Families Advocating for Campus Equality

Families Advocating for Campus Equality (FACE) is an American non-profit organization whose stated goal is to ensure fairness and due process for all parties involved in allegations of sexual misconduct on college and university campuses. FACE was started by Sherry Warner Seefeld and two other mothers who say their sons were falsely accused of sexual misconduct on their college campuses.

Cynthia P. Garrett, an attorney, and Alison Scott are currently co-presidents of FACE, which has expanded rapidly over the last few years as awareness of campus Title IX issues has become more well publicized. The organization, which became a non-profit in 2014, has had over four hundred students and their families contact FACE for support and advice. In 2017 alone, FACE welcomed over two hundred new families, and the students now include LGBTQ and women, as well as men. According to Alison Scott, family and student support is a major aspect of FACE's focus, and FACE provides ongoing opportunities for families to meet, support and consult with each other.

Seefeld, who was FACE's first president, acknowledges the problem of sexual assault on college campuses, but says "Even if a small percentage of rape reports are given falsely, it's not OK to throw away one person's life". Seefeld's son, Caleb Warner, was accused in January 2010 of sexually assaulting a fellow University of North Dakota student. He was initially suspended from the university, but the sanction was later lifted after no criminal charges were filed against Warner, and his accuser was charged with making a false report to law enforcement, with a warrant being issued for her arrest. Seefeld says, "It's pretty hard to say, 'Well, you know, some people are falsely accused,' because immediately, you are accused of being a rape apologist, it is assumed that your son is a rapist and you're lying for him."

FACE has become actively involved in educating state and federal legislators about the need for improvement in the way campuses respond to allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct. On July 13, 2017, co-presidents Alison Scott and Cynthia Garrett shepherded several students who had endured biased Title IX disciplinary proceedings to a meeting in Washington DC with Department of Education Secretary Betsy Devos. Garrett reported that the room was eerily silent as the Secretary listened intently to several students tell her their stories. Later, during Secretary DeVos' September 7, 2017 speech at George Mason University, she said "Since becoming Secretary, I’ve heard from many students whose lives were impacted by sexual misconduct: students who came to campus to gain knowledge, and who instead lost something sacred." The Secretary declared, "We know this much to be true: one rape is one too many. One assault is one too many. One aggressive act of harassment is one too many. One person denied due process is one too many."

Cynthia Garrett has said she believes the goals of victim protection and equitable processes are not mutually exclusive. Garrett served on an American Bar Association Criminal Justice Section task force which addressed the problem and, in June 2017, the task force issued "recommendations to colleges, crafted by a task force that included both advocates for assault survivors and the accused." Garrett said FACE is “not looking for a one-sided, make-it-impossible for complainants to have their rights vindicated” approach. Garrett added, “We’re looking for a balanced solution and we don’t believe the current enforcement, or ‘Dear Colleague’ letter offers a balanced solution.” Garrett says FACE has made it very clear "We want fair procedures. We don't want to take away Title IX." Joseph Roberts, a board member said he was "'cautiously optimistic' that Department of Education officials 'will care about his story: Roberts said he was falsely accused of sexual harassment and suspended three weeks before he was due to graduate from Savannah State University, an experience that left him hopeless and suicidal. The guidance, he said, 'definitely needs to be reexamined.'"

In 2015, FACE criticized Senator Kirsten Gillibrand for inviting Emma Sulkowicz to the State of the Union Address, saying such an honor was "undeserved and violates the principles of confidentiality and gender equality of Title IX, the law that oversees sexual misconduct on campus" and saying that "Sulkowicz failed to establish any wrongdoing by the student she accused after a tribunal, and an appeal at Columbia, as well as an investigation by the New York Police Department." In July 2017 Columbia settled with Mr. Nungesser on undisclosed terms.

See also

• A Rape on Campus
• Duke lacrosse case
• Foundation for Individual Rights in Education

External links

• Official website
• NYT Profile