Knowingly present is gone, but is it for the best?
A look into the student handbook revisions
by Timothy Cama | Llama Ledger Staff
Issue date: 9/5/07 Section: News
The unpopular knowingly present policy, which Simon's Rock students and employees alike have fought against for years, is absent from the 2007-2008 Student Handbook. But while the exact words are no longer there, much of what the policy stood for is.
"What I care most about is safety," said Associate Dean of Student Affairs Bob Graves.
With that in mind, Graves re-wrote some sections of the handbook this summer, after some consultation with faculty, staff and students.
Prior to this academic year, any student found in the presence of other students using banned substances could be held equally as responsible as those using the substances.
One of the purposes of the policy was to overcome the difficulty a resident director would face if he or she were forced to determine who was and wasn't using drugs or alcohol when drugs or alcohol were found, explained Graves.
It also forced students to be responsible for their living spaces, explained Graves. All students living in a space were infracted when drugs or alcohol were found, he said, instead of only the ones who obviously owned the substances.
"It was a blanket policy," he said, with very little flexibility.
But these responsibilities are still applied in the new handbook, said Graves.
For example, students who aren't participating in unsafe activities, such as drug use, but are present, can be held responsible under the "Lack of Respect for Individuals" heading on page 12 of the new handbook.
The "Shared Living Space" heading on page 18 covers instances in which banned substances are found in a shared living space, said Graves, and students can still be held responsible.
"It's your space," said Graves, adding that students ought to know what's going on in their living spaces, and be held responsible for that.
But these policies are more flexible, said Graves, who, under new regulations, decides the adjudication process for every infraction at Simon's Rock.
As associate dean of student affairs, Graves decided whether he, another staff member, Judicial Committee or a House Council will decide the outcome of an infraction that a student doesn't accept.
Under the new, more flexible policies, whoever adjudicates an infraction has more leeway in deciding how responsible a student was, or was not, said Graves.
Junior Fred Harris, who, along with about 11 other students, was infracted in the fall of 2006 while watching a movie in Kendrick House, welcomes the change.
When a residence director came into the room, he found a bottle of alcohol on a table, and Harris says that to this day, he doesn't know who owned the bottle.
But since all students in the room were present, all were infracted, said Harris. Most present in the dark room couldn't even see the bottle, he said.
Other than the two or three students who took the blame for possession of the alcohol, all present received either "disciplinary warning" or "behavior noted" at their Judicial Committee hearing, both minor punishments with no immediate consequences.
Harris believes that the re-written policy may prevent situations like his, which is sometimes referred to as "Aladdingate," as they were all watching Aladdin.
In fact, one of the reasons Judicial Committee recommended changes to the policy was because they were bogged down with minor infractions, Graves said.
Graves hopes to ease the burden on the committee by handling more infractions himself when the committee doesn't need to hear them.
Contact the author: tcama@llamaledger.com
"What I care most about is safety," said Associate Dean of Student Affairs Bob Graves.
With that in mind, Graves re-wrote some sections of the handbook this summer, after some consultation with faculty, staff and students.
Prior to this academic year, any student found in the presence of other students using banned substances could be held equally as responsible as those using the substances.
One of the purposes of the policy was to overcome the difficulty a resident director would face if he or she were forced to determine who was and wasn't using drugs or alcohol when drugs or alcohol were found, explained Graves.
It also forced students to be responsible for their living spaces, explained Graves. All students living in a space were infracted when drugs or alcohol were found, he said, instead of only the ones who obviously owned the substances.
"It was a blanket policy," he said, with very little flexibility.
But these responsibilities are still applied in the new handbook, said Graves.
For example, students who aren't participating in unsafe activities, such as drug use, but are present, can be held responsible under the "Lack of Respect for Individuals" heading on page 12 of the new handbook.
The "Shared Living Space" heading on page 18 covers instances in which banned substances are found in a shared living space, said Graves, and students can still be held responsible.
"It's your space," said Graves, adding that students ought to know what's going on in their living spaces, and be held responsible for that.
But these policies are more flexible, said Graves, who, under new regulations, decides the adjudication process for every infraction at Simon's Rock.
As associate dean of student affairs, Graves decided whether he, another staff member, Judicial Committee or a House Council will decide the outcome of an infraction that a student doesn't accept.
Under the new, more flexible policies, whoever adjudicates an infraction has more leeway in deciding how responsible a student was, or was not, said Graves.
Junior Fred Harris, who, along with about 11 other students, was infracted in the fall of 2006 while watching a movie in Kendrick House, welcomes the change.
When a residence director came into the room, he found a bottle of alcohol on a table, and Harris says that to this day, he doesn't know who owned the bottle.
But since all students in the room were present, all were infracted, said Harris. Most present in the dark room couldn't even see the bottle, he said.
Other than the two or three students who took the blame for possession of the alcohol, all present received either "disciplinary warning" or "behavior noted" at their Judicial Committee hearing, both minor punishments with no immediate consequences.
Harris believes that the re-written policy may prevent situations like his, which is sometimes referred to as "Aladdingate," as they were all watching Aladdin.
In fact, one of the reasons Judicial Committee recommended changes to the policy was because they were bogged down with minor infractions, Graves said.
Graves hopes to ease the burden on the committee by handling more infractions himself when the committee doesn't need to hear them.
Contact the author: tcama@llamaledger.com
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