The Tufts Collective Union Judiciary (TCUJ) approved the establishment of a Student Advocate System to aid recruitment of judicial advocates for students involved in disciplinary disputes. Judiciary members hope that the amendment to the TCUJ bylaws passed Thursday night will be a welcome addition to the Tufts judicial process.
While TCUJ chair Mike Ferenczy hopes the system will "get off the ground this year," it remains to be approved by Dean of Students Bruce Reitman. Ferenczy said the advocate system was important because "it's an intimidating thing to be caught in a judiciary system that you don't know anything about."
Currently, students implicated in the judiciary system may work with a student, faculty, or parental advocate or an attorney, according to the Student Disciplinary System handbook. The Dean of Students Office provides a list of possible advocates - people who are familiar with the Tufts disciplinary system - for anyone who files a complaint or has a complaint filed against them. This list does not include attorneys.
The Dean of Students Office provides these advocates so that students do not have to seek legal counsel. "We don't want anyone involved in the judicial system to think that they're alone or that they need to hire an attorney," Reitman said.
According to Reitman, the pool of advocates needs to be replenished about every four years. "It is self-depleting because people graduate," Reitman said. The advocate pool has been renewed four or five times since he has been at Tufts.
Thursday's TCUJ approval signifies a new partnership between the student group and the Dean of Students Office in the advocate selection and training process. Ferenczy and former TCU Senate president David Moon came up with the idea to establish an official Student Advocate System through the TCUJ last year.
Reitman said he is "happy to have the J participate" in the advocate process, though he emphasized that its members will have to remain neutral while working to coordinate the advocate system. Elected students will be more effective in recruiting advocates than the Dean of Students Office, he said, because prospective advocates are more likely to respond to fellow students than to administrators.
The TCUJ wants to provide a way to train advocates because some students have been put at a disadvantage by not having an easily-accesible advocate. "Right now, if you know someone who's involved with the system, you're better off than someone who doesn't," Ferenczy said.
Ferenczy's goal is to train five to ten advocates this year, which will not be expensive but will require TCUJ members to take time to do so. One member of the TCUJ will be moved into the position of Student Advocate Chair and will oversee advocate training along with the Dean of Students Office.
When drafting the amendment that outlines the system, Ferenczy worked with Reitman to "iron out some of the kinks."
The amendment nearly equals the length of the entire TCUJ bylaws. Ferenczy added several disclaimers to the document and stressed that the use of an advocate does not ensure a student's success in winning a disciplinary system case.
Much of the need for an advocate comes from the difference between Tufts judicial hearings and US courtroom proceedings, Ferenczy said. The University's system does not require that the prosecution prove guilt beyond a shadow of a doubt, as in the American legal system. Hence, the chances of spurious punishment are increased.
Because of this distinction between the Tufts system and the national system, the closing statement made in a Tufts hearing holds greater significance. Ferenczy said that the closing is the only part of a hearing during which the advocate is allowed to speak.
Yet, according to Reitman, an advocate's work outside of the courtroom has significant influence on the case. "The advocate plays a larger role in preparation [for the hearing] than the hearing itself," he said. Advocates also aid students involved in mediations, which are more commonly used in Tufts cases than are hearings.
