The Missoulian, July 17, on Betsy DeVos and campus sexual assaults:
The University of Montana, for all its struggles in recent years, can proudly claim some important successes. One of the most important of these is its work in prevention and response to sexual assaults on campus.
The reforms instituted at UM have been held up repeatedly as a model not just for other education institutions in Montana, but across the U.S. And that comes not a moment too soon, given the longstanding, nationwide problem of sex assault on campuses. The U.S. Department of Education puts the number of college victims, admittedly under-reported, at 20 percent of women and 6 percent of men.
And yet the Education Department, under new Secretary Betsy DeVos, appears poised to roll back critical improvements like those made at UM, returning college campuses to an outdated system that allows rapists to go unpunished - and free to rape again.
This line of thinking must be disputed in no uncertain terms. We cannot allow all the progress made at UM to unravel due to ignorance and a too-weak response to bad suggestions.
Montana Attorney General Tim Fox, who was so instrumental in helping the Missoula County Attorney’s Office under former County Attorney Fred Van Valkenburg reach an understanding with the U.S. Department of Justice, must take a firm position in support of the campus sex assault guidelines adopted during the Obama administration.
Fox, a Republican, must be among those making a forceful argument to Trump administration officials. He must unequivocally support the current recommended system, which makes it easier for university officials to support students who reported sexual assaults and penalize students who commit sexual assault.
Last week DeVos held “listening sessions” that rightly garnered backlash for including representatives from so-call “men’s rights” groups in an apparent attempt to provide balance. Unbelievably, the acting director of the civil rights office for the Education Department, Candice Jackson, told the New York Times that Title IX investigations have not been balanced because “90 percent” of accusations “fall into the category of ’we were both drunk,’ ’we broke up, and six months later I found myself under a Title IX investigation because she just decided that our last sleeping together was not quite right.’”
Jackson has since apologized, but it should concern every American that the person in charge of handling civil rights for the Education Department holds beliefs about rape that would have been considered ill-informed and outdated more than 20 years ago, and which is disproved by data from her own department.
The University of Montana became the focus of federal investigations five years ago, after allegations of sexual assault and the university’s handling of those reports, as well as the response from local police and prosecutors, were brought to the attention of the U.S. Departments of Justice and Education. Settlements were subsequently reached with each entity involved, and local agencies have since fulfilled the terms of those agreements.
In 2011, before the federal investigations began, the U.S. Department of Education directed all universities to use a preponderance of evidence standard for sexual assault investigations involving students. Previously, some campuses had relied on a “clear and convincing” legal standard that did not meet Title IX requirements. The Education Department mandate clarified the process and made it more consistent across campuses.
Most importantly, however, it allowed universities that found it more likely than not that sexual violence had occurred to discipline or expel the offender. This did not, of course, affect the criminal investigation process, which is conducted outside the university system.
Universities are not courts of law and do not have the investigative or legal authority of police. Rather, they are tasked with educating students in an environment where the civil rights of are students are respected equally. Title IX is based on ensuring equal access to federally supported education programs regardless of gender.
But the “clear and convincing” standard of evidence used by some universities wrongly applied a criminal legal definition to a civil rights matter, and stacked the deck from the get-go against those who reported being sexual assaulted. It meant that a university investigation might conclude that sexual violence had occurred, but result in no punishment whatsoever for the rapist.
The current guidelines have provided an important tool for universities to crack down on sexual assault, a widespread problem that has been allowed to fester for far too long. It boggles the mind that DeVos reportedly does not consider these guideline appropriate and is open to tossing them out.
That would return America’s college campuses to a system that should be left in the dustbins of history.
The entire Montana University System must swiftly and clearly communicate that to DeVos. AG Fox must speak up in support of the current guidelines as well. Politics aside, maintaining policy improvements that make our college campuses safer and protect our students from sexual assault is clearly the right thing to do.
Editorial: https://bit.ly/2trcnwG
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Bozeman Daily Chronicle, July 16, on Upper Missouri Breaks National Monument:
On Thursday, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke released the names of two national monuments, one in Washington and one in Idaho, that would not be changed in size or status as part of an ongoing review of national monuments ordered by the Trump administration.
Conspicuously absent from that short list was the Upper Missouri Breaks National Monument right here in his home state of Montana. Zinke said in late June that the Breaks status would likely remain unchanged, but he has yet to make that official.
He is strongly urged to do so.
At the direction of the President Trump, Zinke is engaged in reviewing the status of more than two dozen national monuments. He is undoubtedly under a lot of pressure to make a show of eliminating or shrinking a significant number of them.
Zinke needs to show some independence on this and resist whatever pressure he is feeling to change the status of the Breaks. This area, almost half a million acres in size, is in largely the same condition it was in when Lewis and Clark first formally documented it as part of the Louisiana Purchase in the first years of the 19th century. And it continues to provide excellent habitat for mule deer, elk and other plains species of wildlife.
A poll conducted recently for the Montana Wildlife Federation found that nearly 60 percent of Montanans oppose any change in status or change in size of the area protected in this national monument. During the recently ended comment period on the issue, some 12,000 Montanans urged that the Breaks be left alone. An analysis by the Bozeman-based Headwaters Economics found that nearby local economies expanded following the designation of 17 national monuments.
Since the Breaks monument designation in 2001, cattle grazing leases have been continued in the area. And the designation did not affect existing mining claims and energy leases.
Gov. Steve Bullock and Sen. Jon Tester have voiced their support for keeping this monument as is. Sen. Steve Daines and Rep. Greg Gianforte are urged to lend their voices to his effort as Zinke considers the fate of the Breaks.
The Missouri River Breaks was a breathtaking addition to the national monument system when it was designated 16 years ago. And it should stay that way.
Editorial: https://bit.ly/2uKm2yu
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Great Falls Tribune, July 18, on staying out of first responders’ way:
We certainly know better.
Sirens are blaring, the emergency vehicle lights are flashing and we know we need to pull over to the right and get out of their way. There is an emergency somewhere and the professionals and volunteers are on their way to help.
But sometimes curiosity overtakes our common sense, which was the case Monday when a large, black plume of smoke towered north of the northwest side of Great Falls.
Too many of us decided to head that way to find out what was going on. The result was a traffic jam that easily could have elevated the event to a disaster.
“The biggest thing we ran into was the nightmare traffic,” said Jeremy Jones, battalion chief for Great Falls Fire Rescue. “We actually were delayed in responding because of the traffic of people looking at the incident.”
What should have been a two-minute drive for Great Falls firefighters turned into a 15-minute trip, Jones said.
Firetrucks had difficulty squeezing through narrow streets.
Firefighters, the professionals and those who are members of volunteer departments, contained the blaze to some old buildings before the fire spread to parched wheat fields. The incident was eerily similar to one last summer when shifting winds brought a wildfire to the edge of Great Falls’ neighborhoods in the same area. Last year, firefighters were also delayed by droves of curious people hoping to get a look at what was going on.
It’s a matter of time before a delay comes with consequences, Jones said.
“What it’s going to do is it’s going to cause an incident to get bigger because we’re not able to get there in a timely manner to get it stopped,” Jones said.
“The public needs to stay back because they are going to get somebody killed,” said Tom Martin, chief of the Black Eagle Fire Department.
Don’t let Martin’s words become a foreshadow of a situation that is avoidable during a time when so many events are out of our control.
What if it is your home those firetrucks are headed to, or your elderly parent’s home, or an accident involving your spouse or your child?
Stay back, or better stay away, and let the emergency personnel do their work when disaster strikes.
If you really can’t resist the call to head to an emergency, then consider volunteering for the many organizations that respond to disasters. We know they are always looking for capable volunteers.
Editorial: https://gftrib.com/2tqS56w
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