Administrator vows to ‘test every step of our processes for safety, support, sensitivity, timeliness and fairness’
The president of Texas A&M University recently vowed to enact “comprehensive reviews” of the school’s sexual assault policies, a decision that comes as the school is also being sued by a male student who was found responsible for sexual assault.
The lawsuit, brought by Texas A&M swimmer Austin Van Overdam, claims that the university’s findings against Overdam reveal “gender bias” on the part of the school, The Bryan Eagle reported this week.
According to the lawsuit, Overdam and a female student, Hannah Shaw, met via the hookup app Tindr and subsequently engaged in consensual sexual intercourse. Shaw later claimed that she had been sexually assaulted.
The lawsuit states that the university “creates an environment in which male students accused of sexual misconduct are nearly assured of a finding of responsibility.”
At roughly the same time the lawsuit was announced, Texas A&M president Michael Young announced that the school would be undertaking “comprehensive reviews” of the university’s policies regarding sexual assault. According to The Eagle, the president’s announcement comes on the heels of “internet backlash and resulting media coverage” after Shaw “posted on Twitter her displeasure with [Overdam’s] return to Texas A&M’s swimming and diving team.”
“I have ordered comprehensive reviews to be conducted — one by an independent third-party; the other by an internal task force — that will test every step of our processes for safety, support, sensitivity, timeliness and fairness to all involved that meets the highest standards,” Young’s announcement read.
“This level of scrutiny is what we owe our students and their families, our faculty, staff and the Aggie family around the world,” Young continued.
In his announcement Young does not directly address the controversy surrounding Overdam’s return to the university, mentioning only that “the serious issue of sexual assault involving college students has intensified in recent online discussions, highlighting a problem that plagues universities across our country and here on campus as well.”
Read the lawsuit report here, and Young’s announcement here.
MORE: Judge approves anti-male bias lawsuit against university
IMAGE: Shutterstock.com
Like The College Fix on Facebook / Follow us on Twitter
Please join the conversation about our stories on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Reddit, MeWe, Rumble, Gab, Minds and Gettr.