Opinion: There’s nothing controversial about the Trump administration’s push for due process at colleges

To the editor: I did not vote for President Trump, but when the media consistently pile on him, sometimes unfairly, he starts looking like the underdog and attracts sympathy from fair-minded people, even from those who don’t like him. (“California colleges vow to press on against sexual assault despite any federal rollback in protections,” Sept. 7)

This article reports that Education Secretary Betsy DeVos criticized universities for staging “kangaroo courts” when it comes to protecting the rights of the accused in campus sexual assault cases. DeVos said that accused people are denied the right to cross-examine witnesses.

University of California officials contend that they already provide the safeguards raised by DeVos. Kathleen Salvaty, UC’s Title IX coordinator, conceded that the accused is denied cross-examination “because the hearings are not criminal proceedings.”

Cross examination should be a basic right in any accusatory proceeding, a principle I believe you would agree with if said by anyone not associated with Trump.

Walt Lewis, La Cañada Flintridge

The writer is a retired Los Angeles County deputy district attorney.

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To the editor: Contrary to self-promoting remarks by the university representatives reported in your article, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education’s September 2017 report “Spotlight on Due Process,” which assesses the sexual misconduct procedures of the 50 top-ranked higher educational institutions nationwide, paints a less rosy picture.

The group gives a grade of “D” for the current sexual misconduct procedures at UC Davis, UC Irvine, UCLA, UC Santa Barbara and UC San Diego. USC receives a “C,” and UC Berkeley earns a “B.”

There appears to be room for improvement.

Velma Montoya, Hollywood

The writer is a former member of the UC Board of Regents.

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