Former UCF student sues school over his expulsion

University denied him due process, he says

Two University of Central Florida students drinking at a party went back to the man’s off-campus apartment, where they had sex.

She says she can’t remember walking to his car and sent messages to friends asking for help. He says it was consensual and when he asked her if she was sure, she said “yes.”

Houston Bui was expelled from UCF in January because of what happened that night in October 2016. Now, the 22-year-old from Clearwater is suing the school, saying UCF denied him due process and the university’s decision wasn’t based on substantial evidence. He asked the Orange County court to overturn the expulsion, which was handed down after his graduation. No criminal charges were filed against him.

The suit coincides with changes in federal policy that dictate how colleges investigate claims of sexual misconduct.

For years, colleges had to use the lowest bar for evidence when deciding whether to discipline students, which means officials must only determine that more likely than not, the misconduct occurred.

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said late last year that colleges can use a higher requirement, known as “clear and convincing evidence,” though some schools, including UCF, are still using the lesser standard.

Supporters of the change say it will ensure students accused of misconduct get a fair shake and will restore faith in university conduct reviews, where some say the pendulum has swung too far in favor of accusers. But opponents say the higher bar will discourage victims from coming forward and make it harder to prove their cases.

Since late 2015, at least four other Central Florida students have sued their schools after facing sanctions for sexual misconduct allegations, though most were unsuccessful. One UCF student sued the school in late 2016, saying he was expelled after a woman accused him of forcing himself on her during a night of drinking. That case is still pending.

In the latest suit filed in February, attorney Michael Barber argues that his client and another student, identified as “Jane Doe” in court documents, both drank at a party on Oct. 22, 2016. Barber declined an interview request for this story.

According to the lawsuit, Bui said he played beer pong, split a bottle of 20 Grand liquor with a friend, took shots of Fireball whiskey and drank rum. By the time he drove Jane Doe and two other students from the party, everyone was “a little wobbly.” After dropping off the two friends on campus, Bui took the woman back to his apartment five minutes away. He said they kissed, undressed each other and had sex.

The woman gave a much different account on Nov. 23, 2016, to UCF investigators, telling them that on the night of the party, she sent Snapchat messages to her friends, pleading with them for help. She said she begged Bui to take her home. At his apartment, she threw up in the bathroom. She remembers him taking off her shorts and underwear and touching her sexually. Later that morning, she said she felt “shock, guilt and shame.”

UCF hearing officer David Oglethorpe determined the woman was too drunk to consent and that Bui’s account during his hearing was “markedly different” from an earlier statement he made to school investigators about what happened. In it, Bui said he was only “a little buzzed” at the party, but during his hearing, said he drank “a lot.” His retelling of the car ride home also differed from witness accounts.

“The lack of honesty and ownership in this hearing show that the Respondent holds little to no remorse for his actions,” Oglethorpe wrote. “Because of this, the hearing officer believes the most appropriate sanction to be expulsion from the institution.”

Though Bui completed his degree in December 2017 and walked in his graduation ceremony, the school added a line to his transcript in January saying he had been expelled.

UCF would not comment on the lawsuit.

Tamara Rice Lave, a University of Miami law professor, described the standard of evidence still being used by UCF as “50 percent plus a feather.”

“I think it’s too low for what’s at stake here,” she said.

Rice Lave said it’s impossible to know whether Bui would’ve been punished under a higher standard, but the university would have needed “significantly more proof of culpability” than under the current policy.

The nation seems to be flipping from one extreme to the other, she said, with the pendulum swinging back in favor of the accused. But she said both victims’ advocates and those who represent people accused of misconduct should push for a process that’s fair to all because people will be more likely to follow the rules and report violations.

But universities aren’t a court of law, and they need to protect victims’ rights to their education, said Jennifer Reisch, the legal director of Equal Rights Advocates, among three organizations suing DeVos over the policy changes.

Even with the lower standard, the burden is still on the complainant to prove his or her version of the events is accurate, she said.

Imposing a higher standard of proof, Reisch said, “would really place victims of sexual assault in a worse position than victims of any other form of misconduct or violence.”