Faculties, residences all have different standards for punishment

385 acts of inappropriate behaviour received a number of different punishments

Morgan Modjeski, Staff

The University of Manitoba does not have a policy of uniform punishment when it comes to minor offences committed on campus, and students who commit crimes that fall under “inappropriate behaviour” do not know what kind of punishment they may face.

There were a total of 595 disciplinary matters dealt with at the U of M in 2006-07. The number represents an increase from 432 in 2005-06, according to the university discipline committee’s annual report released in February 2007.

Of these incidents, 385 were classified as inappropriate behaviour. The other 210 incidents disclosed in the report were acts of academic dishonesty.

A number of different punishments ranging widely for similar crimes were given to students under the inappropriate behaviour category.

Throughout the report, disciplinary action ranged from verbal and written warnings to writing letters of apology to fines of $50-150 to disciplinary action from the faculty to expulsion from residence to suspension and expulsion from the university.

Many students also received community service hours ranging from two to 15 hours.

The type and degree of the disciplinary action is a result of a collaborative effort between the University of Manitoba discipline committee and the local committees of the faculty that the student is involved in.

The University of Manitoba discipline committee is made up of the chair of the committee, the university president, the president of UMSU, seven faculty members and seven students.

The local discipline committees range widely throughout the faculties and are made up of eight members of both faculty and students.

Every faculty has a different policy dictating what is inappropriate behaviour.

Janet Sealey, administrative assistant to the dean of Arts and secretary of the local discipline committee of the Faculty of Arts, said, “Some faculties have higher standards of student conduct than others.”

“It really depends on the incident, how violent [the incident] might be — there are a lot of factors.”

Joe Danis, director of housing and student life at the U of M, explained the reasoning behind different charges in regards to offences committed in residence.

Danis said, “If you have alcohol in a stairwell, which is illegal by our standards, you might start with a $50 [fine]. If it was your second offence, the fine would be increased,” he said.

“Typically, a first offence would result in a warning, and a second offence would result in a fine or higher. But that is not to say that a first offence — depending how the student deals with the interaction with our staff — may result in a fine first off.”

As part of the discipline committee’s annual report, Ruth Dean, the vice-chair of the committee, stated, “The treatment and disposition of disciplinary matters across the university is certainly not uniform, as some students in some faculties are dealt with much more stringently than other students for similar offence.”

Dean implied that having a uniform punishment system would be beneficial to the university.

“Further educational efforts to reach both students and those administering the penalties would be helpful,” she stated.