Members of Student Government are beginning the formal process of creating a Student Bill of Rights, which proponents say will be a major step to ensure fairness and due process for all AU students.
The bill of rights will be "an official list of what rights will remain constant to students, regardless of policy change," said Georgette Spanjich, chair of the Undergraduate Senate Committee on Students Rights.
Student Advocacy Center Director Rick Edwards helped the SG's executive branch draft a version of the bill, which the Undergraduate Senate will now begin to consider. If the senate approves the legislation, students will have the opportunity to vote on it as a referendum during the SG's spring election. Doing so will allow the entire student body to play a direct role in the creation of the bill, according to Spanjich, a sophomore in the School of Public Affairs.
While the university's administration is not required to accept the Student Bill of Rights, it has been open to students' ideas in the past, she said.
"Since the Student Government represents the student body as a whole, the university administration tends to value our opinion highly," Spanjich said.
The bill of rights will be added on to the existing SG constitution, but since it affects several campus offices, there will need to be many meetings to ensure everyone's needs are met, she said.
The bill would address student concerns over the Student Conduct Code, Academic Code and Public Safety. It would also address the Residence Hall Association, the university's alcohol policy and the student adjudication process, Spanjich said.
Pat Hanlon, a sophomore in the School of International Service, said he thought it would be essential for positive growth at AU.
"It is alarming to think about how vulnerable the student body is," he said.
Students in a class taught by School of International Service professor Mubarak Awad drafted a Student Bill of Rights during the spring 2007 semester. That version of the bill grouped student rights into four categories: the right to a safe learning environment, the right to guaranteed services, the right to freedom of information and the right to a quality education, The Eagle previously reported.
Spanjich said she was not aware of Awad's bill of rights but thinks it might be something to look into during the research process.
The senate's bill would address student rights inside and outside of the classroom, she said.
"[The proposed bill would] include the daily rights that students have in the classroom, in the residence halls and on campus, as well as outline some kind of standardized procedure, agreed upon by students and the administration, for when university policies are violated," Spanjich said.
Nick Jerge, a sophomore in the School of Public Affairs who worked with an independent group to create another draft of the Student Bill of Rights, said he would be glad to see a similar measure enacted by the SG and students.
"I think this is a great start in the right direction," he said.
Spanjich said she wanted students to e-mail her their thoughts about the proposed bill at her SG e-mail address, georgette.spanjich@ausg.org.
"We want as much input as possible," she said.
