Our universities have glorified narrative, particularly victim narratives. Professors typically do not invoke the notion of narrative to emphasize that facts must be grasped in context, but rather to undermine the authority of facts and affirm the supremacy of subjective perceptions and personal experience. All narratives are created by subjective viewpoints, but according to fashionable campus doctrine — and knee jerk campus reaction — not all narratives are created equal. The subjective viewpoints of alleged victims of Western civilization — minorities and women — possess superior moral worth and political relevance.

Universities’ mishandling of sexual assault allegations has been making the news — but not in the way feminist activists and progressive politicians had hoped. Swarthmore College settled a case brought in federal court in Pennsylvania by an undergraduate wrongly expelled by means of a severely defective disciplinary process. A federal court in New York rejected Colgate University’s motion to dismiss on the pleadings former student Abrar Faiaz’s claim that in the rush to expel him for pushing two women, the university falsely imprisoned him, and Colgate has not challenged his federal and state discrimination claims.

Slate’s Emily Yoffe published a major story earlier this month recounting the University of Michigan’s grotesque violations of due process while investigating, prosecuting, and imposing onerous probationary restrictions on sophomore Drew Sterrett, which finally drove him from the university but which left him unable to secure acceptance elsewhere. Sterrett filed suit in federal court alleging that the school deprived him of constitutional due process rights.

Yoffe contends that universities’ implementation of procedures that presume guilt are an overcorrection to “the often callous and dismissive treatment of victims.” But the abuses of power perpetrated by university administrators and faculty that are now attracting national attention are anything but new. Kangaroo courts have been a staple of university life for decades. And the abuses of power are anything but incidental to the purpose of education as many administrators and professors conceive it. Indeed, the abuses are committed in furtherance of that purpose.

University administrators and faculty increasingly mishandle allegations of sexual assault because of a cluster of illiberal sentiments, habits of mind, and beliefs to which they subscribe and which, over the course of 30 years or so, they have embedded in university education. This is the root cause of the problem. No reform will succeed that does not address the culture of illiberalism that our campuses cultivate.

To be sure, the mishandling of sexual assault encompasses the dismissing or covering-up of allegations as well as the convening of pseudo-hearings that presume the accuser’s victimhood and the accused’s guilt.

There can be no justification and no tolerance for coddling criminals on campus or blaming victims. Universities must create an environment in which women can be confident that, in the event of sexual assault, they can meet with well-trained administrators who will listen compassionately and help them obtain necessary medical attention, get suitable psychological counseling, and speak to proper law enforcement officials about filing criminal complaints.

The state-of-the-art abuses of power on campus, however, must be distinguished from the traditional form of abuse of power. Ignoring or concealing charges of sexual assault to protect beloved coaches, star athletes, and the offspring of wealthy donors is inexcusable — and has always violated official university policy.

State-of-the-art abuses of power represent something quite different. Universities are now building arbitrary and capricious authority into official disciplinary procedures. And our most distinguished institutions of higher education are at the forefront in promulgating these mechanisms of injustice.

In October, 28 Harvard law professors issued a statement published in the Boston Globe protesting new university-wide procedures for adjudicating accusations of sexual harassment and sexual violence. While stressing their commitment to protecting students, the law professors observed that “Harvard has adopted procedures for deciding cases of alleged sexual misconduct which lack the most basic elements of fairness and due process” and “are overwhelmingly stacked against the accused.”

The law professors highlighted “the absence of any adequate opportunity to discover the facts charged and to confront witnesses and present a defense at an adversary hearing,” and “the failure to ensure adequate representation for the accused, particularly for students unable to afford representation.”

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