The Office of Judicial Affairs is an important one. It ensures students’ rights are protected and those who violate the Student Code of Conduct are properly disciplined.
But there comes a time when one must consider whether justice is being executed in a correct manner. The rules are there to keep the campus community safe and ensure that an educational environment is kept secure. The rules should not be interrupted to punish students for actions that do not harm themselves or other students or hamper a learning environment.
There have been a series of events that suggest officials in the Office of Judicial Affairs are exploiting the rules.
One of our own brought the situation to our attention first. In the fall former Daily Reveille cartoonist Pike Barkerding was called into the Office of Judicial Affairs, where Assistant Dean of Students Eric Norman told Barkerding that signing a statement to implicate his fraternity brothers would get him out of trouble. He was threatened with expulsion, a punishment that would have stopped him from receiving his diploma less than a month before graduation.
We approached the situation with caution; Barkerding was an employee of The Daily Reveille, and we worried we were being biased in thinking he was mistreated. But the complaints didn’t stop there. Patrick Esfeller approached The Daily Reveille with similar complaints. He said Norman opened an investigation into his recent breakup. Esfeller complained the office was unfairly accusing him and refused to speak to any of his witnesses.
With two complaints The Daily Reveille requested to see supporting documents with Esfeller’s permission from Judicial Affairs.
After the request, Esfeller was told by Norman that continuing to speak publicly about his case could result in further violations of the code of conduct. We have said before in this space that Norman’s action was a direct attempt to stifle free speech of the students.
But the complaints about Judicial Affairs did not stop there. The Daily Reveille then learned Staci Borel became the subject of an investigation led by Norman after writing a letter to the editor criticizing Residential Life breaking up a party at her friend’s on-campus apartment. This action can only be regarded as a second attempt to stifle free speech.
These types of actions simply must stop. Students should not be in fear of speaking because of possible retribution. The Office of Judicial Affairs should not threaten students, waving their diploma as bait before them.
The current actions of the Office of Judicial Affairs need to be reviewed, and a process should be instituted to prevent administrative abuse of the Student Code of Conduct, a document intended to protect students not hurt them.
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