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Student bill of rights under review
by Harry Shipps
Staff writer
News | 3/17/09
Posted online at 6:41 AM EST on 3/17/09
The University Counsel is currently in the process of reviewing the Student Bill of Rights before it is added to University policy, according to Student Union President Jason Gray '10.
A draft of the bill was submitted to the counsel last week by Dean of Student Life Rick Sawyer, who worked in conjunction with Director of Student Rights and Advocacy Laura Cohen '09 and Gray.
Both Gray and Cohen believe that Sawyer will approve the bill. "I expect that within the next few days, the Student Bill of Rights will be signed by the Department of Student of Life and the Student Government," Gray said.
Sawyer could not be reached for comment by press time.
One of the major changes proposed by the Student Bill of Rights deals with the right of a student to have an adviser question another student in the case of sexual misconduct or physical assault.
Gray said that he began the Student Bill of Rights initiative last year when he was a member of the Student Union Executive Board. Gray said that the policy at that time was "lacking clear definition of what students' rights were; it was cumbersome, hard to read, ambiguous and at times [it] didn't afford students the rights they deserved." At that time, Gray convened a committee of students to decide what rights students wanted and needed. With those proposals in hand, Gray and Cohen began working with the Department of Student Life to produce a student bill of rights.
Both Cohen and Gray cited the proposed changes to the current policy dealing with sexual misconduct and assault hearings as important aspects of the Student Bill of Rights. According to Cohen, the current guidelines dictate that the accused and accusing students must question each another in judicial processes.
Cohen wrote in an e-mail to the Justice, "This can be a traumatic experience, especially in the event of a sexual misconduct or physical assault hearing."
Cohen wrote, "The most current language [in the Student Bill of Rights] would specifically allow a student (either accused or accusing) to ask his/her [adviser] to question the opposing student in the case of either a sexual misconduct or physical assault hearing."
A draft of the bill was submitted to the counsel last week by Dean of Student Life Rick Sawyer, who worked in conjunction with Director of Student Rights and Advocacy Laura Cohen '09 and Gray.
Both Gray and Cohen believe that Sawyer will approve the bill. "I expect that within the next few days, the Student Bill of Rights will be signed by the Department of Student of Life and the Student Government," Gray said.
Sawyer could not be reached for comment by press time.
One of the major changes proposed by the Student Bill of Rights deals with the right of a student to have an adviser question another student in the case of sexual misconduct or physical assault.
Gray said that he began the Student Bill of Rights initiative last year when he was a member of the Student Union Executive Board. Gray said that the policy at that time was "lacking clear definition of what students' rights were; it was cumbersome, hard to read, ambiguous and at times [it] didn't afford students the rights they deserved." At that time, Gray convened a committee of students to decide what rights students wanted and needed. With those proposals in hand, Gray and Cohen began working with the Department of Student Life to produce a student bill of rights.
Both Cohen and Gray cited the proposed changes to the current policy dealing with sexual misconduct and assault hearings as important aspects of the Student Bill of Rights. According to Cohen, the current guidelines dictate that the accused and accusing students must question each another in judicial processes.
Cohen wrote in an e-mail to the Justice, "This can be a traumatic experience, especially in the event of a sexual misconduct or physical assault hearing."
Cohen wrote, "The most current language [in the Student Bill of Rights] would specifically allow a student (either accused or accusing) to ask his/her [adviser] to question the opposing student in the case of either a sexual misconduct or physical assault hearing."
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