In the state of Arizona, a rape conviction is a class two felony. For first-time convictions, the penalty can be up to 14 years, with the person placed on the sex offender registry for life. Many would argue that crime is worth a heinous punishment, but a victim says that the board at Arizona State University felt that mere expulsion from college was too severe a punishment for a student they found responsible for committing sexual assault.
According to babe.net, ASU’s university board felt that his standing in the community means he deserves leniency.
Brooke also alerted ASU’s Title IX team, who began investigating her case. They found James responsible for sexual misconduct – but not causing physical harm – at a hearing in August, declaring that he should be expelled.
James appealed and on November 20, the university board ruled that expulsion was “too severe” a punishment. Citing his high GPA and his position as an engineering student, they said he should merely be suspended and made to complete a sexual misconduct course.
They called him an “essential member” of a research team and a “significant member” of the ASU community. I don’t know about you, but the excuses make it sound that if you’re deemed ‘valuable’ to enough people you should be allowed to stay. Would the rape be more egregious if the rapist had a lower GPA?
For comparison, consider this: According to ASU’s website, academic dishonesty—such as cheating on a test or pretending someone else’s work is your own—can result in expulsion. ASU makes it clear that they see how cheating can be harmful to everyone involved. They explain (emphasis added):
- ASU degrees could mean less. If ASU develops a reputation for academic dishonesty based on high levels of student cheating, students’ future employers, colleagues and others could have less respect for their accomplishments at ASU.
- Cheating creates an unfair grading environment for others. Whether or not a course is graded on a curve, a student who cheats, turns in high-quality work and is not caught raises the expectations about work quality for all students.
- Cheating can directly affect innocent students. For example, if a student plagiarizes on a group project, all the students in the group may be sanctioned for an Academic Integrity Policy violation.
Why does absolving a student determined to have committed rape not lessen the value of an ASU degree? Doesn’t raping directly impact innocent students? The site argues that “Cheating violates fundamental values of the university community”—why wouldn’t sexual assault do the same?
The final sanction hasn’t been decided just yet. ASU senior vice president James Rund will either accept or reject the board’s recommendation. Unfortunately, the outcome still doesn’t change the fact that the university board felt that expulsion is too severe. That is a slap in the face of victim Brooke Lewis—and rape victims everywhere.