Off-campus infracnfractions with on-campus consequences

Brock University proposes strict new code of conduct

Marc MacDonald, the Brock Pressss (Brock University)

ST. CATHARINES (CUP) — Students who misbehave off-campus could still be dealt with through the university if a new policy at Brock University is adopted.

With pressure stemming from city council following a number of off-campus parties that drew the attention of police, Brock is giving serious thought to a code of conduct that would stretch beyond campus boundaries.

Critics charge that the code threatens to impede on students’ private lives.

Negotiations between the university and the city have attempted to harness the behaviour of disruptive students of who do not live on university grounds.

James O’Brien, president of the Brock University students’ union, feels that Brock students could become targeted members of the community for the mere fact that they are students.

“If you look at the statistics for the population of St. Catharines and Thorold, students are one out of 10,” said O’Brien. “We’re a significant portion of the population and it seems as though we are not being treated as citizens who happen to be students.”

The proposed policy change will be a major shift from current policies regarding off-campus students.

The existing code of conduct states that, “The university has no general responsibility for the moral or social behaviour of its students … students are free to organize their own personal lives, behaviours and associations subject only to the laws of the land.”

Members of city council are pressing for a new code to be adopted.

“I would be very happy [if the code of conduct became a reality],” said St. Catharines councillor Andrew Gill. “We’ve had students physically and verbally threaten residents; they have been so serious in nature that I would think that student body as a whole would embrace a code of conduct.”

Bishop’s University instituted an off-campus code of conduct in 2006. Though, according to O’Brien, the severity of incidents was far greater than what Brock has witnessed.

O’Brien feels that it is perhaps more an issue of law enforcement than the University. He also noted that Brock has given $50,000 to local authorities to help offset the cost of policing students.

“I have some concern over the fact that an institution, not even a year ago, went through budget cuts,” said O’Brien. “All of a sudden we found $50,000 for [St. Catharines and Thorold] for things that are not our responsibility.”

Gill disagrees with O’Brien, stating that this funding for extra by-law enforcement will compliment the code of conduct.

“The president [of Brock University] has been very forthcoming with the $25,000 each for St. Catharines and Thorold,” said Gill. “We’re going to match that, and the police are going to match that so we will have that dedicated police presence in south St. Catharines. It will go hand in hand with the code of conduct.”

Thought no timeline has been set for implementation, city councillors are pushing for sooner rather than later.

“I’m very hopeful that we will have it in by the end of December,” said Gill. “I don’t think it will take two years. I’m very confident that we will have it in place by the end of the year.”

However, Kim Meade, the associate vice president of student services at Brock, believes that implementing the proposal will take more than just a few months.

“It will be an extensive process that will include several steps,” said Meade. “It will be into the second term before we have any proposed changes to the language of the code of conduct.

“It will be [next] September before we are into any kind of implementation.”

Gill agreed that it is a small portion of problem students that are being addressed in the new code.

“We’re talking about a very small percentage of the student population,” said Gill. “Ninety-eight to 99 per cent of our students are an asset to our community, but we have to control that one per cent.”

Meade said that the university is not expanding its authority into the community.

“The university is not going to assume a policing role in the community,” said Meade.

Negotiations on the new code will continue through the fall and winter.

O’Brien is pushing for students to get in touch with city councilors and prevent the new code from being implemented.

“One of the things that has to happen, no matter what, is that students need to know what is going on with this,” said O’Brien. “Students need to write letters to their councillors and let them know that this is not OK with them.”