Thursday, March 6, 2008

All you ever needed to know about getting in trouble

3/7/08

By Ben Holbrook
Managing Editor


Getting in trouble is never a pleasant experience but with a little preparation, you may be able to defend your innocence.

The judicial process at LSC can range from a one on one hearing for minor violations to a hearing in front of a panel of faculty and staff members. The hearing panel will listen to the student’s case and then make recommendations to the dean as to the punishment the student should receive, Jonathan Davis, interim director of student affairs, said.

A student is never guilty until there is a hearing, Davis said. “Many students have the impression they are immediately guilty,” Davis said. Students are allowed to bring witnesses, an advocate, or an attorney with prior notice to the school, to the hearings, Davis said.

For minor violations such as drinking, or safety violations, a student will meet with their RHD who would then determine the course of punishment for the student at the time of the hearing.

When a student goes before the hearing panel for more serious violations like damaging school property or drug possession, the hearing panel officer has a checklist of questions to ask the student, Davis said. One of these questions is whether the student would like to challenge for bias, which means one of the hearing panel members may have a bias towards the student because the student was in a class with them, Davis said. Should a student challenge for bias and the bias is proven then the hearing would be suspended until a replacement panel member is found, Davis said.

The challenge for bias rarely happens because, “we try to do our homework beforehand,” Davis said.

If a student is trying to prepare for a hearing then the student should read the handbook because, “it’s about their rights,” Davis said. The student should also be proactive and talk to their RHD or me, Davis said. “Don’t assume you’re guilty,” Davis said.

“We like to think of our judicial system as very educational,” Davis said.

Fines for minor drinking violations, and safety violations have been eliminated due to the fact they were somewhat trivial punishments, Davis said. There is still the possibility of having a fine imposed however, for subsequent drinking and/or safety violations depending on prior violations, Davis said. If there was any damage associated with the violations a fine could also be imposed. “In general though, we have tried to stay away from the fines,” Davis said.

However, the fines for drug possession, damages, and tampering with fire alarms are still in place, Davis said.

For more information on the judicial process, and to better prepare you are, consult your student handbook, which has all of the disciplinary process information in it.

No comments: