Standing Up For Your Rights
The Social Justice Coalition Drafts First Student Bill of Rights.
Whittier College’s Associate Dean of Students, Joshua Hartman keeps his spacious office pretty neat and orderly. “I have the right to a clean work space,” Hartman says. “But at the same time, I have the responsibility to keep my area clean by keeping things organized and throwing out trash.”
Rights and responsibilities are two things that Hartman is focused on as he works with the Social Justice Coalition of the Associated Students of Whittier College Senate to draft a Student Bill of Rights. As he discusses the proposal early on a Monday morning late in the fall semester, the sun beams through a window onto Hartman’s desk as if it’s trying to spotlight the copy of the Student Code of Conduct resting there. The code of conduct will be a jumping off-point for the project Hartman has been collaborating on with members of ASWC’s Social Justice Coalition, including its chair, Sophomore Eryn Wells. If it passes, it will mark the first time in its history that Whittier College has adopted a Student Bill of Rights.
Wells and other student representatives believe the proposed document will articulate the rights of students more clearly than the current Student Code of Conduct. “The main thing I want to address is to have a document that clearly outlines the rights of students, which are assumed or given by the school,” said Wells. “I feel like it’s important to have a document that is easily understandable for every student to read in the event that they get in trouble or are not clear about a policy. The whole point of it is to be sure that everybody is on the same page about what their rights are as a student at Whittier College.”
“The whole point of it is to be sure that everybody is on the same page about what their rights are as a student at Whittier College.”
Some of the rights to be featured in this bill include: the right to a safe and healthy learning environment, the right to assemble peacefully and the right to protection against arbitrary intrusions into students’ privacy. The Student Bill of Rights will aim to protect students’ civil rights while also addressing concerns consistently brought up to both ASWC and administration by students over the past several years.
ASWC President Amer Rashid called the bill, “a legally binding document that students can refer to when they feel their rights are being jeopardized.”
For Whittier College students, the Code of Conduct is the primary document outlining the campus policies students must adhere to. “The Code of Conduct states at the start what the expectations are for all members of the community, and then it goes into what’s prohibited,” said Hartman. “It really is intended to be a procedural document for students: this is what you’re supposed to do and this is what you’re not supposed to do. In the future, I would love for student rights outlined in the Bill of Rights to be listed at the very top of the Code of Conduct.”
It may well be, but there’s still work to be done on the proposal itself. As the 2016 fall semester ended, the Student Bill of Rights was still being drafted, having grown from one to 16 pages and counting. “We initially thought that this bill would only take two-to-three weeks to create and enact,” said Wells. “Being that we do want to make sure that all the rights are clear and concise, and what students want, we do feel like it’s going to take a lot longer than initially planned. However, that is because we are collaborating with administration to get clear responses about each right.”
“This bill needs to be as powerful and serious as possible”
Wells said that while collaborating with administration may slow down the process, doing so is critical to the bill’s success. “If we don’t collaborate with administration in making this bill, it wouldn’t have as much weight,” she said. “We want to be transparent in everything and [make sure] that we are all on the same page. This bill needs to be as powerful and serious as possible. We don’t want to rush it.” Wells says that the Social Justice Coalition will be taking Jan term to talk with faculty about the bill, and hope to have proposed final draft ready by the start of spring semester, 2017.
Dean Hartman has been the administration’s point person, and cheerleader, for the bill. Hartman believes a Student Bill of Rights could alleviate some concerns about student safety at the college. “I’ve heard a lot from students this year, and I think it’s because of stuff that’s happened on campus, that students don’t feel safe on campus,” said Hartman. “To me, the most important thing is that students are feeling safe, healthy, and supported on campus in every way imaginable, and I think a Bill of Rights will help them (students) feel supported.”
“To me, the most important thing is that students are feeling safe, healthy, and supported on campus in every way imaginable, and I think a Bill of Rights will help them feel supported.”
This wouldn’t be the first time that a Student Bill of Rights has been attempted a Whittier College. Rashid said that he had been in contact with previous ASWC presidents who had attempted to get versions of this bill passed. Rashid said they cited “institutional barriers” and a lack of esteem for student-body government on the part of both students and the school’s administration.
Once the final draft is ready to be presented, the Senate plans to hold a “Bill of Rights Convention.” ASWC is targeting the beginning of Spring semester for the convention, during which the final draft will be presented to the community. Students, staff, faculty, and administration will be invited to attend and offer feedback on the final draft of the bill.
Wells, though, urges students and other stakeholders not to wait until then to offer their input. “We are still in a draft phase,” said Wells. “So we really want students to just send us any type of feedback or suggestions for rights they believe should be included in the bill.”
Students, faculty and administrators are encouraged to contact the Social Justice Coalition at sjc@poets.whittier.edu for any suggestions regarding the Student Bill of Rights.
