What do you think about opening an Afro-centric school in Toronto?

A student at my school is suing one of my co-workers, a professor, what do you think about this?

• At the school I work at a student is suing one of my co-workers, because she accused her of cheating and failed her. Our school "legal team" came in to talk to us about making allegations of cheating for which we have no proof. Apparently, the other professor only thought the student had cheated on an exam, but didn't actually see them cheating. The school's lawyer held an "in service" about making false accusations and the potential legal ramifications. The student is suing the professor and the school for both libel and slander. At our school if you fail a class due to cheating you get an "XF" on your "report card" which can not be undone, even if the cheating is shown to have not happened. The student is alleging that this has damaged her reputation and that other school and employers will be less likely to take her with an indication that she had cheated and failed a class. Since she was supposed to graduate this semester she is also suing for lost wages that she will not get because she'll be in school another semester or two and she is also suing the school for the entirety of her tuition money back. I'm kind of torn about this, my place of employment has fostered this extreme no tolerance policy on cheating where everyone is a cheater until proven otherwise. It's on the students to prove that they did not cheat if they're accused rather than for the professor to prove the accusation. In a way I kind of back the student, from what the school's lawyer said she has a strong case on all of her "charges" against the school. We live in a very litigious society, he said, and he said you simply can not go around making accusations for which you have no proof. I feel bad for my co-worker because the school has distanced itself from her actions, even though they have been enforcing this "everyone is a cheater until proven otherwise" type of policy for years now. They're probably going to fire her over this and that'll be the end of her career in education. In reality, I don't think the student was trying to cheat and I think the professor honestly thought that she had seen her cheating. It just seems like a misunderstanding that's being blown way out of proportion. What do you think?

• Answer:

  I once caught a student cheating on an exam while I was a graduate student proctor. She had all the answers written out (which she must have gotten from someone who already took the exam) on a sheet on her lap. I took it away from her during the exam. I was told by the school that since it was her property, I couldn't remove the cheat sheet from the room. I took a picture of it using my phone. Then I was told that I couldn't accuse her of cheating because I didn't have video evidence of her looking at the sheet and copying an answer onto the paper. Seriously. She had all the answers and I caught her with it red-handed, but I didn't have enough evidence to accuse her of cheating. It was absolutely ridiculous. The real question is, why did the professor think she was cheating? He could have easily seen her looking at someone else's paper, but it's hard to prove 'I saw her cheating', even if you do have physical evidence. The school has to take a stance, and the students have to agree to abide by this ahead of time. That's why most schools have clearly drawn our honor policies the students must sign so they CANNOT sue over these issues. And that's what your school should have done.