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H 23°, L 9°The University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents will vote Friday on proposed changes to the Chapter 17 and 18 code of conduct that, if passed, would allow students an advising attorney to speak on their behalf in possible cases of suspension and expulsion.
“It was made in direct response to concerns and comments by state leaders and students,” UW System spokesperson David Giroux said.
In the past, students were allowed an attorney to sit in the meeting and advise the accused student. However, the attorney was not allowed to publicly speak on their behalf.
Not everyone in the UW System agrees with the provisions being sent to the Board of Regents.
Ervin Cox, director of Student Advocacy and Judicial Affairs, said in an e-mail sent to a shared governance listserv obtained by The Badger Herald he is against the System’s decision to include the proposed changes to the code of conduct.
“This obviously is something of great concern for us, as it moves our hearings from an educational process where the search for truth is primary to an adversarial process where an advisor/attorney will likely attempt to hide or minimize the truth,” Cox said. “This goes against common and accepted practice in the field of student conduct.”
Cox said this is particularly important since these cases represent the vast amount of non-academic hearings in some years.
Cox added several colleagues across the UW System have expressed concern as well and encourages those with similar beliefs to speak up to the Board of Regents.
The proposal, which is scheduled to be reviewed by the Board of Regents Friday, also calls for the expansion and clarification of language regarding students constitutional rights, as well as “narrower language regarding discipline for municipal violations requiring that violations be both ‘serious and repeated,’” the Board of Regents said in a statement.
If approved by the Board of Regents, the proposal will be sent to the Legislature.
If the Legislature agrees, the System hopes to instate the new rules by the beginning of the fall 2009 semester.
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It comes as no surprise that Ervin Cox opposes altering the student code of conduct in a way that brings it in line with basic legal standards.
My experience with non-academic disciplinary hearings is that the accused student enters with the chips stacked against them. He or she is likely to be quite new to code of conduct hearing procedures and while it isn’t in the interest of justice or fairness, Ervin Cox and other system officials benefit greatly from this inexperience.
Especially when all types of appeals are discouraged, and students who request hearings are often threatened with increased punishment, having a form of legal counsel who is actually allowed to speak when students face suspension or expulsion seems like little more than a basic provision of fairness.
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“Ervin Cox, director of Student Advocacy and Judicial Affairs, said in an e-mail sent to a shared governance listserv obtained by The Badger Herald he is against the System�s decision to include the proposed changes to the code of conduct.”
Then read the first paragraph…
“The University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents will vote Friday on proposed changes to the Chapter 17 and 18 code of conduct that, if passed, would allow students an advising attorney to speak on their behalf in possible cases of suspension and expulsion.”
So we deserve no right to defend ourselves, right? This dude is so out of touch with reality.
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Ervin Cox carries out his job in a manner in which he wants maximum punishment to be handed out to students for seemingly minor offenses. I don’t think he has any idea that his increased discipline will only hurt the university housing system, because students won’t stay in the dorms after they deal with authority that doesn’t allow for any student input. He uses fear tactics to scare students away from defending their rights and utilizing the appeal process. I was threatened with increased sanctions if I appealed a decision against me which I unfortunately believed. This guy needs to get off his high horse and let go of his power trip. He serves no benefit to anyone and only causes distress in students lives here.