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Code of Conduct

Students are expected to be responsible for their actions and to conduct themselves in accordance with the rules and regulations of the college. Violation of the Oberlin College Code of Conduct shall be grounds for disciplinary action. Violations include but are not limited to the following:

1. VIOLATIONS OF PUBLISHED REGULATIONS

a. Violations of the general rules and regulations of the institution, college policies, or faculty statements as published in Student Regulations, Policies, and Procedures or any other official institutional publication, except those that fall under the jurisdiction of the Honor Code or the Sexual Offense Policy.
b. Violations of local, state, and federal laws or regulations proscribing conduct or establishing offenses, which laws and regulations are incorporated herein by reference.

2. PHYSICAL VIOLENCE

Conduct that physically harms, or might reasonably be regarded as a threat to the physical safety, health, or wellbeing of another individual or individuals, including but not limited to the following examples:

a. Individual or group behavior that is violent or that unreasonably disturbs other groups or individuals.
b. Threats to cause harm or abuse.
c. Hazing of any member of the college community by campus organizations, clubs, intercollegiate or intramural athletic teams, students, employees and volunteers. The state of Ohio acknowledges hazing as a crime. The Ohio Revised Code defines hazing as "doing any act or coercing another, including the victim, to do any act of initiation into any student or other organization that causes or creates a substantial risk of causing mental or physical harm to any person." (2307.31)
The college further defines hazing as any activity that is expected of someone to join or maintain membership in an organization, club, team or any other group that is affiliated with the college that humiliates, degrades, abuses or endangers him or her, regardless of intention or willingness to participate. (For more details about Oberlin College's Policy on Hazing see Students' Rights and Responsibilities section V. Social Conduct and Regulations, CC.)
d. Acts of stalking, defined by the state of Ohio Stalking Law as knowingly engaging in a pattern of conduct, related in time, that causes another to believe that the offender will cause that other person physical or mental harm.
e. Acts of sexual offense as defined by law or defined by the Sexual Offense Policy. (See Students' Rights and Responsibilities section V., Social Conduct and Regulations, J.3.)

3. HARASSMENT

Any verbal, physical, or written act, directed at an individual, that might reasonably be construed to intimidate, coerce, or create a hostile environment for him or her and, in turn, prevent him or her from fully enjoying the educational benefits of the college. At the same time, proscriptions of verbal harassment must not have the effect of limiting the free exchange of ideas or opinions; rude or obnoxious behavior or speech —whether inside or outside the classroom—is not necessarily in itself adjudicable. (See Students' Rights and Responsibilities section V. Social Conduct and Regulation, H.).

Harassment includes, but is not limited to, the following examples:

a. Defamation, libel, or slander.
b. Forms of intimidation or harassment including patterned verbal (oral, written, or electronic communications, including: e-mail, text messages or other electronic media devices) acts or physical behavior related in time that deprive a reasonable person of the ability to enjoy the full benefits of their college education as a result of the perceived threat of physical harm or mental harm.
c. Acts of stalking, defined by the state of Ohio Stalking Law as knowingly engaging in a pattern of conduct, related in time, that causes another to believe that the offender will cause that other person physical or mental harm.
d. Forms of harassment as defined by the Sexual Offense Policy and the Faculty Statement on Racial Abuse and Harassment.
e. Any unauthorized use of electronic or other devices to make an audio or video record of any person while on college premises without their prior knowledge, or without effective consent when such a recording is likely to cause injury or distress. This example is adapted from Ed Stoner's Model Code of Student Conduct.

4. BEHAVIORS THAT INTERFERE WITH COMMUNITY FUNCTION

Oberlin forbids conduct that interferes with, impinges upon, or otherwise disrupts any legitimate function of the college or its representatives, including but not limited to the following examples:

a. Unreasonable interference with or obstruction of any institutional activity, program, event, or facility, including the following: any unauthorized occupancy of the institution or institutionally controlled facilities or blockage of access to or from such facilities; interference with the right of any member of the college or other authorized person to gain access to any college or college-controlled activity, program, event, or facility.
b. Failure to comply with directions or requests of college officials acting in the performance of their duties, including any obstruction or delay of a campus security officer or college official in the performance of their duty. Failure to show or surrender OCID card to a college official upon proper request.
c. Unauthorized entry into or occupation of college facilities that are locked, closed to student activities, or otherwise restricted as to use.
d. Failure to comply with the provisions of the college parking and traffic regulations. Unlawfully blocking or impeding normal pedestrian or vehicular traffic on or adjacent to college property.
e. Misuse of disciplinary procedures, including the following: failure to respond to a request for an interview by the judicial coordinator during the investigation of a violation; knowingly falsifying or misrepresenting information before a hearing body; knowingly making a false statement; attempting to influence the impartiality of a member of a hearing body prior to, during, or after a hearing; harassing or intimidating a member of a hearing body or a witness; failing to comply with the sanction(s) imposed by the hearing body; and presenting false information or a false complaint.
f. Forgery, alteration, or unauthorized use of college documents, forms, records, or identification cards, including the giving of any false information or the withholding of necessary information, in connection with a student's admission, enrollment, or status in the college.
g. Unauthorized sales, solicitation, or door-to-door canvassing, as well as the unauthorized use of the Oberlin College name for commercial purposes.
h. Conduct that is disorderly, lewd, or indecent; breach of peace, or aiding and abetting, or procuring another person to breach the peace on college premises or at functions sponsored by, or participated in by the college, or members of the academic community. Adapted from Ed Stoner's Model Code for Student Conduct.

5. ABUSES PERTAINING TO COMMUNITY OR PERSONAL PROPERTY

Theft or misappropriation of college or individual property, including but not limited to the following examples:

a. Acts of misuse, vandalism, malicious or unwarranted damage or destruction, defacing, disfiguring, or unauthorized use of property including, but not limited to, fire alarms, fire equipment, elevators, telephones, institution keys, library materials, safety devices, or other college property.
b. Misappropriation or unauthorized possession or sale of college property.
c. Making or causing to be made any key for a college facility without authorization.
d. Acts of theft, misappropriation or malicious damage to the private property of other college community members.
e. Embezzling, defrauding, or procuring any money, goods, or services under false pretense.

6. NONADHERENCE TO COMMUNITY SAFETY REGULATIONS

Infractions include but are not limited to the following examples:

a. Failure to evacuate college facilities or willfully disregarding any emergency or fire alarm signal.
b. Unauthorized or illegal possession of or use of Firearms (including but not limited to BB guns and all other types of air or spring powered weapons), dangerous weapons (such as knives, swords, and martial arts weapons) or hazardous materials of any kind. With the exception of law enforcement officers, the possession of firearms on Oberlin College property or in Oberlin College buildings is forbidden.
c. Unauthorized detonation of any object or substance, including but not limited to those considered being and used as fireworks (for example: firecrackers, or sparklers, gunpowder).
d. Unauthorized ignition of flammable materials in or surrounding college facilities.

7. VIOLATIONS PERTAINING TO CONTROLLED AND UNLAWFUL SUBSTANCES

a. Unlawful and unauthorized use or possession of alcoholic beverages. (See Students' Rights and Responsibilities, section V. Social Conduct and Regulations, N.)
b. Unlawful use or possession of any illicit drug or controlled substance (including any stimulant, depressant, narcotic, or hallucinogenic drug or substance, or marijuana), or the sale or distribution of any illicit drug or controlled substance. (See Students' Rights and Responsibilities, section V. Social Conduct and Regulations, N.)
c. Use or possession of equipment (examples include but are not limited to bongs, hookahs, and bowls), products, or material used or intended for use in manufacturing, growing, using (unless prescribed by a licensed medical provider), or distributing any illicit drug or controlled substance.