This semester students can get course credit for serving on the Conduct Council, the group that determines guilt and punishment for breaking campus rules, in an effort to encourage more students to serve on the body.
Offering credit will entice more students to serve on the council, adding crucial student perspective to the body's verdicts, according to Ben Turner, director of the Student Advocacy Center.
"It's better when more students are deciding students' fate," said Turner, who advises students on their rights as they go through the judicial process. "Sometimes students have a better perspective."
The one-credit course requires 20 hours of mediation training, where students learn university justice theory and process, as well as the application of these concepts to AU and beyond.
The council, which includes one staff member, one faculty member and one to three students, is similar to a jury in U.S. criminal court. The body hears the charges brought against the student and the student may offer a defense. The group recommends a verdict of "responsible" or "not responsible," and a punishment, if appropriate.
In the past it was difficult to find students willing to commit time to the four-hour hearings.
"We are hoping that this one credit incentive will help to renew interest in the board and that it will, in turn, increase the number of student representatives to the board," said Katsura Kurita Beltz, director of Judicial Affairs and Mediation Services. She worked with Turner to create the course syllabus this summer.
Student Government President Kyle Taylor pushed for council credit because it would give students extra incentive but "I don't think anyone would do it just for the credit," Taylor said.
Genevieve Frye, a junior in the School of Public Affairs and one of four student council members this fall, said she has served on the body since freshman year, before credit was offered.
"I really joined to become more informed about the policies and procedures in the JAMS office," said Frye, who is also the director of the SG's Kennedy Political Union.
"It looks really good on your resume for law school, and it's an excellent introduction to the process of law," she said. "It's also an indicator of the overall mood of civility on campus."
The credit offered is a win-win situation, Turner said. The only reason it wasn't in place before was that previous SAC directors were unpaid, and thus didn't have office hours during the summer to write up a syllabus and create the course.
Offering credit for service on a council isn't being considered for any other campus councils or boards now, Beltz said, but other student bodies could benefit from such an arrangement.
Mehr Pastakia, a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences, said the plan will be effective in recruiting more members to the council.
"People respond to incentives," she said. "This is a positive way to get people to participate."
Student members are important, Pastakia said, because they are familiar with campus life and "bring a more leveling view to the body"
