SR&R committee closes meeting, dismisses public

03/04/08 - The dean of students closed a meeting of the University of Rhode Island Students' Rights and Responsibilities Committee to the public Friday, saying she wanted a "more comfortable" environment for committee members.The meetings of the committee, which makes changes to the university's conduct rules, are normally open to the public. But on Friday, Dean of Students and chair of the committee Fran Cohen asked members of the public and a reporter to leave, saying the board would discuss its composition. The makeup of the committee had come under fire by the student members in a letter to the Cigar published that day.

In the letter, the student representatives complained of conflicts of interest of four faculty, staff and graduate student members on the committee. The students said that the four members that enforce the rules should not also write them because it creates a temptation to change the rules to simplify their jobs. Specifically, the students complained that a Campus Police officer, faculty member who duels as a member of the conduct board, graduate student who works for Housing and Residential Life and Cohen all possessed conflicts of interest.

Student member Allen Petit objected to Cohen barring the media and questioned her about her decision. Afterwards, he said he believed students had a right to attend and hear about the meeting.

"I don't think it was right of her to do that because it wasn't, in my opinion, a private meeting," Petit said. "It was still a public meeting and there was no reason for her to close it."

Petit said Cohen told the student members she would consider removing Campus Police Maj. Stephen Baker from the committee and replacing him with a member of the student conduct board.

Petit said the student representatives were considering her request and soliciting feedback from Student Senate before deciding whether to agree to the move.

During the open part of Friday's meeting, the committee went through changes to sections of the Student Handbook relating to drug and alcohol infractions as well as the URI discipline system.

The committee postponed a vote on changing the proximity rule, which punishes students caught in the same room where alcohol or drugs are consumed. The provision would equate two charges of proximity to one drug or alcohol violation, also known as a "strike." After one alcohol or drug violation, students must go to an education session, pay a fine of at least $50, and will be placed on disciplinary probation for a semester.

Cohen said that most proximity violations are with students whose underage friends have been drinking, as approximately 89 percent of the undergraduate population at URI is under the legal drinking age at any time.

Student senator Amanda Clarke suggested a system that allows for three proximity violations. Currently, a student will meet with a representative from Student Life when he or she receives the proximity violation. Clarke's suggestion would use a formal warning for the first proximity violation, which is the current rule. The second proximity violation could result in a fine or an essay, and the third proximity violation would result in one drug or alcohol violation.

Cohen said that she would put the possible scenarios into more formal wording and the committee would vote on it at their meeting this Friday.

The committee also looked at the provisions of the Handbook that cover the URI judicial system.

"Ninety-nine percent of cases are negotiated between an administrator and the student," Cohen said. The cases that aren't negotiated move on to the judicial board. A clarification to the laws that would remove digital recording from being the cause of an appeal was up for debate.

"Digital recording . is only used in helping the adviser prepare a report," Cohen said. The existence of these recordings is marked on the paper report. The paper record and the digital recordings are held for six years, after which they are destroyed.

If students disagree with the outcome of their judicial hearing, they have the right to appeal. The new provision does not allow students to use poor recording quality as grounds for an appeal.

"I don't think [poor recording quality] should be the sole reason for an appeal," Maj. Stephen Baker, of University Police, said.

Discipline of student groups was another topic of discussion. The committee discussed section 2.33b, which requires student groups who have been convicted of a second drug or alcohol violation to be suspended from URI for at least two semesters. Petit requested that Student Senate recognized groups be excluded from this provision. However, some members of the committee disagreed.

"The university should be controlling the sanctions, not the senate," Ruemmele said.

Baker also disagreed, arguing for a consistent punishment process for student groups. "Other organizations are going to try to jump on to get exemptions," he said. The motion to exclude student senate recognized groups failed.

The SR&R committee will cover more sections of the Student Handbook at its meeting on Friday at 3 p.m. in Memorial Union Room 301.