Guide to the Pomona College Student Code
Students often want an easier way to find particular information in the Student Code since the Code is lengthy and contains detailed information and procedures. What follows is an effort to direct students to portions of the code that may be of particular interest to them.
Behaviors that violate the Student Code may be found in Article III. Proscribed Conduct. (The Alcohol Policy, the Drug Policy, Residence Hall Regulations, The Academic Honesty Policy, the Fire Equipment Misuse Policy, and the Sexual Assault and Misconduct Policy also contain regulations that students must follow.) Most of these policies are adjudicated through the Pomona College Student Judiciary although violations of the Academic Honesty Policy are heard by both faculty and students.
Students are strongly encouraged to have an advisor when they appear before a judicial panel.
Sanctions that the Judicial Council may impose on individuals or groups are found in Article VI: Sanctions.
The rights of students who are charged with a violation are summarized in Article IV, paragraph 5.
Procedures for a full Judiciary hearing are found in Article V, Section C.
Procedures for a Penalty Board hearing are found in Article V, Section D.
The rights of victims of violation of the Student Code are explained in Article II, Student Affairs, paragraph 2; Article V, Section C, paragraphs 2-5, 8, and 14-15.
Appeals of a Judiciary Council decision are explained in Article VII: Appeals.
Preamble
The Pomona College Student Code is established to provide clear definitions of rules and fair procedures to govern the conduct of students within the Pomona community. These are Pomona College’s procedures and are distinguished from public law enforcement, which is the province of local, state and federal authorities.
The educational goals of the College can only be achieved with genuine community interaction and respect for the rights of others. The Code of Student Conduct serves to protect the rights of the individual and the rights of the community.
Knowledge of the standards of a community is the single most helpful element in creating the community. Pomona College expects that all members will inform themselves of the community standards.
The Student Code is a document, which continues to be created and modified to adequately reflect the changes in community standards. Modifications to the code are made principally through the Student Affairs Committee, which consists of five ASPC Senate members and five faculty members. The committee is open and accessible to students. Students should be aware that this committee is the proper channel through which to make changes to the Student Code.
Upon entering the Community, students are responsible for understanding the information contained within the Pomona College Student Code.
All policies and regulations that do not have their own enforcement mechanism are enforced through the Student Code.
Cases brought pursuant to the Student Code may raise difficult interpretive questions about the scope of the Student Handbook’s provisions as applied to a specific scenario when heard by a judicial body. When the meaning of a provision of the Student Handbook, read alone and applied to a case, is clear, judicial bodies are bound by the text’s publicly-understood meaning. If there is reasonable ground for disagreement about the meaning of the Student Handbook’s text as applied to a case, judicial bodies may look for guidance in the context of the provision, the structure of the Student Handbook, statements of purpose found throughout the Student Handbook and other official College documents, previous judicial bodies’ decisions in adjudicating analogous cases, and community standards held by contemporary students of the College (as represented by members of the judicial body).
Article I: Definition of Terms
Click here to view Article I: Definition of Terms
Article II: Judicial Authority and Organization
Click here to view Article II: Judicial Authority and Organization
Article III: Proscribed Conduct
Click here to view Article III: Proscribed Conduct
Article IV: Charges
Click here to view Article IV: Charges
Article V: Hearings
Click here to view Article V: Hearings
Article VI: Sanctions
Click here to view Article VI: Sanctions
Article VII: Appeals
Click here to view Article VII: Appeals
Article VIII: Selection of Members and Term of Office
Click here to view Article VIII: Selection of Members and Term of Office
Extraordinary Authority of the President
Notwithstanding any other provision in the Student Code or any other College policy to the contrary, the President of Pomona College shall have the authority to act in extraordinary circumstances to attempt to ensure the safety of individuals, the protection of property, and the continuity of the educational process.
In executing this authority, the President is specifically permitted to remove a student from campus, to prohibit a student from being on campus, and to expel, suspend, place a student on leave, or take any other action with respect to the status of a student of the College that the President deems appropriate or necessary in their absolute discretion (“the Action”).
If the President is not able to act in a situation that requires the exercise of extraordinary authority, the authority shall pass first to the Vice President and Dean of the College; and if the Dean of the College is also unable to act then such extraordinary authority shall pass to the Vice President and Dean of Students.
If a student is the subject of an Action, the officer taking the Action shall state at or about the time of the decision, the terms, if any, upon which resumption of normal student status will be permitted.
A student whose status is affected by an Action may ask that the decision be reviewed by the President, the Chair of the Board of Trustees, the Vice President and Dean of the College and the Vice President and Dean of Students, all of whom shall then meet and give their advice as to whether the decision should be affirmed, modified or reversed. In conducting this review, the group shall follow any procedures and consider any evidence that they, in their sole discretion, deem appropriate.
After completion of the review, the President (whether the action was the President’s original decision or that of another officer exercising the authority) may affirm, modify or reverse the original decision, as the President shall determine in their absolute discretion. The Action shall remain in effect while the matter is under review.
|
