The College Fix

The academy is eating itself, again.

The president-elect of the Association for Student Conduct Administration, whose members enforce rules such as Title IX on campus, said her predecessor “took advantage of me after I had had too much to drink” at a convention in December, The Chronicle of Higher Education reports.

Jill Creighton accused Jason Casares in a public letter, saying his resignation for purported personal reasons followed an impeachment proceeding that she initiated at the association. Casares had been slated to take over as president at the group’s annual meeting this week:

The accusation probably sounded familiar to the attendees, whose jobs largely involve sorting through charges of sexual assault and other misconduct. Their jobs usually revolve around student complaints, not the charges and denials of two of their colleagues.

https://twitter.com/jillcreighton/status/695056773103882241

(It’s the second dethroning of a male president-elect involving sexual-misconduct allegations in the past two weeks: The University of Missouri’s student government threatened to nullify the election of Haden Gomez if he didn’t resign.)

A “rigorous” inquiry by an outside investigator hired by the association turned up nothing to substantiate Creighton’s claims against Casares, who strongly denies the allegations, and Creighton’s internal “complaint was resolved in executive session and has been closed,” the Chronicle said.

Creighton told the Chronicle she took a “very big personal and professional risk” by accusing Casares and “I have absolutely nothing to gain and everything to lose by coming forward.”

The accuser, who has also filed a criminal complaint against Casares, blasted the association in her letter – in true Title IX bureaucratese – for not canceling his presentations at the conference this week:

I needed a safe space, and to be able to attend this conference free of the hostile environment that his presence creates for me. ASCA has failed to protect me.

Casares’ lawyer told the Chronicle “he canceled his appearance in at least one of the sessions because he was concerned that Ms. Creighton would disrupt it.” The association told members that Casares is still a member “and maintains the same rights as other members to attend and present at ASCA events,” though it’s “taking into account safety and privacy precautions” between the two.

Creighton is slated to take the reins for the 2017-18 term; the association ended up keeping its current president, Laura Bennett, for 2016-17.

Read the Chronicle story, the public letter and the association response.

RELATED: Mizzou student president accused of ‘sexual advance’ resigns in mob-led senate meeting

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