By Matt Bachtell
In an effort to create more transparency in the Judicial Council (JudCo), Student Affairs released a report with the Fall 2009 statistics for student conduct. The statistics provide the number of hospitalization incidents, as well as the number of reported thefts and burglaries that occurred on campus, previously only accessible by participants of JudCo.
The report was prefaced by the Student Conduct Mission Statement, which emphasized respect for the College’s community and its core values of “integrity, honesty, and personal responsibility.” Attached to the statistics were a number of cases of student misconduct considered particularly irresponsible, with lists of the charges, the penalties recommended by the College Hearing Board and the outcomes overlooked by Houston Dougharty, Vice-President for Student Affairs. The offending students’ identities were withheld to preserve their confidentiality.
“That’s the spirit in which these statistics have been provided, not to punish anyone, but merely to say, ‘here are some issues we’re dealing with as a community, here’s how we’ve responded’,” said Dean of Students Travis Greene.
There were fewer reported alcohol-related incidents overall, compared to 14 in the fall semester of 2008. However, there were more bicycle larcenies this semester than previous ones, as well as a sharp increase in burglaries—most of which were reported during and shortly after 10/10 occurred.
“Those numbers will fluctuate every year,” said Director of Security, Steve Briscoe.
This is the second time Student Affairs has released these statistics, making it difficult to determine any trends in the data. The statistics will continue to be posted every February and October, and can be found at www.grinnell.edu/offices/studentaffairs/conduct
