Consulting period ends today for notification

President Rodin said she hopes to make a decision on the policy by the end of the month. Today is the last day of the designated University-wide consultation period in which students, parents and other members of the University community can express their opinions about the proposed new parental notification policy. More than two weeks ago, a committee of Penn administrators and students -- chaired by College of Arts and Sciences Dean Richard Beeman -- recommended to University President Judith Rodin and Provost Robert Barchi that the University be authorized to notify parents of students whose alcohol-related behavior endangers themselves or others or results in property damage. A final policy decision on whether to notify parents of students involved in major or frequent alcohol-related incidents will be made later this month, Rodin said yesterday. Beeman said he has received "very little feedback" over the past weeks. He noted that most of the input that he has received comes from a recent Undergraduate Assembly-sponsored forum. "The suggestions for modest revision in the language of the recommendations made by the UA were helpful in clarifying some of the potential ambiguity in those recommendations," Beeman said. At the forum, some students expressed their confusion about what kinds of behavior would and would not warrant parental notification. Beeman has said repeatedly that the committee deliberately avoided imposing rigid guidelines. UA Chairperson Michael Silver told University Council members Wednesday that the UA was in support of the recommendations -- but only if carried out in a certain way. "We urge the University to use this policy judiciously and never in a punitive fashion," said Silver, a College senior. In response to the UA's support of the recommendations, the Penn chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union yesterday submitted a petition -- signed by 400 students -- to administrators, stating that parents of students should in no way be informed without student consent. "'Repeated' or 'serious' for them could involve breaking a window five times or it could mean getting kicked out of your college house," said College sophomore Yonaton Rosenzweig, the president of Penn's ACLU chapter. "We were very worried that the terms would remain vague." Rodin declined to discuss the specifics of any suggestions that she or Barchi had received. Under the proposed recommendations, Office of Student Conduct Director Michele Goldfarb and her staff would use their discretion and make individual decisions about when to notify parents. The recommendations do not address alcohol-related hospitalizations and Penn will maintain its policy of only notifying parents of students whose health is seriously endangered by alcohol use. A minor infraction would not lead to notification. The committee was charged last year after Congress passed legislation allowing universities to notify parents of students who violate their respective school's drug and alcohol policies.

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