The Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate passed a new resolution Mar. 27 to request the centralization of information on University policies. The resolution passed 27-0 with one abstention.
The proposed document would organize the rights and responsibilities of a Tufts student in a clear and organized manner, in hopes of reducing confusion over common infractions committed by Tufts students.
The proposed resolution aims to consolidate and simplify information currently available but difficult to access.
"[We want to] publicize what is already out there and advertise it better for students," said TCU President Jeff Katzin, a senior.
With this measure, Katzin and co. aim to clarify issues involving academic integrity, residential privacy, and alcohol and drug policies - for example, the conditions under which Resident Assistants (RAs) are allowed to enter closed dorm rooms.
The proposed document will state students' rights - as well as various penalties and restrictions - in clear and concise terms.
To that end, heads of departments including Residential Life, Public Safety, Judicial Affairs and Student Services are being consulted.
The resolution is a project of the Culture Ethnicity and Community Affairs Committee (CECA) of the Senate.
CECA is currently working on the research phase of the resolution and meeting with various departments to gain a comprehensive idea of the infractions the bill of rights would address.
Though this information is currently available to students, it is hard to access: It is scattered throughout the Pachyderm (Tufts' student handbook) and in various pamphlets distributed during freshman orientation.
"You can find the information if you look hard enough," said junior Robert Kim, chair of the CECA committee. But "it should not be difficult for students to find out about their own rights," he added.
The current plan is to create an easy-to-access document for students. Though an online version of the Pachyderm already exists, Kim said that it is a PDF format copy of the paper version and "doesn't help to clear up any confusion the students may have."
Tufts students appear to support their Senate's resolution.
"I once needed to research Tufts' policies for missing a test and found that the information was very difficult to find," freshman Sarah Schreiber said. "Even when I eventually found the answer in the Pachyderm, I found that it wasn't very clear."
The resolution should not be viewed as a "weapon against the administration" in any way, Kim said, adding that many students may simply be causing trouble because they aren't adequately aware of the University's regulations and rules.
"We truly want this to be a joint effort between all relevant parties, not one office, department, or person. It is important to have all administration members on board," Kim said.
Essentially, the "main emphasis is for the 'bill of rights' to be student-friendly," he said, adding that "there needs to be a centralized location which explains a student's rights and responsibilities, as well as the rules of the University."
The Senate hopes to begin the consolidation process over the summer and estimates that the project will be completed sometime over the course of the following school year.
Administrators did not return requests for comment by press time.
