'Gag rule' to be lifted from charter

Chodorow also proposes several other changes Provost Stanley Chodorow will issue a new judicial charter draft tomorrow, College sophomore Tal Golomb announced at last night's Undergraduate Assembly meeting. The new proposal will incorporate several of the changes suggested by the Undergraduate Assembly and the First Amendment Task Force. Under the new charter, hearings would be open to the public if the respondent and complainant agree, Golomb said. Previous drafts had required University approval as a condition for open hearings. The so-called "gag" rule has also been eliminated. Respondents are allowed to discuss judicial hearing proceedings publicly, as per the current charter. If the respondent slanders anyone through public discussion of the hearings, the victim may address the slander "in an appropriate form." The charter has also been changed to state that the provost must impose the sanction suggested by the hearing panel or Disciplinary Hearing Officer. This change was made in response to student fears that the first charter would give the provost the power to reject the committee's recommendation in favor of his own sanction. The last change to the proposed charter loosens the restrictions placed on the role of the respondent's faculty advisor in the proceedings. The charter formerly read, "at the discretion of the Disciplinary Hearing Officer, in extraordinary cases, the respondent's advisor may be permitted to question witnesses on behalf of the respondent or to address the Hearing Panel." The new draft deletes the words "in extraordinary circumstances." Although several of the UA's complaints about the charter have been addressed in the new draft, Golomb said the body would continue pursuing changes other areas of the charter. He added that the UA is still not satisfied with the level of participation of the faculty advisor in the hearings. And the Office of Student Conduct is still given the right to appeal the decision and request a stiffer sanction. The amendment procedure of the charter also remains an issue. The draft allows for amendments to be made only by the deans of the four undergraduate schools. UA Chairperson Lance Rogers, a College senior, explained that the body is dissatisfied with this because the provost appoints the deans, and this could be a conflict of interest. "I feel that the faculty should play a role in this process," he said. "Including the faculty would provide for a fair judicial charter." Golomb also explained that the current changes are a significant compromise on Chodorow's part. Rogers said he believed the changes had a lot to do with UA involvement in the issue. "I think the UA played an extraordinary role in this process, and I am very proud of their efforts," he said. "We were able to get hundreds of students involved and hopefully make a difference." Rogers added that he hopes the body realizes that the fight for a fair judicial charter is not over yet. Golomb said that while the new changes are significant, the fact that the administration made them at all was more important. He ascribed Chodorow's willingness to cooperate to student participation in conjunction with UA efforts.