On not giving credit for good intentions

Unless one is hiding under a rock, it’s impossible to be working in higher ed without running into the burgeoning TITLE IX Industry. We recently faced our own little adventure with “consultants” who came and “trained” us in our role as “mandatory reporters” of “sexual misconduct” . . . not reporters to the police, mind you, but to our campus’s designated TITLE IX COORDINATOR (who I know, and who is an honest man, and who is in the job on an interim basis).

It was an experience remarkably incoherent and Orwellian all at the same time. Some of my colleagues were subjected to an emotionally harrowing testimonial of a “rape” that took place more than two decades ago (!) Some of my colleagues were subjected to a presenter who purported to give advice and coherent definitions, and whose examples included one student looking at another’s ankles (!), and whose advice included allowing a student to opt out of the entire class if he/she/xe/zhe feels too “challenged” by the material. I was in the group that was subjected to a young man whose statements included things like the following:

• “You need to invite people to step outside their comfort box."
• “Students need to know correct policies and procedures to make good decisions.”
• “Tell a troubled student that ‘I’m not going away; I want to have a conversation with you.’"

Ye gods.

I am not convinced that the “problem” being presented to us is anything more than a remarkably brazen power grab on the part of unaccountable government bureaucrats and the academic-administrator power bloc. But even assuming that there is an actual problem with campus rape culture (again, something that has not been demonstrated by any honest measure), my campus has shown that it is unserious about the situation by promulgating a legally binding document that shows essentially no provisions for due process and by hiring consultants (reportedly at $50K) who demonstrably couldn’t find their (or anyone else’s) asses with both hands. The faculty at this institution may not have a University of Chicago pedigree, I’ll admit, but we deserve a serious approach. We have not yet seen one.