Student Conduct policies under fire

Kristen Foley, Naperville attorney and mother of a student in Greek life, speaks on students’ rights to privacy and the unfair practices of the Office of Student Conduct at a Thursday Board of Trustees meeting in Altgeld. 

Kristen Foley, Naperville attorney and mother of a student in Greek life, speaks on students’ rights to privacy and the unfair practices of the Office of Student Conduct at a Thursday Board of Trustees meeting in Altgeld. 

By Batul Cutlerywala

DeKALB — The Board of Trustees addressed students and alumni Thursday about their concerns over student surveillance and the university’s student conduct process.

Two parents and First Ward Alderperson David Jacobson spoke to the Board during Thursday’s public comment about university officials unfair treatment of students involved in the Greek system.

Approximately 50 students wearing their Greek letters filled the room before the morning’s first public comment period. Trustee John Butler said the student turnout was “the most students we have had in a long time.”

Kristen Foley, a parent of a Greek student, specifically spoke about “unjustified” sanctions placed on Greek students and the university’s “First Amendment violation of freedom of association.” She did not say which fraternity her son is affiliated with.

She said she appeared before the Board to address concerns about Student Conduct’s “coercive and police-like interrogations,” and “unjust investigations and hearings.”

Foley said she volunteered to advise her son’s fraternity after it received a student conduct violation fall 2017 semester that diverted from the Student Conduct progressive sanction standard that states a first offense is punishable by a semester suspension. She said the university’s stated standard was disregarded during her son’s fraternity hearing process when it was handed a three year suspension.

“We’re alleging the appropriate suspension is one semester,” Foley said. “They want three years, which isn’t justified.”

Foley also spoke about officials’ decision to monitor students’ social media, placing Greek students on a watchlist that puts them into a system with troubled students.

“NIU does not monitor any personal media accounts at all,” said Dean of Student, Kelly Wesener Michael during a Jan. 28 student meeting, according to Jan. 29 Northern Star article.

Foley said she became aware of the university’s use of Maxient, a software filing system used by the administration to keep student data organized, when submitting Freedom of Information Act requests to the university.

“We thought it was just one organization that was on the system, and then we found it that all Greek organizations were on it,” Foley said.

Acting President Lisa Freeman said she acknowledges there are concerns about Student Conduct’s severe penalizations that discourages students who may be willing to work with the administration.

“There is room for improvement, especially when students are willing to be accountable for their choices and part of the larger dialogue that seeks solutions and common ground,” Freeman said.

Alumni and parent Michael Shackle said he is unsettled by the lack of clear communication between the students and administration and what it is doing to the university’s reputation.

“I urge you, as an avid supporter of this university and alumni, to rethink your positions and work to encourage and holdstudents accountable in a different fashion than what you are doing,” Shackel said.

Evan Johnson, president of Phi Kappa Theta, attended the meeting at a later time and said he was dissatisfied with student conduct operation and said there isa need to reform its current system.

“I want to make sure there is enough enrollment, that there is donors and people are proud to be at NIU instead of people being ashamed with a lack of transparency due to the social media scandals, watch lists and things of that nature,” Johnson said.

Phi Kappa Theta is willing to be held responsible for its actions and rethink their judgement to better themselves if the punishment fits the crime, Johnson said. An unjustified three year suspension for a first time offense will ruin the foundation of the fraternity.

Phi Kappa Theta has been suspended to Jan. 1, 2021 for violating student conduct’s social policy of “drinking games,” “registration,” “common source alcohol,” “guest list” and “sober monitors,” according to the Student Conduct’s webpage.

“Let’s rethink what we are doing here and let’s see if we can work to find another way to hold our students accountable, hold them to the highest ideals but also look to preserve and support fraternities and other social aspects of the life of the university,” Shackel said.

Foley said there is not a system of checks and balances, and the Greek community and administration should equally be held accountable for their actions. She said if the administration neglects to oversee student conduct, it might result in liability as it has in the past.

“If NIU values shared governance, that incorporates shared input for faculty staff and students in decision of policy making, then the one-sided student conduct controlled hearing process must be changed to incorporate measures of fundamental fairness of students,” Foley said.

The current student conduct process does not delegate the different steps in the sanctioning and hearing process when dealing with conduct violations,Foley said. The Office of Student Conduct is responsible for processing and investigating the sanction, arranging the hearing and deciding the penalty.

“Imagine for a moment that student conduct is like a police department,” Foley said. “How would you feel if the police could investigate, bring charges, prosecute the case, decide whether you get a judge or a jury, pick the judge, train the judge, hold the hearing in the police department and handle the appeal. Do you think that’s a fair process, because I don’t.”

Freeman said a lot was said against the university’s actions and a lot less of students admitting to their mistakes. She said reports of behavior violations stemming from failure to register events and guests list, drug use, binge drinking games and an absence of sober monitors had been been made about Greek organized social events.

“This is a university that has experienced the loss of students and knows first hand the profounds ways how life can change in an instant” Freeman said.

Lindsey Salvatelli contributed to this story.