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Student Conduct
Board cases drastically decrease in the spring semester |
There was a marked decrease in Conduct
Board cases this spring. The reasons are unclear, though one could surmise
that generally spring numbers will go down as students re-focus academic
and social priorities. The number of fall cases was unusually high as
well. In any event, students should be applauded for the decrease in
spring cases.
Key decreases:
Alcohol: Fall 201, Spring 57, almost a 72%
decrease
Drugs: Fall 43, Spring 17, a 60% decrease
Parties: Fall 80, Spring 33, also nearly a
60% decrease
This spring, students were found
responsible 40% of the time (38% in the fall).
See below or
click attached for a full review of statistics
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Consequences for violations |
Drugs
University discipline is meant to be
incremental and to give students a chance to learn from mistakes, thus
there are not automatic suspensions for first violations.
Two students were removed from campus
housing after the Residential Life Office announced that students found
responsible for drug violations would be evicted from campus and still be
expected to fulfill the residency requirement in subsequent semesters.
There were no following violations of the drug policy.
This practice will stay in place
indefinitely. Students are implored to understand that Trinity will do
everything it can to ensure that we will not be known as a drug school,
not just for reasons of reputation, but for the health and safety of all
students in our community. First offense violators will usually be placed
on general probation, be required to take an on-line course, be moved off
campus, and be required to have their parents contact the school.
Subsequent offenses will result in suspension for at least one semester.
Alcohol
First offense alcohol violators will be
placed on limited probation and sanctioned to pay for and complete an
on-line educational course. Second violations will usually result in
general probation and parental notification. Third offenses will usually
result in suspension.
An on-line alcohol
course will be required of all new students. The Trinity Alcohol
Coalition, comprised of students, staff, and faculty, reviewed this
program and endorsed it as a measure to educate students about alcohol in
college before they get here. The course must be completed before students
can register in the fall. We hope this course is effective and reinforces
our philosophy on alcohol: We acknowledge students will drink, we care
deeply about student safety and health, and we will enforce our policies.
In eight
incidents last year students contacted staff because they feared that a
friend was in danger of alcohol poisoning. None of those students, their
friends who called, or others who were drinking in violation of policy
were referred for judicial action. This is done in the spirit of placing
student health first as also described in the “responsible friend” portion
of the Trinity alcohol policy. As always, we care much more about the
safety of a student than we do about a trivial alcohol violation.
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Duke
University and BadJocks.com- Are we like them? |
The Duke University lacrosse team was
suspended (and then reinstated) following allegations of a rape at an
off-campus party. In addition to the tragedy of an allegedly heinous crime
the focus has shifted to some other issues. The culture of the team and
the lack of being held accountable by University administrators has now
taken center stage, leaving other institutions to ask, “Are we like them?”
Yes and no. All schools share the same
issues Duke has faced and can learn by their thoughtful response and
attempts to heal within the school and community. There are always issues
that can arise with student groups. Check out
BadJocks.com and see why a furor has
boiled up recently related to the behavior of athletes, teams, and
administrators.
The common issues are alcohol, hazing,
sexual misconduct, and mob mentality.
At Trinity, all coaches have agreed (for
the last several years) to be informed when athletes have been written up
for policy violations. The Athletic Department supports Student Affairs in
treating student-athletes as students first. While the Athletic staff
doesn’t want athletes to be treated more harshly than other students, the
staff is clear with athletes that they represent the school in prominent
ways and expectations on them are higher than on the typical student.
What can
athletes do to protect their image? For starters, they should cultivate a
positive one off the field. Some athletes have recently lived together off
campus in their senior years and used their residences for all-campus
parties. The potential for alcohol poisoning, date rape, and disruption to
neighbors is very real if these parties go unmonitored. In addition, it is
critical that individuals take responsibility for their actions and
monitor the behavior of their peers. There are many aspects to being on a
team for better and for worse. Finally, one way to monitor image is not to splash photos of questionable conduct over Facebook.com. This is not to
say “misbehave, just as long as you keep it quiet.” Avoiding poor conduct
is most important, but posting shameless photos is simply dumb.
The most difficult cases are always ones
that pit students versus one another. This year one sexual misconduct case
was brought forward to the University for a hearing. The University
Conduct Board did not find the accused student responsible for violating
our policy. This is troubling for many who believe this type of decision
will deter others from coming forward. That would be a shame.
First and foremost the conduct review
process needs to be fair. Pre-determining that all accused students are
automatically responsible for violations to satisfy the masses is not
fair.
Neither is it fair for a student who comes
forward to be violated again by having the University turn its back. This
is the quandary in handling the very difficult issue of sexual assault on
campus. During most assaults there are no witnesses and ultimately cases
boil down to one student's word against another's.
Concerned
faculty, staff, and students will be meeting this fall to do a full review
of Trinity’s policy, procedures, and education efforts. The University’s
role is to set up a process that is fair to both parties regardless of the
outcome. The process needs to be transparently accessible, accepting, and
supportive of victims.
For the second straight year a Trinity
University fraternity faced revocation of its charter and individual
members were left to face allegations of hazing and disorderly conduct.
Hazing isn’t unique to Greek organizations and can be found in many
quarters across campus.
The Trinity hazing
policy has been revised and is attached. Please note that this policy is
meant to be much more specific than the former policy and also is intended
to explain some basic truths about hazing: The policy and law make it
clear that new members of a group are not in a realistic position to
decline hazing, even if they claim to accept it willingly. Families of
students who have died from hazing would probably feel otherwise. In
addition, despite old-fashion traditions and culture, new members of any
group aren’t selected to serve at the pleasure of older members. Placing a
new member in a subservient role and then having them do dangerous and
embarrassing things has no relation to membership in a group.
Click
here to read the full policy
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New values-based policies rolled out for
2006 |
Most students don’t read policies until
they have been told they have violated them. It shouldn’t be that way. We
also shouldn’t be so policy-centered that students have to be bound by a
detailed rule book. A dozen or so policies are being jettisoned this year
to simplify our code. The new major standards of conduct are simple and
should be easy to remember for student reflection when they are faced with
behavioral choices.
Students are expected to respect
themselves, others, the community, and property and be responsible for
their actions. In addition,
policies with legal implications remain (alcohol, drugs, sexual
misconduct, hazing, and firearms).
The goals of our conduct process are
clearly stated on our web page. We are an educational institution and hope
our conduct process reflects that. Rather than quibbling about the
technicalities of a policy, the University hopes the new policies create a
dynamic for fruitful discussion in hearings about expectations, rights of
others, and responsibility.
Click
here to see our new policies.
Our new policies have broader language
giving the University more authority to address behavior off campus,
particularly regarding disruption in neighboring areas. The Monte Vista
Historical Society has contacted Trinity to be part of their work group to
study and make recommendations about traffic and parking in the area. An
ASR senator and staff members will work with this group to help identify
solutions.
Students are urged to drive respectfully
and treat neighbors the way they would treat relatives.
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