safety alert

[pearlythebunny.livejournal.com]

To: The Tufts Community

From: Tufts Police

Date: July 6, 2008

Tufts Police received an initial report on July 6, 2008 regarding a
sexual assault. The incident occurred at approximately 6:00 a.m. on
Dearborn Road in Somerville, MA. The assailant approached the victim on
Dearborn Road and forcefully took the victim under a house porch.

The description of the assailant, given by the victim is as follows:
white male, brown wavy hair, light colored eyes, wearing a black T-shirt
and has a tongue ring.

An area search was conducted by Tufts Police and Somerville Police,
which proved negative. At this time, no suspects have been identified.

Comments

[zmgmeister.livejournal.com]

That cuts both ways. In the 1990s, when there was a big outcry against acquaintance rape, there was a lot of doubt about whether a defendant could get due process in "campus court".

At most schools, campus hearings only require a preponderance of evidence to determine guilt, not guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. It often comes down to who they believe more.

At Tufts, from reading the reports on disciplinary cases in the paper, they always seemed to return a guilty verdict. Sometimes there wasn't even a hearing; there was a case in the late 1990s where a student was accused of fraud, something about joining a music purchasing thing under a phony name.

He was suspended, and then came back the next semester and wrote an article in the school paper about his ordeal, that the school decided there was enough evidence against him to not bother with a hearing. Umm, no. I don't care if the dean sees you do it himself; you should have the right to tell your side of the story.