New Student Code of Conduct

. . . December 1995

New Student Code of Conduct on Ann Arbor campus The University's Board of Regents passed in November a Code of Student Conduct for the Ann Arbor campus by a vote of seven to one, with an amendment that it be reviewed again in three years. Regent Deane Baker was the lone dissenting vote.

Vice President for Student Affairs Maureen A. Hartford said she expected the policy to go into effect Jan. 1, giving the University time to distribute the new policy. Hartford called the Code, which replaces an interim code in effect since November 1992, "much better" than previous versions, one of which was overturned in court. "I think we've gotten much more clear and much more aware about what due process is owed to students when they violate our codes of conduct," she said.
The Code describes "possible behaviors which are inconsistent with the essential values of the University community," outlines procedures to respond to such behavior and suggests possible sanctions "intended to educate and to safeguard members of the University community."
The Code, in describing student rights, says: "Students at the University have the same rights and protections under the Constitutions of the United States and the State of Michigan as other citizens. These rights include freedom of expression, press, religion and assembly.
"The University has a long tradition of student activism and values freedom of expression, which includes voicing unpopular views and dissent. As members of the University community, students have the right to express their own views, but must also take responsibility for according the same rights to others. . . .
"Students have the right to be treated fairly and with dignity regardless of age, color, creed, disability, marital status, national origin or ancestry, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or veteran status.
". . . Students have the right to be protected from capricious decision-making by the University and to have access to University policies which affect them."
Violations described in the Code include "physically harming another person including acts such as killing, assaulting, or battering," "sexually assaulting or sexually harassing another person," "hazing, stalking, or harassing another person" and "violating University computer policies," among other actions that "may contradict the essential values of the University community."
The Code states, "The University considers the procedures for resolving disputes a part of its educational mission and is committed to a process which provides both peer review and mediation."
The eight-student work group solicited input from the University community over a seven-month period using focus groups, electronic mail and open forums to gather comments, objections and suggestions.
"We talked personally with 500 students, and much of their input is what made this document the way it is," said Jack Bernard, now a graduate of the Law School. "We did what we could to make all aspects of this code to emphasize the educational aspects. This is a much more mediation-oriented document."
During the public comments portion of the Regents meeting, Anne Marie Ellison '98 of Cincinnati, chair of the Michigan Student Assembly's Student Rights Commission, urged the Regents not to adopt the code.
"This code fails to safeguard student rights, and I urge you not to put this policy in place," she said.
Ellison was joined by Devorah Adler '96 of Great Neck, New York, in speaking against the code during the public comments. Adler said the code "is not the product of the student community it is intended to govern." Adler said that the work group held the status of employees of the University while they were gathering input and were reluctant to debate the issues openly.
Mary H. Rave, president of the Washtenaw County Branch of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU); Eugene Feingold, ACLU board member and professor emeritus of health services management and policy; and Sallie R Churchill, ACLU board member and professor of social work, all spoke against the code.
"The code deals with nonacademic matters, with matters in which the University should not be involved," Feingold said. "Why should the University invent our own legal system?"
This Issue's Index | Michigan Today Home Page