The Michigan Daily - Monday, March 8, 1993 - Page 3
Speakers tell how statement will affect students
STATEMENT
Continued from page 1
The training manual states: "The
hearing panel members must believe
that is highly probable that the facts
are true or exist."
"You can still have a doubt in
your mind, but it still has to be more
than it's more likely he did it than he
didn't do it," Cole said.
The University proceedings must
comply with the 14th Amendment
regulating due process, Cole said.
The statement says the accused
has the right to be informed of the
charges, to decline making self-in-
criminating statements or participat-
ing in a hearing, to present informa-
tion on his or her behalf, to have the
burden of proof rest upon the ac-
cuser, to hear all information
presented and to call relevant
witnesses.
"You're supposed to be basing
your decision on the evidence given
in the hearing. People are allowed to
hear what other people testify, but
this may not be face-to-face," Cole
said.
The Supreme Court of the United
States has accepted that a student en-
rolled in a university has a "property
right" to an education, Cole said.
"Before we can take that property
from a student, we have to provide
some sort of minimal due process,"
Cole said.
The statement does not define
allowable evidence, said Sharphorn.
"Hearsay is in fact admissible in
these sorts of experiences," he said.
(Hearsay) isn't as useful or
valuable in criminal hearings. There
is a right to ask questions and they
should be answering questions. We
will allow some qualifications in this
situation if the person asking the
questions is abusing the witness,"
Sharphorn said.
Cole expanded, "We're not going
to be as strict on this as a court of
law would, saying you have to have
first-hand knowledge."
A student panelist asked, "What
provisions do you have against
someone using hearsay just to get
back at someone?"
Cole responded, "The hearing
panel can decide what they want to
hear."
Dean of Students Richard Carter
asked, "What about past situations
that might have some relation to
what is happening?"
Cole responded, "It would be up
to you as a panel to decide if it is
relevant. Like Joe' pulled a fire
alarm this time if he did it three
other times this month."
Students' police or DPS records
cannot be revealed during the hear-
ing or deliberation. If the accused is
found responsible, this information
is given to the panel when
determining sanctions.
The University hearings may run
concurrently with criminal or civil
cases.
"This is not double jeopardy. It
has a purpose to seek justice to the
University and not one to the
community," Cole said.
Sharphorn said, "If someone is
found 'not guilty' in another court
system, that is opportunity to open
an appeal."
Confidentiality of Cases
Virginia Nordby, associate vice
president and freedom of informa-
tion officer, stressed the importance
of confidentiality for all cases.
Students have additional rights of
privacy under the Family Education
Rights and Privacy Law, she said.
"If anyone has a name and ap-
proaches you or has a set of facts
without a name, in either case, you
can not confirm that you know any-
thing at all about it," Nordby said.
"It's 'no comment' and people can
be referred to Mary Lou or General
Counsel's office or Walter Harrison,
who is our director of University
relations.
"If you violate that, you have
violated the Statement of Student
Rights and Responsibilities and if
you are in a lawsuit, the University
will not represent you."
One student expressed concern
about the legal responsibility of a
panelist if part of the statement was
found unlawful.
"The University's policy pro-
vides that if you are acting in a role
that we asked you to act, the
University will defend you and pay
for any legal representation that is
necessary for you and pay for any
legal offenses that might be brought
against you. We will pay for that as
long as you acted in good faith and
acted within the scope of your
duties."
Summaries of cases and out-
comes will be mades amatter of
public record, Nordby said.
"What was in (last Friday's)
Daily was like what will be in a
summary when we're finished.
Whether or not it is prudent to give
notice of that in advance will be dis-
cussed by Mary Lou and General
Counsel(Elsa Cole)," she said.
Nordby alsotwarned the potential
panelists against bias.
"It's very important that you
don't let yourselves be influenced by
editorials and letters to the editor in
the media or by anyone else who
wants to talk with you about it on
your own," Nordby said.
"Respect for human dignity
means you will retain your objectiv-
ity and responsibility and not jump
to conclusions about people simply
because of the way they are
presenting themselves," she added.
The statement permits an open
hearing upon request by the accused.
"The accused has to absolutely be
willing and want to have an open
hearing. Witnesses would be con-
senting if they are willing to appear,"
Nordby said.
"Students' rights of privacy
caused us to initially want us to have
all hearings closed meetings and we
think most meetings will be closed."
Deliberations
Pam Motoike, clinical psycholo-
gist, and Tom Morson, senior coun-
selor, both of Student Counseling
Students, helped students with con-
sensus-building and the group pro-
cess that will come into play in
deciding if the accused is
responsible.
"A lot of your time in this pro-
cess is going to be spent in conver-
sation, dialogue and discussion. To
come to a consensus, we have to un-
derstand and want to be understood,"
Morson said.
Motoike outlined impediments to
consensus.
Morson added, "We come to this
process with our own history, back-
ground and expectations and some-
times we can confuse them from the
truth."
Motoike said, "Everyone has a
responsibility to equalize power in
this process."
The students at the workshop got
an opportunity to experience the
group process when simulated hear-
ings were conducted during the sec-
ond half of the workshop (see related
story).
Sanctions
The panel hands down sanctions
- punishments - which differ
from those in civil and criminal
courts. Sanctions range from perma-
nent suspension from the University
to writing a paper about the incident.
Hartford said some sanctions can
be more effective than others, and
that this should be kept in mind
when determining punishments.
"Counseling Services has prob-
lems with us mandating that people
go through extensive counseling or
therapy," she said. "We would refer
you to a class or workshop but not
mandate counseling or therapy."
Antieau added, "You can never
mandate that someone says
something they don't want to say."
She gave the example that the
panel cannot force the accused to
apologize'to the complainant if the
accused does not want to.
The role of DPS
DPS Lt. Vernon Baisden and Sgt.
Benny Chenevert gave students an
overview and history of the
University's police force and its
relation to crime on campus.
"Our jurisdiction is any
University-owned or -leased prop-
erty and streets contiguous," Baisden
said.
He said some changes in campus
law enforcement had to be imple-
mented because of the Campus
Security Act of 1990.
"Everyone on this campus needs
to know there are crimes happening
on this campus. There have to be
rules and guidelines for people to
follow this. If not, we are cut off
from federal spending," Baisden
said.
it a someone is founa
"responsible" under the
statement, the student
judiciary will set the
punishment in the form of a
sanction. Through these
sanctions, the Office of
Student Affairs hopes to help
students develop. The office
is urging the hearing panels
to make the sanction relate
to "the problematic behavior
that occurred." Here are
some examples of sanctions:
Attendance at various
programs, including an
alcohol awareness
workshop, a performance of
Residence Hall Repertory
Theater or a faculty lecture
or presentation.
Service through the Office
of Community Service
Learning, the Volunteer
Action Center or a school or
college.
A conference with a
Judicial Advisor, the
Department of Public Safety
or a faculty member.
Presentation of a program
in a residence hall, sorority
or fraternity.
Write a paper on the
concept of community,
substance abuse, fraud,
responsibility or dishonesty.
Other possibilities include
paying restitution for
damages, developing a
project raising campus
awareness of an issue,
separating the victim from
the problem student and
going on rounds with
campus security.
The office also urges the
hearing boards to setta
deadline and specify what
will happen if the sanction is
not completed.
Source: Office of Student Affairs
H-e acknowledged that
file complaints against
under the statement.
DPS can
students
Antieau said DPS may have to
report crimes that don't involve two
students to her office, but said, "My
preference always is if it is between
two people on this campus, it is up
to the person involved to bring it
forward."
Cd 0p.k
The Statement of Student Rights and Responsibilities has its
own politically correct language. Mary Lou Antieau, who is in
charge of the statement as the judicial advisor, said Saturday
the terminology of the statement and the hearing are different
than common legal terms. For example:
It's not called:
The Code of Student
Conduct
a Trial
a Jury
a Sentence
You're not:
a Defendant
a Plaintiff
an Attorney
a Judge
Guilty
or Not Guilty
The proper term is:
The Statement of Student
Rights and Responsibilities
a Hearing
a Hearing Panel
a Sanction.
You are:
the Accused
the Complainant
an Advisor
a Faculty chair
Responsible
or Not Responsible
STUDENTS
Continued from page 1
The participants broke into four groups to si-
multaneously enact hearings of the same case.
The panels differed in their decisions.
One group began by the faculty panelist dis-
missing family members of the accuser and ac-
cused under the assumption of a closed hearing.
The panelists introduced themselves and the fac-
ulty member read a purpose statement of the hear-
ing statement.
The faculty panelist read Mary's accusation of
stalking. J.J., played by Department of Public
Safety Sgt. Benny Chenevert, pleaded "not re-
sponsible."
A University hearing under the statement de-
termines if the accused is "responsible" or "not
responsible."
Mary presented her version of the event first
and J.J. followed. The panel then asked questions
to Mary and J.J.
Mary submitted the letters, notes and dead
rose. Mary's roommate Leslie, played by campus
ACLU President David Schwartz, testified as to
what she had heard from Mary and J.J. and his ac-
tions lately.
The panel then questioned the three and dis-
missed Leslie. Mary and J.J. each made closing
statements.
The six student jurors cane to different con-
clusions while deliberating the case.
The wording of the statement was hard to in-
terpret, said the student jurors, but one panelist
said that was inevitable.
One questioned whether the student jurors
should hand down a sanction based on the dating
behavior of the accused.
Another student said, "He already has an order
barring him from buildings on campus. He is a
good student."
One panelist said she felt a responsibility to
other women in the community who may fall vic-
tim to the alleged stalker.
Antieau told the panel to find the accused
guilty because of time constraints. She noted that
this would not happen in a normal hearing.
The group then faced the challenge of deter-
mining a punishment known as a sanction.
One member asked, "Can we find him not
guilty of the code but say he used inappropriate
behavior?"
The group proposed asking Mary to determine
a sanction, but Antieau warned against bargaining
the sanctions with the complainant.
The group discussed how a real case would
work, how they could have improved their ques-
tioning and what they should work on during the
hearing.
Returning to reality, three formal complaints
have been filed with the Office of Student Affairs.
Antieau said those hearings will begin now that
the workshop is over.
Antieau reassured the student jurors and fac-
ulty members that the end of training did not mean
the end of their contact with the Office of Student
Affairs.
"There will be support offered to the individ-
uals," Antieau said.
The panelists serve through Fall term and the
faculty members serve two-year terms.
Many of the changes are because the first term is not
compatible with the term on the right. For example, the
hearing is to discover facts and is not comparable to a court of
law, and the faculty chair has no vote in the decision.
Source: Office of Student Affairs
1 C
FAMILY
Continued from page 1
financing health insurance and
custody.
A panel discussion debated the
merits and pitfalls of transracial
0 adoption.
Leona Neale, from American
Black Social Workers, said
transracial adoption has become the
norm because whites have more
money and Blacks are not actively
recruited to adopt.
"Black children are not a com-
modity to be bought and sold,"
Neale said.
But David Watts, also from the
American Black Social Workers -
who was adopted by white parents
- argued, "Transracial adoption is
not a threat to Black culture. This
suggestion is absurd."
Richards said transracial adoption
is better than foster care, but quali-
fied, "I'd rather see a child adopted
by parents with the same cultural
background."
Debate was not restricted to the
interests of children, as the issues of
parents and marriage were also
contested.
University Law Prof. A. W. B.
Simpson described the history of
marriage from English common law.
"There never was a time when
the subject of marriage was
non-confrontational," Simpson said.
David Chambers, a University
Law professor, said marriage's only
use is defined in its termination.
In a moving aside, Chambers
urged everyone to realize that many
people in attendance were gay. He
said it is hard to conceptualize that a
homosexual's idea of marriage is not
legally recognized.
Don't just fall into any job.....
bea
ehelp acclimate new students
emeet exciting and diverse people
egain practical experience
for your career
*come back to school early!!
mass meetings
Tuesday March 9, 3-5pm Michigan Union. Kuenzel Room
Wednesday March 10, 4-6pm Michigan Union. Kuenzel Room
applicants must attend one of these mass meetings
Studentgroups
U Arab-American Students' Asso-
ciation, bylaws ratification meet-
ing, Michigan Union, Welker
Room, 8:30 p.m.
U Environmental Action Coalition,
meeting, School of Natural Re-
sources, Room 1040,7 p.m.
U Indian American Students As-
sociation, weekly board meet-
ing, Michigan League, Room A,
7 p.m.
U Michigan Student Assembly,
temporary meetings to discuss
Diagpolicy, Michigan Union, 3rd
Floor, 7 p.m.
U Rainforest Action Movement,
meeting, Dana Building, Room
1046,7 p.m.
U Shorin-Rvu Karate-Do Club.
out, CCRB, Room 2275,7-8:30 Q Vision and Form III, exhibit,
p.m. North Campus Commons
Q U-M Ninjitsu Club, practice, I.M. Atrium.
Building Wrestlinv Room G21_
7:30-9 p.m.
Events
Q Dialogue Series Between and
Among People with Disabili-
ties & People without Disabili-
ties, Chemistry Building, Room
1706,7-9 p.m.
Q Eight Annual Student Awards
Exhibition,SchoolofArt, Slusser
Gallery, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
Q Jazz Composers' Forum,School
of Music, Recital Hall, 8 p.m.
Q Nicotine Patch Users: Smoke
Stoners Assists in Kicking the
Student services
Q The Adoptee Gathering, drop in
to discuss specific issuesthatcon-
cern adult adoptees, 117N. Divi-
sion St., 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Q ECB Student Writing Center,
Angell Hall, Computing Center,
7-11 p.m.
Q Northwalk Nighttime Safety
Walking Service, Bursley Hall,
763-9255,8 p.m.-1:30 a.m.
Q Peer Counseling, U-M Counsel-
ing Services, 7 p.m.-8 a.m., call
764-8433
U Psychology Undergraduate Peer
Advisq, sponsored by Depart-
qualifications
-enrollment in Winter and Fall Terms 1993
"good academic standing
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