DeVos sets the stage for debate over campus sexual assault guidelines

Survivors of campus sexual assault and their advocates are worried.

In a speech last week, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos announced a public comment period for the current Title IX guidelines on responding to campus reports of sexual violence – and subsequently confirmed that the intention is to replace the status quo. Since then, critics, including former Vice President Joe Biden, have been mobilizing their followers and penning opinion pieces.

What has them concerned is the future of rights afforded to survivors, which many felt were better protected by rules established in the Obama era. Now, they anticipate that survivors could lose out as Secretary DeVos gives more weight to the treatment of the accused, along with the prospect of major changes.

"I think there's a lot of confusion right now in terms of what exactly this is going to look

Activism alreadyAn argument for revision Enforce, rather than replacePossible challenges