Allen Law Blog

In a Cyberbullying attack, the aggressor’s objective is to harm the credibility of the victim and damage their psychological well being, but the Cyberbully’s aim is also more than personal. They seek to damage the reputation and social standing of the victim in the community at large. Cyberbullies are known to hide behind screens of anonymity on social media platforms….

Three Lessons For Victims Of Campus Sexual Assault In The Purdue University Case At the end of June as the dog days of summer began, a three-Judge panel, all women judges of the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, ruled against Purdue University. The Appeals Court decided in favor of a male student who sued Purdue under Title IX for discriminating against…

As a student at the university level, conduct is as important as academic excellence. While you are on your journey to becoming a professional and an adult, you may have found yourself in a situation that warrants learning more about student misconduct. Unfortunately, situations arise where a student fails to meet the ethical standards or code of conduct put in…

Arguments over statistics and Title IX are nothing new, but researchers rarely focus on what is effective in preventing sexual assault. Now a recent study by social scientists at Columbia University suggests an effective way to counter sexual assault on campus along with student misconduct policies and Title IX. The Columbia study shows that learning how to say “No” to…

In February, a male swimmer from Fishers, Indiana was allowed to compete in the state swimming championship meet despite three accusations of sexual harassment by female members of his own swim team. At most high schools, boys’ and girls’ swimming teams practice together and compete at the same meets. But the reason he was allowed back into the pool was…

Federal Law Gives Your Student the Right to His or Her Student File Be aware of both your rights and their limitations under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). If you are familiar with FERPA in the context of grade school and high school, things change in college. Parental rights under FERPA terminate when the student becomes a…

Marshall University of West Virginia has settled a lawsuit with a former freshman student who alleged that the university’s Title IX judiciary bungled her complaint of a rape that occurred in her residence hall. A witness, also in the room, corroborated the student’s account that she withdrew consent by repeatedly telling her assailant to stop. He told her, “you just…

A study conducted every three years by UCLA’s Higher Education Research Institute shows that professors throughout the United States are deeply concerned about discrimination and bias on campus. At the same time, the HERI survey shows that professors do not believe they are prepared to deal with these kinds of conflicts among their students. This is a volatile combination. Universities…

Colleges and universities often walk a fine line when it comes to free speech. Institutes of higher education promote themselves as places where students go to debate and refine ideas and opinions. Ideally, this creates an enriching experience for all involved. But many schools place limits on acceptable discourse in an effort to encourage civility and respect. “Speech codes” at…

The Attorneys General of 18 states collectively submitted an extensive 72-page comment opposing rules proposed by the Department of Education for Title IX, the federal statute prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex in education.  Led by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (Josh Shapiro), California (Xavier Becerra), and New Jersey (Gurbir S. Grewal), these chief legal officers of their respective states…