Two years ago an undergrad at the University of Portland, a private Catholic college, asked a male friend to walk her back to her dorm after a party. He claims they had consensual sex when they got there. She says he raped her.

Some time later, she reported the incident to the campus police, but the university brought no charges against the alleged assailant. When she criticized them and asked why no action had been taken, she received a letter from the university’s judicial coordinator that read as follows:

Based upon my findings in my investigation, I am unable to determine if a sexual assault occurred. I have reason to believe that intercourse occurred, but both parties admit to drinking and therefore, consent—or lack of consent—is difficult to determine. Given these facts, there are possible violations for which you could be charged.

Students at the university are now pressing for new campus judiciary policies to ensure that students who come forward with charges of sexual assault are not themselves targeted by campus judiciary authorities. “The school owes it to the students to do everything they can to make sure rapes are reported,” says junior Devon Goss.

The university reported no instances of sexual assault for the year in which the incident took place, although the federal Violence Against Women Act requires that campuses disclose all such allegations, no matter what their disposition.

(Via Feministing.)