Fighting back

Oklahoma Wesleyan University, in Bartlesville, is the first university to join a federal lawsuit against overreach by the U.S. Department of Education. In 2011, the agency’s Office of Civil Rights sent “dear colleague” letters to universities saying that sexual misconduct complaints should be decided using a “preponderance of evidence” standard to determine guilt. That’s a far cry from “clear and convincing” evidence used in courts. The Education Department warned that failure to adopt this change could result in schools seeing cuts in their federal Title IX funding. Naturally, schools have done so. But Oklahoma Wesleyan says it would prefer to use clear and convincing evidence as the standard, in order to “sufficiently protect the rights of both accused students and their accusers.” No one accused of sexual assault — or any crime — should have his or her constitutional rights watered down simply because they’re a college student. Oklahoma Wesleyan is to be commended for fighting back.