March madness

MSU administrators ponder off-campus code

For the last few years, University of Michigan students have been subject to the Code of Student Conduct, the Orwellian justice system that allows the University to punish erring students while denying them legal counsel, appealing to precedent or burden of proof. In the wake of the recent riots at Michigan State University, MSU President Peter McPherson announced that he plans to re-evaluate an off-campus code of conduct. This code would allow MSU administrators to suspend or expel students involved in crimes off campus. However, it also violates the constitutional rights of students, and should not be adopted.

The talk of an on campus code comes after last weekend's riots on the MSU campus. After the Michigan State basketball team lost in the Final Four to Duke University, thousands of students participated in irresponsible and dangerous activities. This is not the first such instance of disorderly behavior in East Lansing, as the riot at Munn Field in May of 1998 is certainly still in the minds of MSU administrators. Certainly overturned cars, broken windows and throwing beer cans are an embarrassment to the university, but the response to these actions should be left to the criminal justice system.

A code that allows university administrators to punish transgressions committed away from its campus - in addition to any legal repercussions from those transactions - usurps the duty of the criminal justice system. It is the duty of the legal system, not university administrators, to dole out criminal justice. If a university takes this duty upon itself, it constitutes a violation of the Constitution's decree against double jeopardy. University students must face the same laws as any other U.S. citizen; subjecting them to a code of conduct that effectively punishes them twice for the same crime is clearly unconstitutional.

One of the most important purposes of universities is to prepare students for life in the outside world. They will be held accountable for any misdeeds under the criminal justice system. And the vast majority of university students are legal adults, who should not have administrators looking over their shoulders at all times. While universities may think otherwise, an overarching code of conduct that handles all crimes by students should not be allowed.

The proposed code at MSU bears some striking similarities to the University of Michigan's Code. And just as MSU should not adopt a code of conduct which gives its administration authority over off-campus events, the University of Michigan should dismantle its own Code. The Code violates students' constitutional rights, its secrecy prevents an accurate use of precedent and is a hindrance to fair sentencing - and it has never been proven to be effective. This kind of disciplinary measure should not be within the jurisdiction of a university administration. MSU should not institute an off-campus code of conduct, and the University of Michigan needs to examine its own Code and eventually abolish it.

04-02-99