The 宾西法尼亚 State University has a clear standard of conduct to protect the rights of members of the University community. These standards are expressed in the Student Code of Conduct and Judicial Affairs Procedures document contained in the current edition of Policies and Rules. The Office of Judicial Affairs is responsible for conducting University judicial proceedings for students when it is alleged that a violation of the Student Code of Conduct has occurred.
The Student Code of Conduct does not replace or relieve any requirement of civil or criminal law. This means that victims may bring complaints to the Office of Judicial Affairs and also file criminal or civil complaint. Victims are encouraged to report violations of law to proper authorities on or off campus.
The Office of Judicial Affairs is committed to the safety and well being of all its community members. 我们努力创造一个没有暴力行为的环境, 骚扰, 侵犯隐私权和财产权. The Office of Judicial Affairs is one of many service offices in the University community that assist students, 无论是被指控的学生还是事件的受害者. 作为一名员工, 我们将通过帮助学生识别资源来支持他们, 基于个人需求, 是否会在整个惩戒过程中进一步支持他们.
被控学生权利
被指控违规的学生有权利. It is not assumed that a verbal or written report is accurate or an exact account of behavior. 正因为如此, the staff in Judicial Affairs will meet with each student who has been accused of a violation of the Student Code of Conduct. During this Disciplinary Conference, the student and staff member will discuss the alleged violation. A large part of the discipline process involves fact finding and the opportunity for students to respond to allegations of misconduct. Judicial Affairs will provide an opportunity for this to happen in a respectful, 公平和迅速的方式.
All students accused of inappropriate behavior or Student Code of Conduct violations have the right to:
- 与司法事务人员或指定人员讨论事件.
- Be informed in writing of all charges at least five (5) business days before any hearing.
- Waive the five (5) day notice and proceed with a hearing after receiving charges.
- 不作证也不回答问题.
- 由学生(行政部门)安排一名指导老师协助, 大学社区的教员或学生.)
- 询问在任何听证会上亲自或通过电话出庭的证人.
- 出示事实证人.
- 在听证会前审查现有的证据和文件.
- A closed hearing and the right to request a hearing open to members of the University community.
- Not appear at a hearing unless directed to do so; however, 听证会将不带偏见地进行.
- Have the hearing audiotaped (unless a co-accused refuses) or to refuse an audiotape of the hearing.
- 基于下列理由对大学聆讯委员会的决定提出上诉:
- The student has been deprived of his/her rights and/or stated procedures were not followed that affected the hearing outcome.
- New evidence is presented that was not available during the time of the original hearing that is relevant to establish that he/she may not be responsible for any misconduct.
- The sanction(s) imposed was outside the University’s sanction range for such violations and/or not justified by the nature of the offense.
- 一份书面报告和听证会摘要，包括调查结果和制裁.
受害者的权利
受害者不一定是大学社区的成员. 客人或访客也可能成为受害者. 当事故发生在校外时, 即使受害者不是大学社区的一员, the victim may have the right to file a complaint with Office of Judicial Affairs. This is possible when the behavior is considered to have a substantial University interest, 换句话说, 这个学生可能会危及他人, 重复行为, 或干扰学校的教育过程及运作.
Most Code of Conduct violations involve a potential victim so the following list does not cover all possibilities. 对他人最常见的冒犯有:
- 危害他人
- 骚扰
- 跟踪
- 威胁
- 身体虐待
- 性虐待和/或性侵犯
- 盗窃或损坏财产
- 其他侵犯隐私权或可能导致暴力的违法行为.
Victims have rights and the Office of Judicial Affairs has a responsibility to protect those rights:
- To have a Victim/Witness Advocate from on or off campus to assist throughout the discipline process. 辩护人可通过下列方式提供协助:
- 提供情感支持
- Arrange for other services as needed, such as counseling, medical treatment, etc.
- 在听证会上和受害者在一起, 如果需要, 提出反对意见，并就问题向受害者提出建议.
- 协助准备受害人影响陈述.
- To have an Administrative Directive sent immediately to the accused that forbids him/her from contacting the victim by any method including through friends or acquaintances. 如果违反了这个, the accused may be immediately separated from the institution (interim expulsion).
- If the accused is a roommate or lives close to the victim in the residence halls and threat is a consideration, 可以安排为受害者找一个新的房间，或者, 在某些情况下, the accused may be asked to be moved and prohibited from visiting a particular hall or campus area.
- 被告知纪律处分过程的结果.
- 在举行听证会的情况下，受害人还有下列权利:
- 将过去不相关的行为排除在听证会之外.
- The choice to participate either for the entire hearing or only for her/his testimony.
- 在特殊条件下作证的机会.e. over the phone, behind a screen, video teleconference at other location of her/his choice, etc.
- 有一个来自校内或校外的倡导者
- 与被指控的学生没有直接接触.e. 被指控学生的问题将通过第三方(如.e. 主席)，然后转达给受害者.
- The option to provide questions to the Presenter prior to or during the hearing that she/he may incorporate into questioning the accused student.
- The right to provide a victim impact statement that will be reviewed only by the board in the event that the charged student is found responsible. 在董事会决定制裁之前，可能会考虑影响陈述.
- The opportunity to request a recess during the hearing if she/he needs a break or wishes to consult with an advocate or the chairperson.
- 在大学听证委员会听证会的情况下, the option to appeal the Hearing Board’s decision for one of the following reasons:
- 没有遵循影响听证结果的规定程序
- New evidence is presented that was not available during the time of the original hearing and the information is relevant to establish that the accused student may be responsible for any misconduct
- The sanction(s) imposed was outside the University’s sanction range for such violations and/or not justified by the nature of the offense.