Hit & Run : Reason.com: A bill that allows college students facing disciplinary hearings to seek legal representation in disciplinary hearings was signed into law in North Carolina on Friday, after being supported by a bipartisan group of legislators that worked with the civil liberties group FIRE (Foundation for Individual Rights in Education).
3 comments:
This is an interesting concept. I wonder why students feel that they need legal representation when they are facing a university hearing. A university hearing is usually for circumstances that aren't bad enough for the student to be taken into the legal system. If that is the case, then why do students need to go to the lengths to get a lawyer to speak on their behalf for things like plagiarism, etc.? It seems like an extreme level to go to for a university hearing. Students need to start maturing, accepting the consequences for their actions, and thinking and acting for themselves. Needing a lawyer to get involved in something that happens in a university setting seems to me to be more than a little ridiculous.
I actually agree with this decision. I have been in a few situations in which if I had someone who understood the legal language of the school/college rules and regulations, things would have turned out differently. Granted, I an happy with the way things turned out, but I was told information about a certain process from someone I thought was a trusted, knowledged professor. I later found out this information I received was definitely not accurate. Now, I think in many cases hiring a lawyer is somewhat extreme, but I definitely think there should be someone that can help you navigate the crazy nature that is Student Affairs language and regulations. In the America, you have the right to be represented in the court of law by someone who is knowledgeable of the system. Why shouldn't we have the same for us?
I agree with Tim in that this decision makes sense. There are many behaviors that a student could be cited for on or off campus. If they were cited by regular police off campus, they would be able to have legal representation when they went to court, so why shouldn't they be able to have representation when defending themselves for the same violation made on campus? This gives students the opportunity to protect themselves, even if they were in the wrong. I think the university was fooling themselves in thinking that students were really going to learn that much and change their ways from going through a disciplinary hearing by themselves. The students who are going to change from the experience will, regardless of whether they have legal representation or not, and the ones who won't, won't. There have recently been several cases of universities failing to protect their students legally (i.e. USC's rape crisis). This gives students one more opportunity to protect themselves.
Post a Comment