According to U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, sexual harassment is harassment in a professional or social situation, involving the making of unwanted sexual advances or obscene remarks. The United States Education Secretary Betsy DeVos believes this is no longer the true meaning of sexual harassment; she believes that too many students have been falsely accused of sexual harassment. DeVos made her case at George Mason University, saying that the system that Obama had made was failing the students and she would like the public support and input on this. Obama’s system involves the “Dear Colleague” letter, that states that schools need to take immediate action after a harassment report has been filed to help stop more things like this from happening. According to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Title IX of the education amendment, “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance”. Devos would like to change Title IX. She believes that with a new Title IX it will lower the amount of sexual assualt, and decrease the amount of falsely accused. DeVos wants to pay more attention to the accused, which is the opposite of what Obama was trying to do when he was president. This was not a surprising statement for many, due to the fact that she stayed silent when asked if she would change the 2011 policy the “Dear Colleague” letter.

So far, DeVos has not made any changes to the policy, but definitely plans too. She is very concerned with this issue and would like to take it head-on. She believes Obama’s rules toward sexual harassment can lead to a lot of students getting falsely accused of sexual harassment. For instance, in one case that took place at the University of Southern California, a student named Matt Boermeester was with his girlfriend and another student had taken it as harassment. His girlfriend then testified for her boyfriend that no harassment took place. The court decided that she was a pressured victim and was concerned for her safety, which then led to her boyfriend being guilty of sexual harassment. Matt Boermeester is one of the students that DeVos would like to help with this new policy. After talking with more students in similar situations she feels this is a big issue. In another instance, Dan Mcclure a Professor at San Jose, shared a similar story and said that in the outcome, “This put the accused student under great distress both emotionally and financially.” Some people fear that Devos’s plan will cause the victim to feel as if they are no longer safe and can cause sexual harassment to not get the required attention that is needed. If the title changes, they also fear these issues will not be taken seriously anymore and that victims will simply be seen as someone who is just trying to get someone else in trouble.

Professor Mcclure states, “I disagree with the changes to scrap the Obama era policy that favored the victim of sexual harassment or assault. If universities are allowed to decide on the standards of evidence, this may favor the aggressor, especially within the universities that value athletic achievement over individual rights.” He also shows concern on how students will react towards the change in policy, “I am concerned about the potential victims of sexual assault. In my opinion, the punishment often does not match the severity of the crime as it relates to sexual assault on a college campus.”

Some attorneys believe this system is going to be fared better for the accused because they believe there are too many accused students and have no way of defending themselves. They feel the accused are perceived as automatically in the wrong. So as of right now, there is no compromise on both points of view. One being people who believe they should be focusing on victims. While the other side thinks that the falsely accused should have more of the attention.

DeVos has said some things in this policy are working while others just need a change. Some people decided to protest right outside the doors from where Devos’ speech took place at George Mason University and Colleges haven’t made any official responses towards this argument. The protesters who disagree with her believe there needs to be more focus on the victim’s at this time. They feel that Obama had brought the issue up and taken action. Some worry that rights will be taken away from the victims. DeVos does want it to be fair for both sides, but her main focus is still focused on the accused. She is convinced there have been too many falsely accused and action needs to be taken.

This policy may continue to evolve as students go to college and students need to be aware of how these rules and boundaries can affect them. Sexual assault will unfortunately always be a concern, but as long as we remain aware, we can hope to educate everyone on such matters.