Monday, September 30, 2019



Boston College Student Accused of Sexual Assault Wins Over $100,000

Boston College has paid a former student over $100,000 after a federal jury sided with him on his claim that the school mishandled sexual assault allegations against him.

The suit deals with an incident that occurred seven years ago when the defendant, named John Doe in court documents, was a senior at Boston College, according to an account from Inside Higher Education. It was the first sex assault suit to reach a jury trial since the Obama administration implemented new rules in 2011 for how institutions of higher education should handle sexual misconduct allegations,

Doe was covering an event on a cruise ship for his college newspaper when he was accused of approaching a females student, referred to as AB in the suit, on the dance floor and penetrating her anally with his fingers.

A friend of Doe’s, known as JK in court filings, who was walking in front of Doe just before the female student began yelling, turned around and said to Doe, “Sorry, dude, that was my bad.”

Several minutes later, security guards took Doe into custody, and after the ship docked Massachusetts State Police arrested him and detained him overnight. He was charged with indecent assault and battery.

Later, a Boston College Police Department officer filed an error-riddled report describing those events, stating falsely that Doe was dancing with AB when the assault occurred and that she saw and recognized her assaulter. That was the version of the story passed among university officials.

Doe’s complaint states that he suspects JK committed the assault. During a recorded phone call between the two after the incident, Doe described the allegations to JK, who reportedly responded, “What a bitch. What kind of girl goes to a dance floor like that and doesn’t expect to get touched or grabbed?”

The college began an internal investigation of Doe before the criminal investigation was completed and opted to suspend Doe for over a year. He eventually graduated in 2014. The criminal charges against him were dropped after none of the victim’s DNA was found on his hands and the cruise ship’s security footage showed him several feet away from AB during the probable moment of the assault.

Since then, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit ruled last year that Boston College likely broke state law by breaching its contract with Doe as well as denying him “basic fairness.”

Doe has won a total of $102,400 from his alma mater.

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has since rolled back the Obama administration’s stricter rules dealing with sexual misconduct at universities.

SOURCE 






UK: University of Edinburgh is accused of 'blatant racism' for hosting an equality conference where white people are BANNED from asking questions

Edinburgh University has been slated for hosting an event where white people will be banned from asking questions - which has been described as 'blatantly racist'.

A Q&A event - Resisting Whiteness 2019 - will bar Caucasian guests from speaking from the floor.

There will also be two 'safe spaces' - one of which white people are banned from entering.

University bosses have 'raised concerns' about aspects of the event.

The event will take place on Saturday at the prestigious university, with the intention of 'amplifying the voices of people of colour' and giving 'people of colour a platform to talk'.

The all-day event costs up to £20 to attend, and will be held at the Pleasance Theatre.

A blurb says: 'We will therefore not be giving the microphone to white people during the Q&As, not because we don't think white people have anything to offer to the discussion, but because we want to amplify the voices of people of colour.

'If you are a white person with a question, please share it with a member of the committee or our speakers after the panel discussion.'

And it explains why white people have been barred from one of the 'safe spaces' - for people to retreat if they feel 'overwhelmed/overstimulated or uncomfortable'.  It said: 'The Braid room is a safe space for only people of colour, and the Cheviot room is available for anyone who needs it.'

Anti-racism campaigner Jane McColl, 42, of Glasgow said: 'This event is blatantly racist. 'It sets back the battle to achieve equality and fairness by decades, all because of the actions of a tiny group of extremists, whose perverse sense of logic has led them to belittle white people, not by who they are as individuals, by merely because of their skin colour.

'Imagine if this event was called 'Resisting Blackness' and non-white people were told they could not ask questions, nor access a room because they were the 'wrong' colour.'

A spokesman for the University of Edinburgh said: 'Tackling racism is an important topic for debate and the University is supportive of events addressing this issue. 'However, we are an organisation that places great value on issues around equality and voice.

'Consequently the University has met with the event organisers to ensure the event is compliant with our values.  'We have expressed our concerns to them about certain aspects of the format of the event and they are revising their 'safe space' policy for the conference as a result.'

SOURCE 





College Admissions Scandal Ensnares 52nd Defendant and Counting

Fifty-two defendants and counting. That’s how many people have been indicted or otherwise charged in the college admissions and testing-bribery scandal.

When the story first broke last spring, we wrote that the first round of indictments had to be the tip of the iceberg, because over time, those in the government crosshairs would sing like a bird—and boy, have they ever.

So, what has happened since the story first broke, and where does this sordid saga go from here?

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts took the lead in these cases. As we detailed here and here, the case broke wide open in March, when the government unsealed an indictment and criminal complaint against scores of parents who were desperate to get their kids into colleges they otherwise could not get into on their own merit, passing them off as recruited athletes.

The 52nd defendant is Xiaoning Sui, from British Columbia, Canada. She was arrested in Spain this week and charged by indictment in federal district court in Boston. Extradition proceedings to get her back to the United States will start soon.

According to the indictment, Sui conspired with the ringleader William “Rick” Singer to get her son into UCLA as a soccer recruit, and paid Singer $400,000 to accomplish the task.

Singer took photographs of Sui’s son—a tennis player—and worked with co-conspirator and government cooperator Laura Janke, who pleaded guilty on March 14 and will be sentenced Jan. 18. Janke fabricated a soccer profile for the boy, passing him off as an ace player for two private soccer clubs in Canada.

Singer, in turn, worked with the head men’s soccer coach at UCLA, Jorge Salcedo, to pass the boy off to the UCLA admissions office as a top recruit for Salcedo.

It worked. The boy was admitted as a soccer recruit, and was awarded a 25% scholarship as part of his recruitment.

Singer reportedly mailed a check to Salcedo for $100,000. Salcedo was indicted and arraigned in federal court in March, pleaded not guilty, and has a status hearing with the judge in Boston on Oct. 1.

Like all defendants, Salcedo is presumed under the law to be innocent, unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Recall that Singer was the “fixer” who the parents worked with to get their children into college by the “side door”—the phrase that he used when working with parents, accepting their money, fixing test scores, and bribing college officials.

Apparently, the “front door,” the standard way of trying to get into college—get good grades, take the SAT/ACT on your own, apply to college, and see if you are admitted—wasn’t good enough for these defendants.

Nor was the “back door,” which apparently is to give huge sums of money to a college for a dormitory, sports field, or endowment, because there was no guarantee that your progeny would be accepted by the admissions office.

The Massachusetts U.S. Attorney’s Office has created a handy webpage that lists each defendant, the charges, the case status, the sentence the government has recommended, and the sentence the district court judge imposed.

As you can see from the chart, there are two categories of defendants: those charged by an indictment (which is returned by a grand jury) and those charged by an information (a charging document filed by the U.S. attorney, in which the defendant waives his or her right to have the charges presented to a grand jury, which often happens when a plea agreement has been reached).

Twenty-three defendants have pleaded guilty to an information, including actress Felicity Huffman. Huffman was one of two defendants to date who have been sentenced. Six defendants, including Singer, have agreed to cooperate with the government’s investigation.

Twenty-five defendants have pleaded not guilty, including another actress, Lori Loughlin. Two defendants have not yet pleaded, and two others have filed motions to dismiss their indictments.

The next date to watch is Oct. 2, when several of the defendants have status conferences with the trial judge.

Behind the scenes, government prosecutors no doubt have been providing defense lawyers with a preview of their case against each defendant, who in turn will discuss with their attorneys the pros and cons of contesting the charges or pleading guilty.

The fact that Singer has pleaded guilty and is cooperating with the government strengthens the government’s hand in many, if not most, of these cases.

Expect to see more guilty pleas by those indicted, and likely more charges filed against new defendants as this sordid tale continues to unspool.

SOURCE 



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