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EDITORIAL: University needs to clear new bill
Expanded rights are a must
Editorial | 11/4/08
Posted online at 3:15 AM EST on 11/4/08
Today, representatives of the Student Union will meet with members of the administration to discuss whether the new Student Bill of Rights will be incorporated into the Rights and Responsibilities Handbook or simply recognized by the University as a separate document. We urge the University to agree to incorporate the Bill of Rights with Rights and Responsibilities or at least place the Bill of Rights alongside the Rights and Responsibilities in the Handbook as a separately recognized document.
It's clear that the student body wants to see that the statutes of the Bill of Rights are put into effect. Last May, over 89 percent of nearly 1,100 students who voted chose to ratify the document in a Student Union referendum. The Union was going to provide these rights on a magnet that would be handed to students, but the project was delayed because there were still inconsistencies between the Bill of Rights and Rights and Responsibilities.
Fixing these inconsistencies is well worth the effort, no matter the duration of the negotiation.
Students deserve the clarifications and additional protections that the new Bill of Rights would afford them. For example, the new bill seeks to remove the need for the University's consent to plan a time, place and theme for a demonstration and ensures that students cannot be subject to disciplinary action for any expression or support of a given position. As of now, the Rights and Responsibilities Handbook offers no such protection. In light of last year's protests against the administration, students shouldn't need to ask those whose authority they are protesting for permission to do so.
The new piece of legislation also proposes new, previously nonexistent rights for campus groups and organizations under the banner of freedom of association.
Under the new bill, the University will not be able to mandate an adviser to any group without a compelling reason to do so, such as safety or legal concerns. Groups that already have advisers will be able to act without interference from them on any policy, granting them more freedom to pick and choose their goals and initiatives.
Finally, the bill would reform some of the disadvantages students face in the conduct review system. As of now, students are not allowed to see and review all of the evidence that may be used against them prior to a hearing. The new bill would grant students access to that information, providing them with better means to defend themselves.
Our support is not a condemnation of any of the University's prior conduct but rather a desire to see the administration accept and recognize an expansion of student rights. Incorporating these new rights and clarifications into Rights and Responsibilities, or at least affording them the same legitimacy by printing them in the Handbook, will be a big step in the right direction.
It's clear that the student body wants to see that the statutes of the Bill of Rights are put into effect. Last May, over 89 percent of nearly 1,100 students who voted chose to ratify the document in a Student Union referendum. The Union was going to provide these rights on a magnet that would be handed to students, but the project was delayed because there were still inconsistencies between the Bill of Rights and Rights and Responsibilities.
Fixing these inconsistencies is well worth the effort, no matter the duration of the negotiation.
Students deserve the clarifications and additional protections that the new Bill of Rights would afford them. For example, the new bill seeks to remove the need for the University's consent to plan a time, place and theme for a demonstration and ensures that students cannot be subject to disciplinary action for any expression or support of a given position. As of now, the Rights and Responsibilities Handbook offers no such protection. In light of last year's protests against the administration, students shouldn't need to ask those whose authority they are protesting for permission to do so.
The new piece of legislation also proposes new, previously nonexistent rights for campus groups and organizations under the banner of freedom of association.
Under the new bill, the University will not be able to mandate an adviser to any group without a compelling reason to do so, such as safety or legal concerns. Groups that already have advisers will be able to act without interference from them on any policy, granting them more freedom to pick and choose their goals and initiatives.
Finally, the bill would reform some of the disadvantages students face in the conduct review system. As of now, students are not allowed to see and review all of the evidence that may be used against them prior to a hearing. The new bill would grant students access to that information, providing them with better means to defend themselves.
Our support is not a condemnation of any of the University's prior conduct but rather a desire to see the administration accept and recognize an expansion of student rights. Incorporating these new rights and clarifications into Rights and Responsibilities, or at least affording them the same legitimacy by printing them in the Handbook, will be a big step in the right direction.
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