The Undergraduate Senate (UGS) debated an addendum to the 2023 Student Conduct Charter that will more specifically delineate the three tiers of disciplinary review, at its meeting last Tuesday.
The Student Conduct Charter replaced the Judicial Charter of 1997 last year and is under the purview of the Board on Conduct Affairs (BCA), which is composed of 15 faculty, staff, undergraduate and graduate students
“The 2023 version sought to more carefully delineate the punishments or the process available to students more specifically,” said UGS Co-Chair Diego Kagurabadza ’25. “It streamlines the disciplinary process, and it emphasizes education over punishment, particularly for first time offenders.”
A new addendum to the charter will clearly establish the three tiers of disciplinary review that cases can be adjudicated at: alternative resolution, mid-level review and high-level review. The addendum also grants the director of the Office of Community Standards (OCS) the discretion to set a higher or lower level of review based on extenuating circumstances.
According to the addendum, the “alternative resolution” review level will be appropriate for first-time violators who do not contest the allegations they are faced with. Kagurabadza said this option was largely meant to be an opportunity for education, rather than a disciplinary measure.
Mid-level review applies to repeat offenders or offenses that are too severe to be considered for alternative resolution. Violators will participate in a hearing before a panel composed of one faculty or staff member and two students. Disciplinary sanctions can not exceed a one quarter suspension and will only be displayed on the violator’s record until their degree is completed at Stanford.
High-level review is designated for the most serious violations and may result in expulsion at its maximum discretion. Violators appear before a panel composed of two faculty or staff members and three students.
“To be clear, this [addendum] does not itself affect the Honor Code,” Kagurabadza said. “It’s not a change to the honor code or the proctor study. It is a change to the process of how these kinds of violations are heard or processed.”
Senators also approved a joint bill to confirm Whit Froehlich J.D. ’24 as ASSU Librarian, a position that acts as a source of institutional knowledge and a preserver of student government records. Froehlich will hold the position until the end of spring quarter, when he plans to graduate.
Senator Ivy Chen ’26 also gave updates about Green Library’s new hours.
“Green Library will be open 24 hours for the first eight weeks of every quarter from Sundays through Thursdays, and then for Weeks 9 and 10, and also through finals week, it will be open for 24 hours every single day of the week,” Chen said. However, due to cost and staffing limitations, the around-the-clock hours will only be implemented in the East Wing’s Hohbach Hall.
The change in hours will likely go into effect next fall. According to Chen, the provost has allocated enough funds to maintain the extended hours for the next three years, but if there is high student usage of the hours, the initiative may be extended.