Spring Break
Dorm write-ups see major delay
Officials confirm student not informed of punishments
Erik Myers
Issue date: 12/10/07 Section: News
Many students who received write-ups for partying in the residence halls at the beginning of the semester were kept in the dark about their punishment for months, a Collegian investigation found. CSU officials say setbacks from physically moving the office that processes student conduct paperwork is to blame for the delay.
In what was confirmed as a significant backlog within the Conflict Resolution and Student Conduct office, at least 10 to 15 individual cases in the residence halls went unresolved for almost the entire semester.
These freshman students, receiving notification of their punishments well after the incident occurred, were surprised to receive the paperwork just a week before final exams.
For most students, a drinking infraction means nothing more than community service or writing a paper. But in some extreme cases, the university could put the student on academic probation, revoke scholarships or expel the student.
And for some students with legitimate drug and alcohol addictions, a delay in the student conduct process could mean jail time, or worse.
Jessica Wernimont had just arrived at her friend's Westfall room, complete with a beer pong table and the necessary party favors, when an ominous knocking and yelling came from the other side of the door.
Everyone in the room received a write-up for violating the residence hall's alcohol policy. In the following weeks, Wernimont met with her resident assistant, who told her she'd be receiving her disciplinary outcome within the following weeks.
But Wernimont was just notified of her punishment a week ago; she had been written up in the first week of school. It was the only write-up Wernimont received during the semester.
"It really pissed me off," the freshman business major said. "Why does it matter anymore when I haven't gotten written up again? I know what I did was wrong and I broke a rule, but it made me really upset that it took so long."
Wernimont added that her disciplinary outcome, constructing an alcohol awareness billboard for her hall, is due Jan. 30, even though it had taken three months for her to receive her outcome.
In what was confirmed as a significant backlog within the Conflict Resolution and Student Conduct office, at least 10 to 15 individual cases in the residence halls went unresolved for almost the entire semester.
These freshman students, receiving notification of their punishments well after the incident occurred, were surprised to receive the paperwork just a week before final exams.
For most students, a drinking infraction means nothing more than community service or writing a paper. But in some extreme cases, the university could put the student on academic probation, revoke scholarships or expel the student.
And for some students with legitimate drug and alcohol addictions, a delay in the student conduct process could mean jail time, or worse.
Jessica Wernimont had just arrived at her friend's Westfall room, complete with a beer pong table and the necessary party favors, when an ominous knocking and yelling came from the other side of the door.
Everyone in the room received a write-up for violating the residence hall's alcohol policy. In the following weeks, Wernimont met with her resident assistant, who told her she'd be receiving her disciplinary outcome within the following weeks.
But Wernimont was just notified of her punishment a week ago; she had been written up in the first week of school. It was the only write-up Wernimont received during the semester.
"It really pissed me off," the freshman business major said. "Why does it matter anymore when I haven't gotten written up again? I know what I did was wrong and I broke a rule, but it made me really upset that it took so long."
Wernimont added that her disciplinary outcome, constructing an alcohol awareness billboard for her hall, is due Jan. 30, even though it had taken three months for her to receive her outcome.
Be the first to comment on this story