STATE FEMINISM SAYS WOMEN ARE TOO DUMB TO KNOW WHEN THEY’VE CONSENTED: She said she wasn’t raped, but the school expelled him anyway.
It no longer seems to matter what the woman involved in a sexual encounter says. Schools are so hell bent on proving to the federal government that they take sexual assault accusations seriously that they’ll expel someone based on a third-party accusation – even if the alleged victim says there was no rape.
This is the exact scenario that played out at Colorado State University-Pueblo, according to a lawsuit filed by the accused student, Grant Neal. Now, in a first for accused students, Neal is suing not only his school but also the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights, whose overzealous attention to the issue of campus sexual assault by way of non-binding but consequence-heavy “Dear Colleague” letters has created a culture where accusations equal guilt and due process rights barely exist, if at all.
Neal, a member of the football team and pre-med student, met a woman referred to in the lawsuit as Jane Doe in the fall of 2014, while she participated in the school’s Athletic Training Program. The two became close, according to the lawsuit, but did not pursue a romantic relationship because Jane thought it would jeopardize her position in the program.
The two became closer and eventually went to see a movie together. When they returned to Neal’s car, they began to kiss. The two engaged in digital and oral sexual activity before Neal drove Jane back to her home. The next day, the two attended a party with other members of the football team and began to flirt. They avoided public displays of affection and left the party separately.
The following day Neal had decided to host a barbeque party at his home. An hour-and-a-half before the party was scheduled to start, Jane texted Neal and invited him to her house. Jane was home alone. The two went into her bedroom to discuss their relationship, but decided it was too dangerous for them to be in a relationship at that time. Regardless, the two began to kiss and remove their own clothing. The two eventually had sex.
When Neal tried to leave, Jane repeatedly tried to get him to stay, according to the lawsuit. Neal said he didn’t want to give Jane a “hickey” because other players would see it and perhaps think that it was from him. Jane told him to kiss her neck anyway and said she would wear a hoodie the next day to avoid suspicion.
Neal left Jane to return to his own party. He and Jane traded friendly text messages later that evening.
But the next day, one of Jane’s peers noticed the hickey and asked her about it. Jane admitted to the sexual activity with Neal. Despite no indication from Jane that the sex was nonconsensual, the peer reported the incident to the school’s director of athletic training. She accused Neal of raping Jane.
It’s the “peer” who should be disciplined.