OESCR Has “An Extent Of Fairness,” Student Disciplinary Board Member Says

By Katie Nixdorf

Miami University journalism student

Miami administrators say that everyone is treated fairly when it comes to university disciplinary actions, while some students say otherwise.

When a student enrolls at Miami University, on the first day of freshman year he or she agrees to policies in the Miami University Student Handbook.

If anything is to go wrong during their time here, a student will be held accountable for their actions and will go through The Office of Ethics and Student Conflict Resolution (OESCR) to receive their sanction, says Susan Vaughn, director of OESCR.

"Students may feel like the [OESCR] process is wrong," Vaughn says. "But it isn’t a matter of what is right or wrong, it’s a matter of being fair."

But some students feel that the process is not fair. Students who go through the process are allowed to have a lawyer, but the lawyer isn’t allowed to be present in the hearing. And where in criminal court, people are innocent until proven guilty, the standard for punishment by OESCR is lower.

A student who sat on the board of OESCR says, "There is an extent of fairness."

Up to 3,000 reports – from police, RAs and victims – are submitted to OESCR every school year. Some reports contain four or five incidents.

Once a student receives an offense, he or she is told what the sanctions will be and is given the opportunity to have a hearing. Of the approximately 3,000 reports filed annually, only about 500 actually go to a hearing, Vaughn says. The process is outlined in the Miami University Code of Student Conduct.

Vaughn said that most of the time, people accept their guilt, follow their sanction and do not make the same mistake again. Other times, it takes a few phone calls or a hearing with the parents.

One student who submitted an OESCR complaint as a victim said she felt abused by the process when she was also taken up on charges. The woman, a senior communications major, said she filed a complaint with OESCR as a freshman after being assaulted by another woman at a party.

"They [OESCR] told us we could provide witnesses, witness statements, and character reports," the anonymous student wrote in an e-mail. "I had 6 witness statements indicating she attacked me and I never touched her (and also that she wasn't even invited to the party) and 2 character reports about her aggressive behavior…at the hearing she read one text message from a girl [about me] saying 'Yes I saw her do it.'"

After the panel deliberated, both students were charged guilty with assault resulting in disciplinary probation until graduation.

Vaughn says the OESCR process is very similar to a civil proceeding in court.

"The criminal court uses the 'beyond a reasonable doubt' standard and the OESCR judicial process uses the preponderance standard, 'more likely than not,'' Vaughn says. "All universities use preponderance."

She says that some students have positive experiences with disciplinary court.

"One student actually hand delivered a thank you note to me for being kind and helpful through his OESCR process," Vaughn says. "That doesn’t happen, people don’t write me thank you notes."

Photo: Individuals can report an incident or register for a sanction on the OESCR website. OESCR is located in Warfield Hall on Miami's Oxford campus.