Judicial Summary For Fall 2002

To the Editors:

Over 80 cases involving an alleged violation of the Code of Conduct were reported to the Judicial Coordinator during the fall semester. Of those, 71 cases have been formally resolved. While the majority of cases were heard by the Judicial Coordinator at the request of the respondents, situations potentially resulting in probation and suspension were heard by members of the Judicial or Community Board.
The most commonly heard violations were those pertaining to controlled and unlawful substances-specifically, intoxication (15), possession of an illegal substance or drug paraphernalia (11), underage drinking (10), and serving alcohol to minors (two). The sanctions typically imposed for these offenses, assuming no additional infractions or previous records, were an official warning and an alcohol and drug assessment. The warning remains in the student’s judicial file and implies that further violation of the Code of Conduct will most likely result in more severe sanctioning. Charges were dropped in eight of the 15 cases involving severe intoxication because of the “Good Samaritan”’ clause of the Alcohol Intoxication Policy. This clause states that in instances in which a student calls for assistance for an intoxicated student, neither the individual calling or the student in need of assistance will be charged with violations of the Alcohol Policy. However, an unofficial warning was issued and the students were required to undergo an alcohol and drug assessment at the Counseling Center.
Seventeen cases involved offenses of health and safety regulations in the residences halls resulting in a warning for first time offenders and probation for repeated offenders and those with additional violations. There were nine additional cases in which students were found responsible for tampering with a smoke detector resulting in a minimum of probation for one semester. Probation specifies that further infractions of the Code during a student’s time at Oberlin will, in most instances, lead to suspension or expulsion.
The Judicial Board also heard three complaints of vandalism, two separate acts of physical violence, two cases of theft of College property, two involving the refusal to comply with a College staff member and one involving the release of a fire extinguisher — all resulting in one to six semesters of probation and extensive hours of community services, depending on the circumstances. Other cases included harassment, mail fraud, forgery and falsifying College documents (probation until graduation and 75 hours of community service); the detonation of fireworks in a residence hall (probation for two semesters); violation of the information technology policy and harassment (suspension for one semester and probation until graduation); and unauthorized entry into students’ rooms and illegal possession of a pick lock device (suspension for two semesters and probation until graduation).

–Bill Stackman
Associate Dean of Students