The Whitworthian

Issue date: 11/20/07 Last Updated: 11/24/07

After receiving complaints about the ambiguity of a clause regarding off-campus student behavior in the 2007-08 Student Handbook, the Student Life Committee recommended a revision.

The committee proposed to drop the phrase "and behavior that is potentially harmful to the reputation, educational mission or interests of the university" from the off-campus behavior policy in the handbook, director of student activities Dayna Coleman Jones said.

Coleman Jones presented the revision to ASWU at its Nov. 14 meeting. (See "MEETING REPORT: Off-campus behavior clause in handbook revised")

ASWU members recommended the committee adopt the revised policy at that meeting.

The revision will take effect immediately, but the new handbook will not be published until the summer, Coleman Jones said.

Administrators revised a section of the Big Three on off-campus behavior this summer, along with other sections of the handbook.

According to an article on whitworthian.com, vice president for Student Life Kathy Storm said revisions were originally made to highlight and clarify university intervention for off-campus behavior violations.

However, many students were upset with the revised section because of its ambiguity, Coleman Jones said.

"Students felt it was too broad," Coleman Jones said. "They weren't sure what type of activities would fall under the clause, so they felt vulnerable."

Senior Shaina Western said the policy underestimated students and their capabilities to make decisions.

"It was about trying to control us instead of letting us be responsible adults and allowing us to make our own decisions," Western said.

ASWU Executive Vice-President Katie Zerkel said many students thought the clause was brand new, which is a misconception.

Coleman Jones said in practice, the revision will not change how off-campus issues are handled.

"Basically, we added a step to the process in that now if an issue ever arises that we think needs to be addressed, we'll bring it to the Student Life Committee," Coleman Jones said.

Zerkel said the main goal of the revision was to clarify the clause.

"It helps to clarify the policy a little more, which is important because although this section hasn't been used a lot in the last few years, it could become more prominent with the way our society is going," Zerkel said.

Contact Morgan Feddes at morgan.feddes@whitworthian.com.

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools

The Whitworthian encourages readers to comment on any content on the whitworthian.com. Article comments can be posted by anyone. The opinions expressed are not necessarily the opinion of The Whitworthian, its editors or its staff. The Whitworthian strives to monitor and delete comments with profanity, advertisements, obscenity, plagiarism, personal attacks, threats of violence or that violate the law or common decency. However, since The Whitworthian does not control user submitted statements, we cannot promise that readers will not find offensive or inaccurate comments on occasion.

For this reason, The Whitworthian asks readers to be responsible and respectful in any comments posted. The responsibility for statements posted lies with the person submitting the comment, not the whitworthian.com. Readers are also encouraged to report questionable comments by e-mailing editor@whitworthian.com.