The following post is a reflection I wrote after participating in my first case as a Resident Board Member.
Hearing my first case yesterday was a great experience. I had an idea on what to expect since I had shadowed/observed a case earlier in the semester. Actually getting to take part in and participate in the case was a different experience, however -- it was very fulfilling and fun!
The case itself was an interesting one. The student charged with violating residence hall codes was in a unique position in that he was not simply an average student living in the resident halls (I can’t go into much more detail than that). But his role/position on campus made this a fascinating case. In addition, he was charged with many violations of the residence hall rules (again, I can’t go into specifics here, but it had to do with illegal substances and just generally causing disruption in the community). For a couple of the charges, he pleaded responsible, meaning there was not too much to analyze there. But for most of the charges, he pleaded not responsible, so there was much to look at for those charges.
The community advocate (CA) presented his case against the student. The CA’s role is similar to that of a prosecutor in a real legal system – only here, the CA is not supposed to really be “prosecuting” the student. They just make the case for the community, without any harshness or ill-will towards the student. The CA in this particular case did a really good job presenting his case. He was firmer than the CA I had observed in the case I shadowed but still respectful to the student. Overall as a board, we were very swayed by the case he presented.
The respondent then had someone from Student Legal Aid represent their case. She also did a really good job presenting the student’s side of the case. I think she had a bit of a harder job because the CA went before her and presented a very sound case. But she effectively presented the other side of the story and gave us a lot to think about. We asked a couple of questions and then went into some preliminary deliberations.
After the preliminary deliberations we then questioned the respondent. This was arguably the most beneficial part of the hearing for us as a Board. I asked one question that ended up being quite crucial later on when we made our decision. It was not easy to ask questions to the respondent because he was a fellow student and you want to be sensitive to what he’s going through. But the questioning portion of the hearing was of the utmost importance and we found out a lot of good information.
We then went into a much longer deliberation to determine the student’s responsibility on all the charges he was facing. This process included a fact-finding mission (analyzing everything we had heard so far, and deciphering what was an undisputed fact, and what wasn’t). This took over an hour, so it was a very thorough process. We then voted on all the charges (I can’t go into what the result was). We told the respondent our verdict, and then proceeded to the sanctioning portion of the hearing. For this, we asked a couple of questions to the student, and then went into deliberation for a little bit more, before we decided on an appropriate sanction.
Overall, my first hearing was an amazing experience! It’s a long and difficult process, but I find it to be very fun and rewarding, as well as intellectually stimulating. I feel like I learned a lot. I've realized it's of the utmost importance, as board members, to uphold the codes of the University while also being sympathetic and understanding of what the student is going through. Finding that balance during the hearing is absolutely paramount. I look forward to hearing many more cases throughout the rest of my time in USJ!
Why I chose this:
I chose to share this case reflection because I feel it really captures what was going through my mind shortly after I served on the case. Serving on the Board was quite an experience -- a lot was going through my mind -- and it almost felt therapeutic to jot down my general impressions afterwards. Describing the whole process again was also quite beneficial -- I was really able to take a step back and just take in what I had just done.
I think this reflection shows how I've grown as a person and student. As a student in USJ, I'm now aware of the Residence Hall codes that we must uphold to ensure a safe living environment for everyone. Knowing these codes is obviously important for my role in USJ, but I think it will also serve me well as UMD student more generally because I'll be a more informed student and campus community member -- I think this reflection illustrates that. As a person, hearing this case and writing the reflection also helped me grow. It made me realize just how important it is to be empathetic towards the students who go through this process. We want to do our jobs as board members, while also being understanding of what the student might be going through. Writing this reflection definitely helped that philosophy synch in in my mind.
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