University reforming student advocate system

After forceful criticism from former Tufts Community Union Judiciary (TCUJ) Chair Michael Ferenczy last year, the TCUJ and Dean of Students Office are collaborating to reform the student judicial advocacy process through a new initiative.

A new advocate system, which has been in the works since last year, is beginning to fall into place and advocates will be available for contact sometime after Thanksgiving break.

Through the proposed new advocacy system, students would be provided with a list of advocates comprised of students, staff, and faculty familiar with the process. Effectively, the advocates would "allow students to better navigate the disciplinary system" in what may be a time of crisis for them, said TCUJ Vice President Kenny Bain.

But Dean of Students Bruce Reitman disagreed with the assessment. While the system's "marketing and packaging" may now appear different, the system itself is quite similar, he argued.

With over 100 complaints filed each year, the current system is "an effort to help students through the very confusing and hectic process," Bain said.

When students wanted to file or receive a complaint in the past, they first met with Dean of Judicial Affairs Veronica Carter to discuss their options _ to either do nothing, to attempt mediation, or to go through the complex student judicial process outlined in the Green Book, a description of the University's student judicial process.

According to Abby Moffat, head of the advocacy system initiative and a member of the TCUJ, this first meeting is often quite overwhelming for students. "[Students] don't know Veronica [Carter] or the process," she said. "They get really intimidated, don't speak up for themselves, don't know that they can, and don't know the Green Book."

These limitations can cause serious problems for students. "Kids who get in trouble are often completely incapable of holding a conversation with Veronica [Carter] _ a conversation that could have life-changing consequences," Moffat said.

Moffat said that this "dialogue between students going through the disciplinary process and those who understand the process is vital" to ensure justice.

A comprehensive list of advocates will soon be available to all students online The directory will replace the more impersonal list that most students avoided, instead preferring to rely on friends for support.

The revised list will also include biographies of each advocate, their year, their interests, and any other pertinent information that may be helpful to students in picking a person to represent them that they would feel comfortable with.

The advocates will have an earlier involvement in the judicial process under the new initiative. Although a list of advocates was available to students in the past, "many felt it was nonexistent" because it was not always offered to them in their first meeting with Carter, Moffat said. The list was provided to students only after they took the initiative to file a complaint, she said.

Several members of the TCUJ have voiced concern that this practice has resulted in a bias to settle disputes in mediation so as to diffuse the situation and avoid negative public relations for the University.

In an article for The Primary Source last spring, Ferenczy, the former chair of the TCUJ, alleged that there existed a conflict of interest in the Dean of Students Office where the administration acted as advisor to both plaintiff and defendant.

No system is perfect, Reitman said, but he said the office does not take sides. "We can't approach cases with anything but neutrality. Veronica [Carter] is not a prosecutor for the University or for any individual," Reitman said. "She presents complaints without any presumption of guilt, without any pretense of defense."

Because, according to Ferenczy, mediation keeps crime statistics down and keeps Tufts from getting sued, "the Dean of Students office usually pushes for mediation, regardless of whether it serves the interests of anyone involved."

The administration, however, stands by its methods for mediating disputes. "A student may prefer mediation because there is an agreed-upon outcome," Carter said. "Mediation is always an option to settle a dispute as long as both parties wish to forego their right to a disciplinary hearing."

If they wish, the parties may resolve a complaint by negotiating a resolution without any admission of wrongdoing.

Ferenczy supported changes to the timing when students will have access to student advocates in the disciplinary process. He called the proposed new advocacy system "the most important and provocative action the TCUJ has taken in my tenure" during his State of the TCUJ speech last year.

Under the new system, mediation does not have to be the preferred method of resolution. Students will be provided with the option of an advocate as soon as they walk in the door to discuss filing a complaint.

Through additional training and testing, and certifying a group of advocates, the system should overcome the former inherent flaw, Ferenczy said.

Reitman, however, disagreed. "While Mike [Ferenczy] was criticizing Veronica [Carter] for being involved in the advocacy system, he was proposing that he and the [Judiciary] do the same exact thing," Reitman said. "There should be total separation between the two systems."

The current consensus is that advocates will be 'familiarized' with the standards of evidence and detailed procedures in the Green Book, but will not be certified as having any special ability to advocate because of liability reasons.

While the Dean of Students Office will remain involved in the process of discussing student complaints, they have agreed never to "put pressure on any student to make a certain decision about which option they should choose," Carter said.