Cornell, Due Process, and Liberal Education | RealClearPolitics
Earlier this month in Vengalattore v. Cornell University, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit provided a welcome affirmation of colleges and universities obligation to respect due process on campus. The court resolved a technical question of law and remanded the case for consideration on the merits of critical elements of the complaint. But Judge José Cabranes stern concurrence stressed that nothing less than the future of liberal education in America is at stake in this case and the many others like it winding their way through the courts.
Controversy at least among those who care about basic rights, fundamental fairness, and liberal education over colleges and universities abuse of power has shifted ground. Owing to his Department of Education s policies, during President Obama s presidency, alarm peaked over the deprivation of due process in sexual misconduct cases. Recently, the propensity of institutions of higher education to punish dissenting opinion and to discriminate based on race to advance progressive interpretations of social justice has generated greater dismay. But the two forms of abuse of power are closely connected, and the struggle to preserve due process on campus persists.
Far above Cayuga’s waters
There’s an awful smell
Some say it’s Cayuga’s waters
Some say it’s Cornell!