STUDENT RIGHTS The Michigan Daily - New Student Edition - Wednesday, September 5, 2001--3B d$u1Oai1**BUL, Don't let 'U'fool you, new Code still has old face, same tricks ABOUT THE SERIES n March, The Michigan Daily's editorial board started a series exploring the University's student discipline policies once known as the Code of Student Conduct. This past February, University President Lee Bollinger made a number of changes to the Code, including renaming the policies the Statement of Student Rights and Responsibilities. However, the changes implemented by Bollinger made to make the process more fair barely scratched the surface. The fundamental flaws of the Code are still there and the rights of students are threatened. * In 1988, then-interim University President Robben Fleming, who was president for much of the 1970s, pushed a Code through the University Board of Regents. The basic framework of that Code is still with today's policies. Because of its serious violations of the First Amendment, a federal court declared the University's discipline policies to be unconstitutional. Fighting the Code was major hotbed of campus activism in the early to Snid-1990s. But as Code revisions were bogged down in administrative committees, student interest waned and until the debut of the Daily's series, very few students understood the policies, admin- istrative abuses and the ramifactions on student freedoms. The Federal Education Rights to Privacy Act restricts the University on the amount of information it can release on its FROM THI Ane6 kr ch~ ill er C14sic? Ci A4 1 lnY- £1 ,/ .21.c, a . ~~ ~F."c6Ur sc VIEWPOINT For most students, going to college is an exciting time, offering previously- unheard of freedoms. Fat parties!Alco- hol! Staying up as late as you want! It's quite a change from the days of parental curfews and hall passes that many stu- dents have left behind in high school. But do not let your exuberance blind you: College has some very real rules, with some very real consequences behind them. And while nobody will nag you for wearing the same clothes for three days straight, a few wrong steps and you could find yourself on the sixth floor of the intimidating Fleming Administration Building trying to explain yourself to a skeptical Universi- ty administrator, who thinks the spots on your pants are gross. How can a savvy student prevent this sit- uation, or at Least be This ove sure they are treated policy a fairly if they are caught every stud breaking the rules? Be LSA to SA smart: Learn about the was onc regulations formally a At the University' of Studen the administration cod- This pas dles a gaggle of poli- University cies - for freedom of lee B speech, alcohol, sexual a r ed c harassment, Internet appro d use, hazing, even the old c smoking on University re'nate premises. All of these Statement are available on the Righ: website of the Office Responsitl of Student Conflict res- don't be f olution, (www. almost umich.edu/~oscr) and respons although it is important that students are aware they exist, these are only the icing on the cake. Only one has disciplinary mechanisms: the infa- mous "Code." This big kahuna of poli- cies can require you to attend alcohol education classes, kick you out of the dorms, even suspend or expel you from the University. This overarching policy applies to every student - from LSA to SNRE - and is formally known as the Code of Student Conduct. This past winter, University President Lee Bollinger approved changes to the old code, and renamed it the Statement of Student Rights and Responsibilities. But don't be fooled, it's almost entirely responsibilities. This policy is printed in a little blue book buried somewhere in every student's orientation packet, and it includes many things the laws prohibit - assault, stalking, alcohol abuse by minors and some things the law doesn't cover: violating the University's com- puter policy, disrupting classes, obstructing the Code procedure, etc. That's all fine and dandy, but why should the Code matter if you don't plan on doing any of these things? First, if the Ann Arbor police issue you a minor in possession of alcohol citation - basically a ticket for being inebriated in public, or possessing alcohol, they auto- matically tell the University. After two MIPs, the administration calls you in for discipline, usually in the format of a educational assignment: an essay to write, a class to attend. Secondly, the former Code has the potential for great te WN iti ed ~is injustice. This dual nature of the former code- to both educate and punish - reveals a major reason why it is flawed. The U/ni- versity claims the Code is an education- al process - but the Code includes both educational and disciplinary punish- ments: anything from alcohol work- shops to expulsion. To an attentive observer, the University uses the Code for both disciplinary and educational purposes - whatever they see fit. Also, while ANY "... student, faculty member or staff member may submit a complaint alleging a violation of the Code;" ONLY students can be punished. Suddenly, all the talk about "community standards" goes out the window - if this policy only applies to students, why doesn't the administration say so? Although Department of Public Safe- ty officers are technically University staff members, before last year they had never arching filed charges against a plies to student under the Code. nt - from And justifiably so - ?E - and they are charged with known upholding state and local the Code law, not some adminis- Conduct. trator's idea of what winter, members of a "commu- President nity" should do. In virtu- linger ally all cases, DPS only anger toprovides information for anges to cases when another stu- id the and dent files a complaint. ~ it the Last year a student was Rf Student charged by DPS but. Pand dropped legal charges ities. But becausedof a lack of evi- oled, it's dence. While there wa~s- ,ntirely n't enough evidence fo a- bilities. real trial, apparently they thought there was enough evidence for a Code charge. To make that story short, after the Daily's editorial page covered the case exten-. sively, the charges were dropped. Throughout this fiasco, the Daily's coverage of the Code has been excep- tional, yet the administration remained silent. When the administration cannot defend themselves against full-page edi- torial criticisms, students must conclude that injustice is afoot. A few simple changes can vastly improve the Code: limiting its scope, setting a consistent standard of proof and applying it consis- tently. Here's the bottom line: the University has a discipline policy that they could use to screw you over if you don't know anything about it. There is hope: the Student Rights Commission of the Michigan Student Assembly is involved in an ongoing effort to amend the former code, ando educate students about it. If you would like to help us, or want to know more about the code for any reason, please email scr-core~umich.edu. RoB GoODSPEED LSA sophomore - Goodspeed is afirmer member f The Michigan Daily 's editorial board. He is now an LSA representative to the Michigan Student Assembly and serves as co-chair of the Student Rights Commission. Goodspeed can be reached via e-mail at rgoodspe@umich.edu. discipline policies. So the Code has remained a veiled mystery for the most part. It is in the interest of all students to learn about the Code and its abuses. More stories are to come this semester. To read the "Unmasking the Code" series in its entirety, go to www.michigandaily.comlcode. MICHAEL GRASS NICHOLAS WOOMER Editorial Page Editors SERIES THE CASE OF BRIAN MONTEITH ,_w. j Recent Engineering graduate Brian Monteith got a crash course in the Code his freshman year and saw how }administrators in charge of the disci- pline process have the ability to abuse their power It was only until he was about to graduate when Monteith came forward and told the Daily about his experi- ences with the Code. While living in West Quad Resi- dence Hall, someone living on his hall launched apples via a slingshot toward the Fleming Administration Building. The apples crashed through the win- dow of then-Vice President for Student Affairs Maureen Hartford, splattering apple bits all over her office. Monteith told Mary Louise Antieau, who then was the director of the Office for Student Conflict Resolution, that he was innocent. The only evidence she found was that a West Quad house- keeper heard his voice coming from a room where the administration believed the apples were launched from. In later report, the housekeeper retracted her statement, saying that she wasn't sure at all if it was Monteith's voice. With little evidence, Antieau took justice into her own hands. She found. him guilty. Monteith had to pay for part of the cost to clean Hartford's chair. At my next meeting I asked how they could charge me as the only piece of evidence was that the housekeeper said that 1 had been in the room earlier in the day. (Mary Louise) Antieau at this time told me in no uncertain terms that she knew I was involved, she would find me guilty if I pled not guilty and that the punishment would be more severe. PRESIDENT BOLLINGER'S EXPLANATIONS TO SOME CHANGES TO THE CODE OF STUDENT CONDUCT There is nothing unfair about using hearsay evidence in the arbitration process. Beyond a reasonable doubt is a standard exclusively reserved for criminal court proceedings, and has no place in the educational process. Allowing advocates (lawyers) significantly reduces the educational mission (of the Code). The outcome of a civil or criminal matter should not be determinative of whether a complainant can pursue a matter under the Code (Punishing students for falsely report- ing violations of the Code) may have the effect of discouraging students from filing complaints While Bollinger's changes to the Code we're necessarily meant to attack stu- dent rights, the policies as they stand - especially ones supporting double jeopardy, limiting the rights of an attorney, allowing the use of rumor and gos- sip and not going after students who file false reports, using the Code as a revenge mechanism - do just that. Unless these particular areas of the policies are changed, the "educational mission" of the Code will remain just a superficial public relations buzzword, devoid of meaning. KNOW YOUR RIGHTS UNDER THE CO D E To read the Code of Student Conduct - now known as the Statement of Student Rights and Responsibilities, go to the website of the Office of Student Conflict Resolu- tion at w w umich.edu/~oscr or the Daily's special web- site on the Code at wwWmichigandaily.com/code. i Knowing rights hinders harmful consequences KNOW THE LAWS, KNOW YOUR RIGHTS RIGHTS Continued from Page 1B cludes seeing or smelling alcohol or marijuana when you open the door to speak with the police or housing, which is a way they can get around not having a warrant. If you choose to speak to the police or housing, the best advice is speak while some people do get off, this is often just a tactic used to get more infor- mation. And remember, you can end the conversation at any time. One point to remember is that while Ann Arbor does have relatively relaxed marijuana laws, these do not apply in the residence halls. Crimes committed on University property come under state jurisdiction instead Don't have an open container of alcohol while on a public sidewalk or street. If you are at a house party off-campus, police often wait for someone to stumble onto the sidewalk and then ticket them for an open intoxicant violation. While on University property, you are subject to state laws regarding underage alcohol consumption and drug posession. In the city of Ann Arbor, marijuana possession is a civil infraction. $25 for the first offense, $50 on the second. In Ann Arbor, other common civil infractions include: Noise violation N Police can only come into a private residence if they have a valid search warrant or if they believe someone's life is in danger or if there is a real emergency. Police can also come in if you let them in. Police or University Housing authorities will be attracted to loud music, yelling and screaming and if there is a large gathering. At house parties, posting "You are only allowed to drink if you are 21" signs helps only reinforce to the police that you did not intend to serve alcohol to minors, but does not get you off the hook. You are not allowed to sell alcohol at parties inlaccr~- vi Nav ' ,'a ,rni r Ii,'.tcr if t D. n ry' r an ha RESOURCES ® Student Legal Services 2401 Michigan Union 763-9920 A service provided by the University that offers free legal consultation and services for all enrolled University students. * Michigan Student Assembly Student Rights Commission 3909 Michigan Union 763-3241 src-core@umich.edu The student government's commission that looks out for stu-