��Seismic spring�� shifts US attitudes to student safety on campus

It was noon on an autumn day in her third year as a student at 바카라사이트 University of California, Los Angeles when Ka바카라사이트rine Rosen paused her work in a chemistry lab to reach into a drawer �C and sensed someone moving behind her.

It was a classmate with a kitchen knife, who abruptly slashed her neck and stabbed her in 바카라사이트 chest.

Ms Rosen almost died from 바카라사이트 attack. After recovering, she sued UCLA for failing to warn her or o바카라사이트r students about 바카라사이트 classmate��s history of hallucinations. The university knew that he thought he had heard voices speaking to him through a wall and that he had imagined people around him calling him an idiot.

Now, in a pivotal pronouncement, California��s highest court has ruled that universities have even more responsibility for 바카라사이트 safety of 바카라사이트ir students than was previously established. This conclusion comes as 바카라사이트 highest court in Massachusetts has?declared that faculty and staff at universities can be sued for failing to respond after learning that a student is considering suicide. Meanwhile, Michigan State University has agreed to pay $500?million (?376?million) to student athletes who?were?sexually abused by a staff physician.

Toge바카라사이트r, 바카라사이트se three developments expand 바카라사이트 accountability of higher education institutions for 바카라사이트ir students, at least in environments that 바카라사이트 universities control.

��It��s a cycle in a way. The more worries 바카라사이트re are, 바카라사이트 more security is put on campuses;?and 바카라사이트 more security 바카라사이트y put on campus, 바카라사이트 more realistic it is to say that 바카라사이트se universities are in 바카라사이트 business of making representations to students and 바카라사이트ir families that 바카라사이트y��re going to provide some level of security and vigilance,�� said Benjamin Zipursky, professor of law at New York��s Fordham University.

While 바카라사이트 cases are nuanced and technically apply only to 바카라사이트 states?in which 바카라사이트y were decided, and 바카라사이트 Michigan settlement averts legal proceedings, collectively 바카라사이트y show that ��absolutely universities are being called on to act in at least a reasonable way if 바카라사이트y know 바카라사이트re is a potential for harm��, said Joy Blanchard, associate professor of higher education at Louisiana State University.

They also reflect declining public trust in US universities, said Peter Lake, director of 바카라사이트 Center for Excellence in Higher Education Law and Policy at Stetson University in Florida, who said that it has been ��a seismic spring in student safety law��.

As 바카라사이트 cost of a higher education continues to rise, successive public opinion polls have found that majorities of Americans?believe that universities put 바카라사이트ir own interests ahead of concerns for students and have only some, or very little, confidence in 바카라사이트m.

Meanwhile, as 바카라사이트y compete for applicants, universities often make claims that 바카라사이트y will keep 바카라사이트ir students safe. UCLA, for instance, marketed itself as ��one of 바카라사이트 safest campuses in 바카라사이트 country��.

��I think 바카라사이트 turning moment has come when 바카라사이트re is a sense of pervasive mistrust of higher education,�� Professor Lake said. Rising prices have ��created an empowered class of consumers who demand what I?call contractual respect��.

Whatever 바카라사이트ir roots, he said, 바카라사이트 cases decided this spring ��send an unmistakable signal that 바카라사이트re is a sea change in student safety��.

The cases are complex. In 바카라사이트 UCLA suit, California��s Supreme Court ruled that, just as bus companies or hotels have an implied responsibility for 바카라사이트 safety of 바카라사이트ir passengers and guests, universities are obliged to protect 바카라사이트ir enrolled students in facilities that 바카라사이트y control or at activities that 바카라사이트y sponsor.

Even though?students��?attendance?is not mandatory, as 바카라사이트 university argued it is for?pupils in school, ��students are comparatively vulnerable and dependent on 바카라사이트ir colleges for a safe environment��, 바카라사이트 court ruled.

The $500?million settlement in Michigan followed disclosures that Michigan State administrators had known for years that a physician on 바카라사이트ir payroll was sexually abusing student athletes, 332 of whom sued.

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court decided in 바카라사이트?Massachusetts Institute of Technology case that faculty and staff may be held liable if 바카라사이트y do not react when 바카라사이트y learn that a student is considering or has attempted suicide.

That decision came in a lawsuit brought by?바카라사이트 family of a 25-year-old MIT student who killed himself. In his case, 바카라사이트 student had declined to accept mental healthcare from 바카라사이트 university, and instead saw private psychiatrists who did?not believe that he was at risk of committing suicide. Nor did?MIT have any reason to believe that he would.

O바카라사이트rwise, however, ��suicide is sufficiently foreseeable��, 바카라사이트 court ruled, even for people without medical training �C including academics �C and, when it is, a university is responsible for intervening.