美国国家公共电台 NPR Trump Administration Gets An Earful On New Campus Sexual Assault Rules

 

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

And now this - Americans have something to say about proposed rules for investigating campus sexual assault. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos offered the change. She wants to overturn rules from the Obama administration in a way that she says would better protect the accused. The rule-making process typically involves an invitation for public comment, which is why the administration now has some homework - about 100,000 public remarks to read. NPR's Tovia Smith reports.

TOVIA SMITH, BYLINE¹: While many comments praise the new rules for restoring sanity² and fairness to the process, many more are critical. They range from short expletives and insults aimed at DeVos to horrific accounts of sexual assaults and pleas to not return campuses to the bad old days when incidents were swept under the rug. Activists³ have been mobilizing their troops with a social media blitz, comment-writing pizza parties and college events.

SAGE⁴ CARSON: I'm wondering, are you all going to hear me OK? I'm, like, trying to assess the room virtually.

(LAUGHTER)

CARSON: So if...

SMITH: Sage Carson with the survivor⁵ advocacy group Know Your IX video conferences with Boston University students for a kind of crash course in commenting.

CARSON: What this is is it's pretty much, like, a short persuasive⁶ essay in which you say why you support or oppose what they want to do to Title IX.

SMITH: She points students to a website, Hands Off IX, that allows for easier commenting with a Mad Libs kind of template and then forwards the entry to the Department of Education.

CARSON: So you'll go in. And it will say like - hi,; my name is blah-da-blah (ph), and I am blank. That could be - I'm a student, I'm a student-survivor, I am a...

SMITH: Students then pick from a list of concerns - for example, the proposed rule that schools don't automatically have to investigate incidents in off-campus apartments or reports made, say, to a coach. And then there's data students can pick to bolster⁷ their case.

CARSON: It takes about five to 10 minutes is what we've heard from people. It's super simple. And it's like this can have real-world implications.

BLAIRE THOMAS: OK. So this, like, gives you an outline. OK. Do I have to use these sentence starters? Or...

SMITH: After the meeting, sophomores⁸ Blaire Thomas and Julia Mullert both decide to write about the off-campus exclusion⁹.

JULIA MULLERT: I do live in off-campus housing. And the fact that, you know, you could be minutes away and that can change everything, that's really devastating¹⁰. But you know, it also motivates you to want to push back against it and fight harder.

SMITH: Activists hope the sheer volume of comments will force the administration to pay attention. There's no official count of pros¹¹ and cons¹². But even those who favor the new rules concede they're getting beat. Cynthia Garrett is co-president of FACE, a group representing those who say they were wrongly accused.

CYNTHIA GARRETT: We know we will never match the number of comments of victims' advocates. But I think the department is smart enough to understand that quality is more important than quantity.

SMITH: Garrett's been encouraging comments from accused students who say they were victims of an unfair system that left them kicked out of school with dashed prospects¹³, ruined reputations and, in many cases, severe depression.

GARRETT: We have a kid who planned to paddle out on his surfboard with a concrete block. We have another one - the mother came home, opened the garage door. And the kid was standing¹⁴ on a stool with a rope in his hand. I mean, this is very devastating.

SMITH: Garrett says the new rules better protect the wrongly accused - for example, by allowing schools to demand more proof of wrongdoing, guaranteeing the right to cross-examine accusers and narrowing the definition of sexual harassment¹⁵. Fighting these issues through agency regulations, once the domain¹⁶ of wonky lawyers, is something of a newer frontier in political activism, says Harvard Law professor Jacob Gersen.

JACOB GERSEN: Parties and activists have gotten good at this over the years. They recognize that the bureaucracy and the administration is actually where the power is. That's a much more effective place to spend your political energy.

SMITH: Success, however, is hardly a gimme. Past campaigns - for example, on net neutrality - failed to change policy. Survivor advocates maintain that comments created by templates are heartfelt and valid¹⁷, and they're vowing¹⁸ a legal challenge if the department doesn't heed¹⁹ them. But Joe Cohn with the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education says comment quantity should not drive policy.

JOE COHN: Constitutional rights aren't decided²⁰ by a majority vote. Due process is not subject to the whims²¹ of the masses.

SMITH: Officials may take months to review the comments and respond. And it could be close to the 2020 election before they take effect, so that may be what ultimately decides the issue.

Tovia Smith, NPR News.

1 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

2 sanity   

n.心智健全，神智正常，判断正确

参考例句：

• I doubt the sanity of such a plan.我怀疑这个计划是否明智。
• She managed to keep her sanity throughout the ordeal.在那场磨难中她始终保持神志正常。

3 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 sage   

n.圣人，哲人；adj.贤明的，明智的

参考例句：

• I was grateful for the old man's sage advice.我很感激那位老人贤明的忠告。
• The sage is the instructor of a hundred ages.这位哲人是百代之师。

5 survivor   

n.生存者，残存者，幸存者

参考例句：

• The sole survivor of the crash was an infant.这次撞车的惟一幸存者是一个婴儿。
• There was only one survivor of the plane crash.这次飞机失事中只有一名幸存者。

6 persuasive   

adj.有说服力的，能说得使人相信的

参考例句：

• His arguments in favour of a new school are very persuasive.他赞成办一座新学校的理由很有说服力。
• The evidence was not really persuasive enough.证据并不是太有说服力。

7 bolster   

n.枕垫；v.支持，鼓励

参考例句：

• The high interest rates helped to bolster up the economy.高利率使经济更稳健。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

8 sophomores   

n.（中等、专科学校或大学的）二年级学生( sophomore的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We are freshmen and they are sophomores. 我们是一年级学生，他们是二年级学生。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Over half the students in the course are sophomores. 听这门课的一大半是二年级学生。 来自辞典例句

9 exclusion   

n.拒绝，排除，排斥，远足，远途旅行

参考例句：

• Don't revise a few topics to the exclusion of all others.不要修改少数论题以致排除所有其他的。
• He plays golf to the exclusion of all other sports.他专打高尔夫球，其他运动一概不参加。

10 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

11 pros   

abbr.prosecuting 起诉；prosecutor 起诉人；professionals 自由职业者；proscenium （舞台）前部n.赞成的意见( pro的名词复数 )；赞成的理由；抵偿物；交换物

参考例句：

• The pros and cons cancel out. 正反两种意见抵消。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• We should hear all the pros and cons of the matter before we make a decision. 我们在对这事做出决定之前，应该先听取正反两方面的意见。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 cons   

n.欺骗，骗局( con的名词复数 )v.诈骗，哄骗( con的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The pros and cons cancel out. 正反两种意见抵消。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• We should hear all the pros and cons of the matter before we make a decision. 我们在对这事做出决定之前，应该先听取正反两方面的意见。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

14 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

15 harassment   

n.骚扰，扰乱，烦恼，烦乱

参考例句：

• She often got telephone harassment at night these days.这些天她经常在夜晚受到电话骚扰。
• The company prohibits any form of harassment.公司禁止任何形式的骚扰行为。

16 domain   

n.(活动等)领域，范围；领地，势力范围

参考例句：

• This information should be in the public domain.这一消息应该为公众所知。
• This question comes into the domain of philosophy.这一问题属于哲学范畴。

17 valid   

adj.有确实根据的；有效的；正当的，合法的

参考例句：

• His claim to own the house is valid.他主张对此屋的所有权有效。
• Do you have valid reasons for your absence?你的缺席有正当理由吗？

18 vowing   

起誓，发誓（vow的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• President Bush is vowing to help Minneapolis rebuild its collapsed bridge. 布什总统承诺将帮助明尼阿波利斯重建坍塌的大桥。
• President Bush is vowing to help Minneapolis rebuild this collapse bridge. 布什总统发誓要帮助明尼阿波利斯重建起这座坍塌的桥梁。

19 heed   

v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心

参考例句：

• You must take heed of what he has told.你要注意他所告诉的事。
• For the first time he had to pay heed to his appearance.这是他第一次非得注意自己的外表不可了。

20 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

21 WHIMS   

虚妄，禅病

参考例句：

• The mate observed regretfully that he could not account for that young fellow's whims. 那位伙伴很遗憾地说他不能说出那年轻人产生怪念头的原因。
• The rest she had for food and her own whims. 剩下的钱她用来吃饭和买一些自己喜欢的东西。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹