When an administrative body designed to hold students accountable for their actions oversteps its boundaries and becomes oppressive in nature, serious changes need to be made.
Patrick Esfeller, disaster science and management junior, found himself the subject of a dean of students’ investigation this past semester, and when he felt the investigation had become unfair, he turned to The Daily Reveille and asked it to look into the matter. The paper responded by requesting, with Esfeller’s permission, to see the judicial documents pertaining to the investigation.
Associate Dean of Students and Director of Judicial Affairs Eric Norman later told Esfeller that speaking to the newspaper “may result in additional charges” because it could be interpreted as “an attempt to intimidate, harass or unduly influence a potential witness, complainant, hearing panel member or University administrator.” Dean of Students KC White told The Daily Reveille that speaking to the newspaper could result in a “potential violation” of the Student Code of Conduct.
While it is not our place to determine whether the investigation was unfair as Esfeller claimed or even whether he is guilty of any actions that violate the code of conduct, it is impossible to ignore what Norman and White told Esfeller.
Norman’s and White’s comments can only be interpreted as a threat and an attempt to use their authority to silence a student and, by extension, prevent the entire student body from speaking their minds and using the power of the press.
It is appalling to think that by simply talking to a media outlet a student could face serious disciplinary consequences. A newspaper cannot operate without receiving information from the public, and attempting to control what is told to The Daily Reveille is in turn an attempt to control the newspaper itself.
The dean of students’ policy regarding students speaking to their newspaper is not only offensive, it creates a chilling effect on the student body. Baton Rouge criminal defense attorney Michele Fournet even went so far as to call the policy unconstitutional.
“I would have to think that in this situation it is a violation of his First Amendment right to free speech and possibly his right to due process because not only are you prohibiting him from speaking, you’re punishing him for speaking publicly,” she said. “I’d have to say that’s possibly a violation of the First and Fourteenth Amendments.”
If this policy is allowed to stand, the University will become a place where students are terrified to voice their opinions, crippled by the fear that the dean of students will punish any opinions with which they disagree. This attempt to undermine the student body’s ability to speak openly to the media simply cannot be tolerated.
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