How can I fight judiciary injustice on my college campus? (Details inside. Alcohol related)
For the past three hours, I’ve been in my room doing homework and playing minecraft. My room is separate and closed off from the living room in my college suite. While I was in there, a party started in the living room and my suitemates were playing beer pong. I did not partake. In fact, I didn’t drink at all tonight.
An hour or two into the party, I leave my room and go to the bathroom for a while. I come out and go to back to my room and resume homework and minecrafting. No more than two minutes later is a knock and the large, salt and pepper-haired security guard comes in and asks me where I’m hiding people. I told him I didn’t know what he’s talking about, and he got up in my face and told me that he “knows I’m lying” and to “stop jerking him off and tell him where I’m hiding people.” He then opens my closet and out pops two underage kids. He gets up in my face again and starts screaming about how I’m fucked and I shouldn’t have lied to him and so on and that I need to go to the living room with my ID. I oblige, the RA takes my ID and writes my name down. In front of my drunk suitemates, the burly security sadist gets in my face again and starts screeching about how I “should know better than to jerk him off like that” and to “say yessir.” I nod, and he yells “fucking say yessir!” So I mumble yessir and retreat to my room. RA pours out the alcohol. I tell her I wasn’t drinking, involved in any way, or lying, and she says it doesn’t matter and I should expect an email in the morning about talking to the judiciary board (which is made up of one guy who hates my entire friend group).
The issue here is that I have never been in trouble, I’m a straight A student, a member of ODK and a chairman of the Nonprofit Leadership Alliance. Basically, I’m a good student, a good kid, and I feel fucking violated by what security did tonight, especially since I had nothing to do with it. I have a full-ride scholarship which is on the line now and in the hands of a single man that arbitrarily hates me. I have my doubts that telling the truth will help since the fucking head of security is convinced I was “jerking him off” and the head of j-board thinks I’m satan for some reason.
What should I do? I’m really freaking out here.
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97 Answers
First off, I’m really sorry this happened to you. I don’t know a really good answer at the moment although I’m thinking about it, but I did have a question—is it just you getting in trouble, or all of your suitemates? It seems incredibly lopsided if you are the only one getting written up.
One thing I can think of that may help somewhat is if you have some kind of log on your computer of your activities (HW, Minecraft) i.e., timestamps or “Last Modified” date. I know it sounds silly but maybe it’s a start?
@ette_, thanks for your response. All of us are getting sent to talk to the head of judiciary board. The violation is drinking in the presence of people who are under 21 which I didn’t even know was happening. According to the student handbook, you can drink as long as you are quiet and nobody is underage. If underage people are present, even if they aren’t drinking, the whole suite gets written up. Which counts as a violation, which forbids us from living in these particular suites next year, and also puts my presidential scholarship on the line. Your suggestion is a good idea, and I may try it. The problem here is that my college is private, and the judiciary people get away without a lot of oversight on a regular basis. That’s what I get for going to a school with like… 1000 students.
@Fiddle_Playing_Creole_Bastard: No prob. I feel for you. I faced a situation in high school where someone plagiarized his part of our group paper, and our entire group got in trouble because we weren’t “savvy” enough to know that he had plagiarized. I was threatened with a failing grade when I was a straight-A student. Luckily, the outcome wasn’t too bad, but it lowered my grade from an A to an A- which killed my perfect grades. Oh well.
Anyway, you may also consider actually retaining an attorney in this case, because it sounds like you have a lot going for you, and a lot riding on this. An attorney would definitely give you some clout because I am sure there are some well-read attorneys out there who would know what to do in such a situation.
@ette_, yeah, I’ve been in a situation like that as well, and I fought it by basically challenging their assertions.
Anyway, I don’t want to get an actual lawyer just yet, unless they decide to play hard ass with me (which they probably will, because security, as well as the head of j-board all like to play the bad cop, i’m a badass game).
You can probably at least call a lawyer to prepare for it in the event you do have to—they might be able to give you some “free” advice before you need to hire them.
@ette_, I’ll take that into consideration. Thanks again for your help.
Appeal to the University Senate. Contact campus legal aid for assistance.
@Dr_Lawrence, as far as I know, we don’t have either of those. We are a very, very small, private college. I’ll ask around and see if we do, though. Thanks for your suggestion.
What happened to you totally sucks. Your college seems like MIT: Mussolini Institute of Tyranny.
Are there any video cameras mounted in the area outside your room?
If so, perhaps there’s footage showing the underage kids entering your room while you were in the bathroom.
Where did the RA find the alcohol?
@Brian1946, first of all, I lol’d at MIT. Thanks for that. Secondly, there are no cameras. I live in a private suite. We have a living room, a kitchen, a full bathroom, and two bedrooms. The whole thing connects to a hallway (in which there is no surveillance either).
Apparently, the RA (who also hates us) brought security in to respond to a noise complaint and saw the underage kids bolt when my suitemate opened the door. The alcohol was everywhere, because my suitemates were playing beer pong. Nobody was actually consuming it at the time though, and it was beer. Everyone who was playing beer pong was 21. The underage guys weren’t even drinking. They had just showed up, apparently.
Also, I’ve been reading the student handbook. From what I can tell, being written up is basically a presumption of guilt. You go to the head of j-board and admit you are guilty, you sign a paper, and they punish you as they see fit (which for me, means losing my scholarship). If you refuse to admit guilt, you go to “trial” before J-board. The handbook says legal council is strictly forbidden, since it’s “not an open, official judiciary hearing.” At the hearing, you plead your case before security, the administration, and a jury of 16 peers who are elected each year (a group that is mainly made up of people who are buddies with the administration). If you are found not guilty, it goes on record and you are free to go. If you are guilty, everything that would have happened to you does, and your punishment is compounded for giving them trouble. Sounds pretty shitty.
Sounds like this security guard is related to the sergeant outta Full Metal Jacket to these ears. What a monumental buttfuck. This is a classic case of guilty by association, fucked up but unfortunately inevitable. Your best bet is for your roommates to play a straight bat by telling the powers that be you were but an innocent party in all this. That’s all I can give on the sorry matter, good luck fella.
@ucme, full metal jacket is right. I’m in a world of shit
My roommates have already sworn to tell the truth when they get marched into the office. I’m going to tell them exactly what I was doing and reinforce my excellent record at the school. If it helps, considering the school’s apparent guilty until estimated to be even more guilty policy. Thanks for the support, my friend.
@Fiddle_Playing_Creole_Bastard
“Apparently, the RA (who also hates us) brought security in to respond to a noise complaint and saw the underage kids bolt when my suitemate opened the door.”
Where were you when the RA entered your suite?
@Brian1946, I was in my bedroom. I was in my bedroom for the duration of the party, except to go to the bathroom, which is when the kids bolted, apparently, and also when the RA knocked on the door, I guess. Pretty much immediately after got back to my bedroom from the bathroom is when the security dude came in my room. I had barely enough time to get re-situated on my bed.
For the record, my college defines student living space as including living rooms and bedrooms. Alcohol violations that take place in the living room count for people in the bedrooms too. Even if they are asleep.
Wow, that’s bullshit.
It is good that your roomies are going to back you up, hopefully that will play in your favor. I don’t have any advice to add, just that I hope this all works out for you. What a lousy situation to find yourself in.
@JmacOroni, thanks for the support, darlin’. I’m absolutely fuming right now. I can’t even sleep. I’m going to talk to some of my professors tomorrow (who all absolutely love me) as well as my advisor I had freshman year (she once told me she’d fight tooth and nail for me, if need be) and see if I can rally their support. I’m not going to let some power-tripping rentacops trample on my educational future. I’m determined to get out of this with my dignity in tact.
Just climb the ranks. If the judiciary department gives you trouble, complain to whoever oversees them, the dean? If the dean gives you trouble then complain to the vice-Chancellor. If the vice-chancellor gives you trouble, then complain to the executive chancellor. If no one is able to help, then break out the lawyers, but it usually doesn’t come to that because no one likes it when you go above their heads, so someone usually cooperates. Point is, there is always someone above to complain to.
@cackle, good advice. Pretty much the entire administration here has had it out for my friend group and I since freshman year despite the fact that they consistently give me academic and leadership awards but I do have some allies in the chain of command. If all else fails, I’m getting a lawyer. But for now, I’ll talk to whoever’s boss I have to in order to get out of this.
Just make sure whoever you spoke to knows that you’re going to go above his/her head, but only after you realize they’re unhelpful. Likewise, If you end up speaking to the executive, make sure he/she knows you’re going to sue the whole place if he/she doesn’t cooperate.
I had the same issue with my cable provider. I eventually reached the chief of operations and said I’m going to file a lawsuit on your entire company. The next day I received full compensation and the chief fired a manager/supervisor due to liability. It never reached a courtroom.
@cackle, I’ll be sure and do that. Thanks for the tips. I’m a customer, not a prisoner, and I’ll be sure and remind them that they work for me.
Don’t forget, I have a whip and I know how to use it. I will seriously kick some ass if they fuck with you, sir. >:|
Do get a lawyer if this doesn’t go your way.
@augustlan, thanks m’dear, I knew you’d have my back. In regards to a lawyer, what legal justification or grounds could I have to sue or fight back? The administration/judiciary folks may be giant douchecanoes, but they are playing by the rules they set as a private organization, no matter how draconian us saner folks may see them to be.
I did feel threatened by Officer Sarge getting two inches from my face, telling me I was going to “be fucked if I lied to him,” and coming into my room without knocking.
You need your suite mates, and the underage kids, to sign a statement that you were not involved in the drinking, and that you had no idea that they were in the closet, that they took advantage of your absence from the room to sneak in. Impress upon them that their behavior could cost you the loss of your scholarships and lead to you having to leave college because of their behavior. Tell them that if that happens, you will sue. Call the kids’ parents if you have to; ratting out kids to impress upon them the seriousness of their actions is more of a life lesson. Right now, the fact that you got in trouble for something that you didn’t do is probably hilarous to them.
@BarnacleBill, my suitemates are all as pissed as I am and they know the potential consequences I face. They’ve all sworn to have my back. The underage kids are people I don’t even really know all that well, but I’m going to track them down won’t be hard and have them sign this statement. I’m going to lawyer up if this doesn’t get resolved.
@Mz_Lizzy, indeed I do. Well, one of them is. The rest are just under his thumb. Thanks for the well wishes, though!
@Fiddle_Playing_Creole_Bastard, the real problem is less the security guard but that their actions violated the code by having underage students drinking in your suite. The cop was an ass, but your suitemates are responsible for the events, not the cop. If the kids weren’t there in the first place, you would not have this problem. You need to lay this on the correct doorstep.
@Fiddle_Playing_Creole_Bastard when do you meet with the judiciary board? Here’s my talking-to-you-like-your-mom thinking. You know the saying, “Pick your battles”? This is one of those times. Do not get into a situation where you are defending yourself against the rudeness and the actions of the security officer. Your attitude needs to be very respectful of him regardless of what he did or didn’t do to you.
Have the attitude that you understand what a difficult job the RA and the security guard officer both have and put them in your place of sitting and not knowing what was happening on the other side of the door.
I would politely ask the RA if they had a few minutes to talk and explain the situation with the premise that you don’t know the underage kids and are trying to determine how much information the RA has. You are being helpful to the “investigation.” You tell the RA that your suitemate and the underage kids can verify you weren’t part of the party outside your room and tell the RA you are just trying to determine if they RA has this information.
Feel the RA out so you’ll have a heads-up on what is going to be said to the judiciary board. The bottomline is, it seems worse now than it will be after the matter is resolved. You’ll be fine. You aren’t the first person something like this has happened to and it will work out if you are humbled and respectful and not trying to put the asshole security guard on trial during your review. It will be okay son. I’m sending good thoughts and prayers your way. It won’t come to a point of you needing an attorney.
That’s a shitstorm of ego you’re dealing with.
One thing – is the presumption of guilt for these situations based on the fact that you’re not allowed to have alcohol in the dorms, or suites, and if it is found there and you did not report it you’ve essentially been derelict?
I ask only because you do not want to admit to anything that could later be used against you. If the above is the case, you really want to not say anything that would lead them to believe you knew what was going on – even if all were above age of consent (if, of course, you can do so without lying).
@BarnacleBill, you’re right. What I’m most upset about, aside from the guard’s actions, is that I did not know that underage students were in the suite and they chose to hide in my room, thus making me look like I’m running an underground railroad for underage drinkers. My suitemates have said that they’ll take responsibility for allowing the underage drinkers to stay, which I’m not disputing. I’m only disputing my treatment by the officer, and my own guilt, which I believe I have none.
@bkcunningham, thank you very much, I do think you have a pretty good point. I’m more cooled down now than I was earlier. My roommate did go talk to the dean of students, who basically said that the security guard has a record of acting out, and that we should just keep quiet about it.
@iamthemob, I know, right? The presumption of guilt is based on the fact that there were underage people in the presence of the alcohol. My college is a wet campus. You can drink as long as everyone in the room is 21. If one person under the age of 21 is even present, they don’t even have to be drinking, the entire suite gets written up. This used to include suite members that weren’t even present at the time, but the school removed that little part for being a tad too Draconian. All of my suitemates and I are 21. The two other guys, who are basically random acquaintances that happened to show up and use my room as a hideout are 20. I’m not guilty by a neglection to report illegal activity because I was unaware it was happening. According to the school, I am guilty of being in the presence of minors with alcohol around.
I’ve been thinking about this since I read it a little while ago. The short and painful answer is that there may not be a “workable” response that gets you to the place you want to be.
That is, this sounds like the idea of an “Honor Code” that many universities and the US military academies have adopted. You’re responsible, period.
According to a lot of these codes, it doesn’t matter what you knew (or who you knew) or what you chose to know or not-know. “You should have known, and you should have taken appropriate action.”
Based on your description of the events, it sounds like the RA knew that you weren’t involved, and has chosen to make the worst possible presentation for your case. (That may be his own likely violation of an honor code, it would appear.)
So, unfair as it is, you may just have to present your side of things and accept whatever ridiculous outcome arises from it, maybe even up to and including expulsion.
It may not cheer you to know, but ‘back in the day’ when marijuana infractions were much more vigorously prosecuted than they are now, you could be arrested and prosecuted if you were in the presence of someone who smoked weed, even if you had never had the stuff yourself and didn’t know what it was. At least you’re not looking at a criminal prosecution – which would involve a much stronger burden of proof for a prosecutor, too.
@WasCy, that’s kind of what I was afraid of. My dad who is also currently in school as well, but on a totally different campus got a stern talking-to, a lot of threats, and a lot of fingers shoved in his face for breaking his school’s “honor code.” His crime? Printing out a copy of a non-grade practice test to ask a question to the professor on (they called it cheating).
Anyway, the more I’ve talked to people, the better this is looking for me. I’m going to just reinforce my record, tell it like it is, and count on my backup. If they want to play games, I’ll bring it to J-board. If that doesn’t work, I’ll sue, or vote with my wallet and move to a different school.
The only thing I’m worried about is that the security guard and the RA seem to have already made up their minds about my guilt and that no amount of groveling will convince them otherwise. If that happens, I’m showing teeth.
I am SO sorry this happened to you… and all i can say is believe in that you didn’t do any wrong, cos even if you let the big guy see you’re stressed he’s gonna get even more ugly.
something like this happened to me, although it was on a much smaller scale, not as big as this.
Me and my friends were hangin out at lunchtime in school, our school has a no electrical appliances, mobiles and music rule.
One of my mates had her mobile on her and she was playing music on it,,, eminem to be exact. A teacher heard all the swearing in it and we all got our phones confiscated.
I felt soo loow as I’d never been in trouble before,, the teachers were all acting wierd and telling me how they didn’t expect some thing like this from me. They said I shouldv spoken up against wrong…
I felt like a mess back then cos I was in trouble with my parents too.
hope it turns out allright and I will remember you in my prayer tonight.
xxx
Threaten to involve the ACLU.
@queenie thank you dear, every bit of support means a huge amount to me.
@incendiary_dan, I do like that idea, but what violation of my civil liberties would I cite?
I’m pretty sure you can’t legally be penalized for something that you, yourself, did not partake in. Whether or not that’s true, they might back down because of the simple idea of the ACLU making a big deal out of it, and creating bad publicity.
Also, as a security guard myself, I know what security guards are allowed to get away with. That shit was over the line, and you can probably bring up abuse and verbal assault charges against him. Maybe slander. I fucking hate guards that act like that.
Want us all to show up as character references? We can stage a protest. I’m good with picket signs and pitchforks…
@incendiary_dan, it’s good to know there are good guards out there who aren’t power-tripping neanderthals. Keep fighting the good fight.
@BarnacleBill, I can see it now… FREE FIDDLEBASTARD, DOWN WITH INSTITUTIONAL OPPRESSION
Better yet, we can just send JP to do an attitude adjustment on the correctional officer!!
I’m itching for a good protest.
I want that on a t-shirt.
@BarnacleBill, ah, gotcha now. I like John. He’s a good cop. That would be funny.
Since both Fiddle_Playing_Creole_Bastard and JP are in 10SC (IIRC), perhaps that security guard is JP in his post-retirement gig. ;-)
JK.
Most security guards are just wage slaves like me doing it because it’s an easy job and basically do enough to cover our asses. I basically do it because I can’t get full time work in wilderness instructing yet. However, you occasionally get sociopaths who trip so much on power that even the cops don’t take them (police forces have demonstrably relaxed their psychological standards in the past couple of decades, and in some places seem to encourage the hiring of people with bullying personality types). Is security armed on your campus?
Edit: I should mention that those power-tripping sociopaths usually don’t stay on a site for long, if they work for private security companies. Very few clients enjoy it.
Campuses, on the other hand…
@incendiary_dan, yeah this guy has a record of really poor behavior. My roommate talked to the dead, and securiguy has been in trouble for shoving and holding students down before 0_o
@ette_, I haven’t gotten an email yet. I don’t know if my roommates have or not, as I went home for the weekend. My mom is uber pissed at the school for how they handled this. I also have about four lawyers lined up who owe me favors in case shit really goes south. I doubt it will get that bad, but better safe than sorry, ya know? I’m at the point now where I’m still mad, but I’m not too worried about it. The odds are stacked in my favor, as far as I can tell, unless some serious Kafka-esque bullshit goes down in which case I’m pulling the “eject” lever as quickly as possible.
@Fiddle_Playing_Creole_Bastard it’s completely normal for you to be still mad. If you weren’t, I’d think you were crazy. I’m still mad at my dad for what he did to me a month ago.
@ette_, sorry to hear that :-/ I know that feeling well.
As for the update: Still no email. Haven’t heard anything from my roommates. I’m hoping that this fizzles out and doesn’t go anywhere. If it does, I’m prepared, but if not, I’ll count my lucky stars. Thanks again for your support, folks. I’ll be sure to keep y’all updated.
@Fiddle_Playing_Creole_Bastard Take a idea from Van Wilder’s book… Send the Security Guard a nice home baked treat… lol Also keep in mind the current rep of schools behavior these days in the press…
@coffeenut, I see what you did there…
@BarnacleBill you may be right. The dean doesn’t really handle this sort of thing, though. All security/judicial stuff goes to this one perpetually angry, camp-counselor-esque guy who is in charge of res-life and is on call pretty much 24/7. We’ll see, though.
On call 24/7? I’d be pretty angry too. :P
Well, I got the dreaded email today. It basically says “you were involved in an alcohol-related violation of school community standards. You must schedule a meeting with me by Thursday to discuss your sanctions. If you do not accept responsibility for the actions you have been cited for, your case will be brought before the judicial board.”
…shit sucks. I don’t get this whole “guilty until proven even guiltier” crap.
I’m going to note that for law school for sure and also for probably most graduate schools you apply to will ask about past academic sanctions. Charges that are dismissed aren’t part of the school record.
Figure out what may or may not be sealed if you waive challenging it – since it’s unclear at this point what the sanctions are, it may be better to take the spanking and lay low for now…you can always remind them of your ill treatment when you start getting the donation letters. ;-)
I would suggest I “I plead guilty to leaving my room unattended after two hours of uninterrupted studying to use the bathroom while my suite mates entertained underage indviduals, without my knowledge or consent, who are not known to me. Had they tried to enter my room while I was there, I would have reported them to the RA immediately.”
@BarnacleBill, that’s pretty clever. My plan, as of now, is to schedule a meeting with this dude, tell him the truth, and see what his next move is. If he lets me off, I’ll count my lucky stars and be done with it. I’m just looking to get this over with, not social justice or vengeance anything like that, necessarily. If he makes things difficult, I’m taking it to J-board as well as filing a complaint with the dean (which my roommate has already done).
From there, I’ll do what I must until the situation is fairly resolved.
@Fiddle_Playing_Creole_Bastard – Can I just say NOOOOOOOOOOOOO! really loudly at this point.
Personally, I woudln’t admit to anything or tell them anything about my side of the story as an affirmative statement until I at least try to determine any and all consequences of the sanctions they intend to apply to me if I admit guilt.
Telling them anything without even trying to figure out what telling them could potentially mean in terms of sanctions may put you in a position where you have technically confessed to something unintentionally dragging out the process as you work to repair the harm done by a noble, if rash, desire to be as up front as possible.
^^ Such a lawyer. But, he’s probably right. :(
@iamthemob, hmm… well damn. I talked to an ally I have within the administration, and she said that sanctions against me could go either way- they could be open to grad/law/whatever schools, or not, depending on the discretion of the res life dude. However, if I don’t schedule a meeting before tomorrow, I’m automatically fined/sanctioned/beaten into submission and those will be open. So basically, I’m in a bind. I have no way of telling whether any consequences will be public or not, but if I don’t subject myself to their potentiality, I’m guaranteed to get fucked.
…so what should I do? :-(
Well schedule the meeting for sure. Try to get there as late as possible. ;-)
@Fiddle_Playing_Creole_Bastard I know you said you were going to wait until you take legal action, but why? I know that you want to be the good guy and let it play out, but you might be harming yourself rather than helping. I really think that you should just protect yourself “at all costs” because of just how much sanctions like these could affect you. Please! And I say this out of LURVE.
I’m just going to throw out something – I’m sure there’s information on this…
I would think that your scholarship is a property right. It’s a qualified one, but it can’t be arbitrarily qualified on the actions of others.
Further, I feel like your education and the value of that is a property right as well.
Constitutionally, no one is allowed to take away your property rights without due process of law. If these procedures require that you admit to something you arguably had no idea was going on, and you are held responsible for policing your fellow students, then the University is both (1) making you their agent in enforcing policies on others, and (2) holding you responsible for failures such that you get in a catch 22 if you fail to do what they deem appropriate so that you are incentivized to lie about the situation (in order to protect your property rights) which, if discovered, will result in your potential loss of those rights anyway.
I don’t know if there is case law on this, but I feel like there are a whole bunch of contract breach and constitutional property issues here (degrees in some states qualify as a property right that can be split on divorce. I learned that in my family law class in Layee-sianah ;-)).
I would, in the interim before the meeting, talk to any of the attorneys that you might have as contacts – and also see about getting in touch with some of the law school clinics to get some rowdy law students on your side. If anyone understands the craphole that is investing in your education and knowing that it might not pay off because of arbitrary BS, it’s them.
Oh, and I really hope that you’re not reading any of this today, and are instead losing this day in the magicalness that is Laissez les bon temps rouler.
@ette_ I appreciate the support. You are a real sweetheart. I’m still going to hold out with the legal route unless they decide to get nasty. Basically, I don’t want to escalate this unless they do. The ball is in their court right now, and it could be dangerous for me to swing before they knock it back, if you catch my drift.
@iamthemob, serious lurve for the Cajun.
You are absolutely brilliant. In my fog of anger, I haven’t really had the time to explore the little logical nuances of this whole situation as clearly as you have. It sounds to me, from what you’ve figured, that I potentially have a case maybe one without any precedent, but a case nonetheless.
Nothing in the student handbook or any of the various contracts I have signed here says anything about being responsible for intervening in illegal or sketchy activities, and I would assume that is especially true considering I didn’t know such activity was going on in the first place. I’ll probably hold off on the technicalities unless I have to. My plan is to be as terse as possible and only whip out the nuclear options if absolutely necessary.
Again, thank you so much for all of your help and suggestions. This means a lot to me. Your suggestions have actually helped quite a bit.
I didn’t read this whole thread, but you might want to consider contacting your university’s ombudsman. They should be able to help.
Keep us posted. Good luck.
@nikipedia, thanks for the well-wishes. I don’t think we have an ombudsman. I go to a superrrr tiny private college.
@Fiddle_Playing_Creole_Bastard – Lawyers are known for looking at the tiny little logical nuances. It’s why people hate them until they need them…and then, as you’ve shown, they get MUCH love. ;-)
I think that your plan is good. It is a fine line – sticking to technicalities can seem smug. So, I think you want to be sure that you do so in a way that emphasizes that you believe in the purpose of the college regulations, and that you’ve been an active and successful participant in the college culture and have attempted to further all its goals. Try to spin it so that it is clear that it is not really you that is geing technical, but them – the regulations were meant to prevent a bad element from forming, not redefining a good element as a bad one.
@iamthemob, I’ve actually been seriously considering going to law school for a while now.
Yeah, we have a 3-word mantra-esque “covenant” at my school that the administration constantly re-emphasizes every chance they get. This covenant might as well be congruous in importance at my school to the Ten Commandments in Christian doctrine… basically, it represents the “purpose” of college regulations that you refer to. I’m going to very tactfully integrate it into my argument to sort of psychologically prove to them that I’m not a belligerent here. I’ll try and find a way to let my record speak for itself as well. I’ve been on the Dean’s List every semester since freshmen year, I’m the chairman of the PR committee of the Non Profit Leadership Alliance, I’m a presidential scholar, and I’m a member of ODK (the guy I have to talk to is the local circle president…). In short, I’m not a hoodlum, and I hope they recognize this.
It seems like the application of the policy in the manner that it must be applied can only serve to turn the leaders into hoodlums. When that is the inevitable result of a policy, it is necessary to reform the policy…or you turn your best into your worst, and the worst is all you get.
When that is the inevitable result of a policy, it is necessary to reform the policy
That reminds me of a certain quote from the Declaration of Independence…
With that in mind, and considering these circumstances, I’m planning on running for student government next year.
@Fiddle_Playing_Creole_Bastard – get ready to be even more disappointed in the political process then, no matter what the result. ;-)
PS – All of my statements herein should be considered the intellectual property of iamthemob, LL – MEEEEEE!. Copyrighted material is available for licensing on campaign material, t-shirts and evening wear at nominal fees consisting of telling me that I’m awesome, agreeing with me on all positions, saying that I look pretty, or just trying to be a nice person generally.
Or cash.
I would get a shirt with ”...a shitstorm of ego…” on it.
@Fiddle_Playing_Creole_Bastard – Be careful – are they thinking that YOU’RE a shitstorm of ego? Who knows…;-)
(PS – I kind of love that idea myself. I may be including links to a zazzle account soon. ;-))
Update
Went for my meeting. I dressed in business casual attire and I was certain to be polite, direct, confident, and truthful. I met with the head of res-life and he was very cordial and even told me he understands that I was involved in the events by circumstances beyond my control. He was very interested in the guard’s actions and told me to rest assured that the matter was being investigated. He told me that there are discrepancies in the stories he’s heard, but I shouldn’t worry. However, all of us will likely have to go before j-board. He told me that they will likely let me off since I really wasn’t involved and the worst they can do is fine me, since I was present anyway which is still against the rules. My grad (or even law) school aspirations are safe. My scholarships are safe. When I emphasized my record, he said “don’t worry, I know” with a smile. I was very impressed with his professionalism and his fairness, especially after becoming so jaded from the actions of the guard and other authority figures. I think I might survive this after all.
Thanks again for all your support, guys. I love how a bunch of folks on the internet go out of their way for one of their own in need. You all have my utmost gratitude.
So good to hear that—there are definitely “good” people in this world like the head of res-life seems to be. Keep us posted.
YAAAAAAAYYYYYYYY!!! so glad! This definately brightens up my day a lot, so,so much.
So happy for you : D
uhm, sorry for overusing the word ‘so’, got excited there… ^ ^
~
YAY! Definitely keep us posted. :)
Thanks guys. I’ll let you all know of any further developments. You all are absolutely lovely.
Whew, I am so happy to hear that! What a relief for you.
I’m relieved for you.
Kisses and hugs Sweetheart!
FINAL UPDATE: Had our j-board hearing tonight. Lasted about 4 hours. Deliberation lasted upwards of an hour afterwards. They grilled the hell out of us and then dismissed us. After deliberation, we were all informed that we were not guilty of all charges, except my roommate, who was charged with dishonest and sentenced to 12 hours community service and made to write an apology letter to security and our RA who stormed out of the room yelling when we finished making our final statements.
He’s appealing his charges, and we are all relieved. The Dean of Students has also assured me that the security guard is being dealt with.
Justice is sweet. Thank you all, once again. You guys are amazing.
“who stormed out of the room yelling when we finished making our final statements.”
Let me call the whaaaaaaaaaaaaambulance…;-)
Congratulations.
I lol’d hard. I can still hear her screaming to her friend downstairs about how our ruling of innocence was an “abortion of justice.” LOLOLOLOL
Oh, she mad!
Thanks again!
What the hell is an “abortion” of justice? Wow what a smarty…
I’m so glad you were cleared! Thanks for keeping us posted.
@ette_, I’ve heard “miscarriage” of justice before, but never abortion. She must have been confused. 0_o
@augustlan, thanks darlin’. And you are certainly welcome!
soooooo glad!
As they say, “The truth will out! !!! : D
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