JIO reports 119 policy violations during fall 1994

No judicial hearings held Undergraduates accounted for more than 98 percent of violations of University policies during the fall semester, according to statistics recently released by the Student Dispute Resolution Center. The Judicial Inquiry Officer, working inside the SDRC, handles complaints made by students, faculty and staff against University students for violating the Codes of Student Conduct or Academic Integrity. Of the 119 charges last term, 117 were against undergraduates, while only two were filed against graduate students. Most of these charges were dismissed after an investigation or settled by an agreement. None of the incidents required a hearing -- which, according to JIO Steven Blum, is the way it should be. "We try to reach a resolution by agreement whenever possible," he said. Most of the 119 cases were violations of the Code of Student Conduct. There were 21 cases of disorderly conduct, 17 reports of assault, 14 charges of attempted theft, 13 charges of vandalism and 11 cases of alcohol violations. There were only two reports of cheating and one violation of the Sexual Harassment Policy that were reported to the JIO. According to Blum, after the JIO receives a complaint against a student, it investigates the matter and tries to reach a settlement. It is only if both parties fail to reach an agreement or if the accused pleads innocent that a hearing is arranged. After the hearing or resolution, a sanction is given to the student. Blum said there were four purposes to the sanction: to insure the student will not make the same mistake again, to attempt to reconcile the student and any injured party, to insure that the charges are consistent with prior cases and to help the student learn and grow from the experience. "The sanction should fit the kid," he said. "We try to move the student along in his or her development." Blum said the reason for the difference between reports against graduates and undergraduates is that not every graduate school is under the JIO system. For example, the Law and Medical Schools handle the charges within their own jurisdiction. But Blum admitted that the undergraduates seemed to violate University policies more frequently. "We simply get more reports of alleged undergraduate misconduct," he said.

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