Despite continuing student opposition, changes made to the University of Rhode Island's disciplinary code - including the expansion of URI's jurisdiction to include off-campus activities - are set to go into effect in January.
About 150 students gathered in front of Green Hall at URI on Oct. 17 to protest changes to the university's manual and student handbook. This first protest sparked student interest and communication between students and administrators about the changes.
"There were a few subsequent silent protests that we organized. That sort of got us back to the negotiating table with the administration and the Faculty Senate," said Micah Daigle, a URI senior involved in the Student Rights Coalition, which comprises groups that oppose the code changes. "They said that they would start to look over the changes and President (Robert) Carothers expressed deep concern with some of the changes," Daigle added.
Besides the new power to punish students for off-campus offenses, the code changes will allow URI officials to conduct "administrative searches" of dorm rooms without students' consent - a right previously reserved for campus police.
Frances Cohen, dean of students at URI, credited the protesters with raising students' awareness of the changes. "I have responded to many individual students and groups of students who have come asking questions or who have asked me to present to their organizations," she said.
Cohen believes the main cause of protest is misinformation, and she has played a part in the university's efforts to address misperceptions. "One of the things that we did was to put in the campus newspaper paid ads which gave the exact wordings of the changes," she said. Questions and answers concerning the changes were also run in the paper twice a week for several weeks.
URI Vice President for Student Affairs Tom Dougan agreed that "the university - at least the dean of students' office - has been putting a lot of energy into providing information to the entire student body." Inserts concerning the changes have been placed in mailboxes and e-mailed to all students, according to Cohen.
Some students expressed concern about how far the university's jurisdiction will actually extend under the changes, Cohen said, adding that some students seem to think the university will get involved with "parking tickets from Ohio, that we will be intrusive and aggressive in tracking down violations, none of which is true. The only violations that we will address and evaluate are those that come to us through complaints."
Dougan said the university is mostly concerned about incidents including "underage drinking, public urination and arrests where a student kicks out the window of a police car."
The URI Student Rights and Responsibility Committee, which is composed of faculty, staff and students, considered the proposed code changes. However, the SRRC approved the changes without the signatures of its student members. In response to this, Student Rights Coalition silently attended a Faculty Senate meeting on Oct. 20. "Interestingly, they stood the entire meeting with duct tape over their mouths because they didn't feel like they had a voice there," Dougan said.
According to Dougan, the students wanted the Faculty Senate to review the changes and reconsider the objections of the students on the SRRC. The request was referred to the Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate, which then met with student representatives and Cohen. The Faculty Senate approved the code changes, which were then signed by the president.
Though Cohen and Dougan praised the students' efforts and their ability to communicate concerns effectively, no decision has been made as to whether the Faculty Senate will comply with the students' requests.
The Student Rights Coalition's Web site says that on Oct. 24 the American Civil Liberties Union called on Carothers to reject the amendment to the disciplinary code. Despite hearing from the ACLU and directly speaking to student protest leaders, Carothers is still holding to the approved changes.
Daigle has recently been communicating with Carothers through e-mail. "He does seem receptive to wanting to work through this," Daigle said. "But I have heard through a few people that recently, when a few of the student senators wanted to meet with the faculty senators, they weren't as receptive."
Cohen said the changes are a long time in the making. "The policies were evaluated by a committee of 12 for a year and a half and voted on. Then they were voted on by the Faculty Senate, and the President approved all but one of those changes," she said. "Those changes are final unless the process starts all over again and amends them."
Tom Angell, a 2004 URI graduate, said the university's attempt to extend its disciplinary authority demonstrates "a trend all around the country where universities are enacting punitive and senseless drug policies." Angell, who currently works at the national office of Students for Sensible Drug Policy, added that these efforts to increase student safety are "actually putting them at a greater risk and violating their rights in the process."
Because of the recent segment about Sex Power God on "The O'Reilly Factor," Angell said his office is concerned that Brown might enact similar policies.
Brown, he said, has worked well with SSDP by setting up a drug resource center and granting medical amnesty to students so that they can call Emergency Medical Services without worrying about getting in trouble. "I hope they continue the trend of having sensible drug policies," Angell said.
Trevor Stutz '07, former president of Brown's SSDP, is not overly concerned that the University is going to move toward a more punitive alcohol and drug policy. "It's more along the lines of looking at how parties can be managed better," he said.
If new policies are developed at Brown, Stutz thinks SSDP would play a role in making sure the University moves toward healthy, rather than punitive, policies. "I hope it wouldn't come to confrontation but would rather continue to be a dialogue, understanding that both sides are coming from the viewpoint of (how to) optimize health," he said.
