JIO changes its name to SDRC

Although its name has changed, its job has stayed the same. The Judiciary Inquiry Office has changed its name to the Student Dispute Resolution Center in an attempt to better reflect its job on campus, officials said. According to SDRC Director Stephen Blum the change of name was not connected to the "water buffalo" incident, or allegations by students that the University's judicial system is a "kangaroo court". "The name change doesn't reflect anything from the past, but hope for the future," Blum said. "I want to try and bring dispute resolution into the mix ." Blum said students work with each other to solve their disputes and come to a resolution. The center's job is not to decide if students broke criminal statutes. Blum said students will work with "trained mediators" to try to iron out their disputes with other students. "I hope the SDRC can help to change the culture of conflict at Penn," he added. "I'm very enthusiastic about the new initiative as a parallel way of resolving conflicts," Blum said. "It's a system of sanctions and punishment." The JIO still exists in the form of the University Hearing Board, but the new SDRC emphasizes mediation over prosecution. The University Hearing Board consists of five members; three faculty members and two students, which evaluate cases and set punishments. Judicial Administrator Stephen Gale said the new name for the JIO is just a "recognition of what we actually do." "The SDRC is no judicial system in a strict sense," Gale added. "It vaguely compares to the real legal system." He emphasized that the SDRC is a dispute resolution process rather than a legal process. "The point of the judicial system at the University is to learn from mistakes without the heavy legal burden associated with the law," Gale said. "Students must learn about responsibility and accountability." Cases go to the University Hearing Board in only the most extreme situations, Gale said. Most cases are settled before they get that far. Students who go before the SDRC are provided an advisor by the University. Gale stressed that the advisor is not a lawyer. Trained mediators and students trained in mediation will serve as the advisors. The SDRC handled about 150 cases last year, ranging from cheating to theft to fighting, according to Blum. One of the major issues dealt with by the SDRC is cheating, Blum said. "Cheating is taken very seriously," he added. "It's something students need to really consider." Blum added that drinking is also involved in a majority of SDRC cases.

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