Nov. 4, 2005
NEWS
Pages
WWW, guilfordian .com
Greensboro. N.C.
Community Senate: Club restructuring continues
While you may have heard
about the club restructuring
issues that Community Senate has
been facing recently, I don't think
that we've been advertising the
other issues brought to our meet
ings over the last few weeks. What
better time to sum them up than
now?
One of the most basic and nec
essary goals of this year's Senate
administration is to fill all the
open seats in campus committees
reserved for students. We current
ly have students on committees
from Admissions and Cultural
Pluralism to Athletic Advisory,
Library, Study Abroad, and many
more, though there is still a spot
open on the Facilities Committee.
Senators are expected to either be
a part of a campus committee or a
Senate committee, but campus
committee spaces are also open to
the general student body; please
contact Leise Gergely if you are
interested. Gergely has been hard
at work appointing members of
Senate to both sets of committees
as well as creating a competent
Judicial Board for this year.
The proposals we have seen
thus far in our weekly meetings
have fallen into several categories.
New club proposals, like those
from Psychology, Screen Printing,
and others, will not be heard in
Senate until after the club restruc
turing process is finished, which
is expected in the next two weeks.
Another group of proposals
consists of requests for. additional
funding for existing clubs.
BioHazard requested extra funds
for new jerseys for the team.
Senate has agreed to match any
fund that the Ultimate Frisbee
team raises up to half of the cost of
the jerseys. Both Expressions in
Dance and the Ffealth Sciences
club received a limited amount of
extra funds to cover their expens
es for the coming year. Also in this
category, we received a proposal
from Project Community to put
on the One Love Roots festival; we
granted them their full request.
Another common type of
request is funding for conference
groups and trips of an academic
nature or community benefit. One
such example is that of the Maafa
Trip where a group of students
from the Multi-Cultural Resource
Center went to New York to dis
cover more about the Middle
Passage. One requirement for
groups and trips like this that
receive funds from Senate is to
present programs to the commu
nity based on what they learned
during their experience. So, please
look out for such programs from
this group coming soon.
Another example of proposals
we receive is from groups with no
formal academic or club affilia
tion, such as the group that
requested supplemental funding
for Julia Butterfly Hill to visit,
speak, and present workshops.
TTie group received partial fund
ing from other organizations on
campus such as the Initiative on
Faith and Practice and the
Department of Environmental
Studies. When they needed addi
tional funds they contacted
Senate, but funding is not the only
way that Senate helps student
groups at Guilford.
The most fundamental pur
pose of Senate, I feel, goes beyond
the monetary issues and reaches
the heart of the major concerns
between students, faculty, staff,
and the administration.
Our position as student advo
cates is one that we both assert
and are also asked to fulfill by
staff and faculty.
Before fall break. Senate invit
ed Ken Gilmore, Adrienne Israel,
and Tom Coaxum to speak about
the Quality Enhancement Plan the
college has chosen for its reaccre-
didation review next year. The
topic chosen by the faculty and
staff and approved by the board
of trustees is to enhance writing in
classes as a means of Principled
Problem Solving. After meeting
with Gilmore, Israel, and
Coaxum, Senate has issued a
statement of support for the QEP.
Steve Shapiro contacted Senate
before fall break to discuss the
academic advising system. He
came to our meeting following the
break’to discuss the situation and
solicit feedback. We will invite
other groups to future meetings,
including members of the SLRP
Committee, Kent Chabotai;, and
Janet Wright, the new
Ombudsperson for the communi
ty-
Finally, we have been working
with CCE's student government
and the Early College to see what
we can do in hopes of increasing
understanding between the three
schools. Lakecia Boyd, the CCE
Student President, came to visit
Community Senate a few weeks
ago, and I had the chance to sit in
on one of their meetings this
Sunday.
In the coming weeks. Senate
will also be working with Early
College Principal Tony Burks.
It has been a busy year, and
there's more to come. This is just
the tip of the iceberg; Senate will
continue the work we have
already done while integrating
new projects.
If you have a proposal, our
deadline is 5 p.m. the Sunday
before you would like to present
your request, so that Steering has
a chance to review them. Requests
are presented in front of the full
Senate on Wednesdays at 7 p.m. in
Boren Lounge.
Please plan ahead with your
proposals and submit them at
least three weeks before you
would like the proposal to pass.§€
^ would like the proposal
Guilford judicial process parallels American justice system
Eric Smallwood
Staff Writer
There are those at Guilford
who are all too familiar with the
judicial process. They have been
through it enough times to have it
memorized. You get the write up.
You get the email. You get the
punishment. And it may just be
routine to some, but for those who
aren’t part of that select few, here's
what happens:
When someone violates the
Student Code of Conduct, a com
plaint is filed against that student.
This can come from an R.A., a
Public Safety officer, or a student
filing a complaint against some
one.
People that believe a violation
has occurred must file a written
Incident Report with the Public
Safety Office, or the Office for
Campus Life.
After reviewing the complaint,
Alyson Kienle, Associate Dean for
Campus Life, will provide the stu
dent with a written notice no
more than seven working days
after the incident. This will let the
student know the nature and ori
gin of the charges.
"Seeing those emails is the
worst feeling in the world, but
you have to pay for your actions
and take the consequences," said
senior William Morrison.
Next, Kienle will meet with the
student and give a full explana
tion of the situation. The student
may elect to resolve
the charges in an
administrative
hearing, or have the
case brought in
front of the judicial
board.
Information that
is discussed during
these meetings is
confidential and is
not discussed with
anyone else, unless
the students
involved submit a
written statement
giving permission
to release informa
tion. This is to com
ply with a provision
of the Family
Education Rights
and Privacy Act of
1974 (FERPA).
If the case is
referred to the judi
cial board, both par
ties, the accused
and the accuser, receive informa
tion on the time and place of the
hearing.
From this point the case is
treated as if it is a real court hear
ing. The judicial board listens to
both parties and makes a decision.
If the board finds the accused
guilty, the board decides the pun-
students and two faculty mem
bers that are present during any
one hearing.
Students and faculty are all
trained at the beginning of the
Alyson Kienle is the Associate Dean for Campus
ishment. semester and are educated with
There are a number of students all the material that will ensure a
and faculty who are on the judi- fair and just trial,
dal board, but there are only five "The way they take care of
business is the right way here at
Guilford," said Brad Fortier, a
Criminal Justice major. "It is as
realistic and similar to the crimi
nal justice system as it can possi
bly be."
There are three levels of
violation at Guilford:
A level-one sanction can
entail up to one year of disci
plinary probation, 15 hours of
community restitution, mone
tary damages, and parent
and/or coach notification.
A level-two sanction can
include all possible level-one
sanctions, and up to one
year's suspension, up to 40
hours community restitution,
educational sanction, mone
tary damages, removal from
college housing, decrease of
institutional merit, and parent
and/or coach notification.
A level-three sanction
includes all possible level-one
and -two sanctions, suspen
sion from college, and mone
tary damages.
Students can refer to the
student handbook on pages
Life 31-40 for a more detailed
explanation of the judicial
process. Kienle advises all stu
dents who have received judicial
notices to review this information
prior to their hearings.^