PRESUMED GUILTY: Colleges think men accused of sexual assault get too much of that due process and fairness stuff.

The consequences for someone expelled for sexual assault are life-altering. Prof. Cynthia Bowman of Cornell said “they will follow him throughout his life.” Even Brett Sokolow, the most prominent champion for sexual assault victims’ rights in American academia, has expressed concerns about the consequences of expulsion and has said “that a lot of colleges now are expelling and suspending people they shouldn’t, for fear they’ll get nailed on Title IX.”

In Virginia, Delegate Rick Morris has introduced a bill that would grant students facing college disciplinary charges punishable by a suspension of more than 10 days or expulsion the right to be represented by an attorney or other advocate of the student’s choosing.

Mr. Morris had better be prepared for a fight. Last year, North Carolina passed a similar law, and university officials were not happy about it.

Lynn Roeder, Dean of Students at East Carolina, said she that adding attorneys to the disciplinary process would take away an opportunity for students to learn from their mistakes. She said: “‘The whole process is not to be adversarial . . . . We know students make mistakes and what we want to do it make sure we’re able to help them make better decisions so that’s why we never had lawyers.’”

How do you know a student made a “mistake” without a fair hearing, Ms. Roeder?