Officials from OCR frequently assert that one in five students on college campuses will become the victim of sexual assault. However, Smith questions these widely quoted statistics. “This would mean that our college campuses are now vastly more dangerous than the most crime-ridden U.S. cities,” he writes. “Detroit recorded an average of 33 rapes per 100,000 people in 2006. DOE would have us believe that 200 sexual assaults will occur on a campus of just 1,000 people. Does DOE have evidence supporting this crime wave? If so, it should be released forthwith to law enforcement everywhere.”
In concluding the piece, the attorney reiterates the seriousness of these cases and acknowledges that problems exist on American campuses. But the best way to deal with these problems is not to lower the burden of proof, he writes, but to ramp up criminal penalties and give law enforcement more tools and resources. Whatever OCR’s intentions in drafting the letter, the way it was implemented has created serious questions about government officials’ objectivity on these matters. “OCR’s job is to enforce the law as passed by Congress by adopting and implementing appropriate regulations,” Smith writes. “This is serious business and involves immense power and responsibility … OCR should take a transparent and thorough approach to such issues, with the usual public hearings and calls for informed factual input by all concerned. However, what’s done is now done. Unless successfully challenged at great burden and expense, the letter is, de facto, the law. Still, one is left to ponder the agenda behind it and whether justice truly has been served.”
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