The Tufts Daily - Monday, September 10, 2018

Page 1

Lead for America offers opportunities in local governments see FEATURES / PAGE 4

FIELD HOCKEY

Tufts blanks Colby 2–0 in season opener

With ‘Love Yourself: Answer,’ BTS tackles self-discovery see ARTS&LIVING / PAGE 5

SEE SPORTS / BACK PAGE

THE

VOLUME LXXVI, ISSUE 4

INDEPENDENT

STUDENT

N E W S PA P E R

OF

TUFTS

UNIVERSITY

E S T. 1 9 8 0

T HE T UFTS DAILY tuftsdaily.com

Monday, September 10, 2018

MEDFORD/SOMERVILLE, MASS.

University overhauls student code of conduct by Daniel Nelson and Charlie Driver Executive News Editor and News Editor

Content warning: This article discusses sexual misconduct. The Dean of Student Affairs Office announced a series of changes to the student code of conduct in an Aug. 31 email sent to the Tufts community. The updates — which impact drug and alcohol amnesty, campus demonstration procedures and hazing, among other policies — are the most significant changes the school has made to the code of conduct in at least 15 years, according to Director of Community Standards Kevin Kraft. They were developed through a seven-month-long collaboration between Student Affairs staff and the Committee on Student Life (CSL), according to the email. Kraft, Dean of Student Affairs Mary Pat McMahon, and CSL Faculty Co-Chairs Andrew Ramsburg and Jamie Kirsch co-signed the email. The email indicates that the new code sets a high standard for student conduct in and around campus. “Our expectations are rigorous because our shared purpose compels us to act with integrity, self-discipline, and respect for ourselves and others,” the email reads. Jared Pence, a fourth-year Ph.D. student in the Department of English who said he served as a temporary additional graduate student representative on CSL, described a highly collaborative revision process for the code of conduct in an email statement to the Daily. He said that the committee was interested in hearing students’ thoughts and feedback directly, and its members appeared to take their perspectives to heart. “[The committee] seemed far more interested in making sure students could get help than in exacting punishment,” Pence wrote. CSL served a purely advisory role in the code’s revision process, according to both Pence and Professor of Physics Roger Tobin, who served as a faculty member on the committee. Tobin told the Daily in an email that the final policy was ultimately determined by the Dean of Student Affairs Office. In spite of this, Tobin said that CSL’s feedback was critical in the revision process. “Many changes, small and large, were made as a result of CSL input,” Tobin wrote. “Our comments and suggestions were almost always incorporated into the final document.” Gatherings, demonstrations and protests Students can expect to face new administrative expectations around the

Please recycle this newspaper

PM Rain 67 / 64

/thetuftsdaily

RACHEL HARTMAN / THE TUFTS DAILY

Director of Community Standards Kevin Kraft poses for a portrait in the Campus Center on Feb. 27. organization of campus demonstrations. The new code of conduct stipulates that campus gatherings with an expected attendance of over 25 individuals must register with the Office of Campus Life (OCL) and receive approval in order to be held. Kraft explained that the guidelines are in place solely for logistical and safety concerns. He noted that no gathering will be approved or rejected because of their stated content, message or purpose. Rather, the registration process will be entirely “content-neutral.” “OCL [doesn’t] do a content analysis by asking questions like ‘is this event a good idea, does Tufts want to support this kind of event, is this a good use of money?’” Kraft said. “[Those are] not the questions that event registration is about.” By working with OCL on the logistics of large gatherings, Kraft indicated that students will achieve a more streamlined demonstration staging overall. He noted that last year an unregistered march up the Hill obstructed traffic and required Tufts University Police Department (TUPD) officers and OCL staff to block traffic themselves in the interest of demonstrators’ safety.

For breaking news, our content archive and exclusive content, visit tuftsdaily.com @tuftsdaily

tuftsdaily

tuftsdaily

Registering in advance could alleviate this issue, according to Kraft. “If you’re having a big event and you want to march in the street, then [OCL] will help you arrange it with the city so the street can be closed and you can walk down there,” Kraft said. Groups staging a demonstration must seek that approval at least five days in advance, according to the code. But Kraft acknowledged that the review period is flexible; students can expedite the process if their demonstration occurs spontaneously. “Sometimes things do come up, that people want to demonstrate about or have activism about,” Kraft said. “We wanted to make sure we had an avenue for people to do that.” Kraft reiterated that the review process is not meant to restrict campus protests. “You’re never as a result of the event registration process told you can’t do this event,” Kraft said. “It’s only about what logistics you need to put in place to do it.” Both the Tufts Housing League and Tufts Labor Coalition told the Daily that they would each be reviewing the updated campus gatherings policy in the coming days and have no comment at this time.

Contact Us P.O. Box 53018,  Medford, MA 02155 daily@tuftsdaily.com

Drugs and alcohol policies The updates to the code of conduct also include a reorganization and expansion of the university’s existing amnesty policies. According to Kraft, the new policy shields students from judicial punishment in all intoxication cases that result in a medical emergency, regardless of the drug. Kraft explained that this change was meant to encourage students to act in their peers’ best health interests, without fear of repercussions for their own participation or intoxication. One significant change is the administration’s process for students who repeatedly required drug and alcohol-related medical treatment. In the past, students faced an escalating, tiered response system that culminated with a required medical or administrative leave of absence after three incidents. The new code does not contain explicit language or a response guideline for university administrators to follow, as the old code did. Kraft said that this move towards individual responses was intentional. “We wanted to consider people’s individual circumstances and make

NEWS............................................1 FEATURES.................................4 ARTS & LIVING.......................5

see CONDUCT, page 2

FUN&GAMES...........................6 SPORTS............................ BACK


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.