE: Overall, the opinion presents a meager view of the due process rights to which students at a private college are entitled, so long as the college follows its own procedures (which the court found that Vassar did). The court’s decision should remind prospective students and their parents—particularly those considering private colleges—to take a serious look at what protections those schools offer in their disciplinary procedures before making a decision about where to enroll. Given that expulsion from college is a potentially life-altering event, students should make sure they are comfortable with the level of protection afforded them in expulsion-level hearings.
http://www.mindingthecampus.org/2015/04/the-railroading-of-peter-yu/
https://www.thefire.org/in-due-process-lawsuit-court-rules-in-favor-of-vassar-college/
http://www.wsj.com/articles/in-campus-rape-tribunals-some-men-see-injustice-1428684187
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/due-process-denied-judge-finds-against-vassar-student-accused-of-sexual-assault/article/2562399
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