Code of Conduct
Article I: Student Rights, Responsibilities, and Conduct at Luther College
1.1 Luther College is a community of scholars whose members include its faculty, students, and administrators. The purposes of the college are the enlargement, dissemination, and application of knowledge. The basic necessity for the achievement of these purposes is freedom of expression and communication. Without this freedom, effective sifting and testing of ideas cease and teaching and learning are stifled. Knowledge is as broad and diverse as life itself, and the need for freedom is equally broad. Yet absolute freedom in all aspects of life means anarchy, just as absolute order means tyranny. Both anarchy and tyranny are antithetical to the purposes and necessities of the college. Therefore, the college always must strive to strike that balance between maximum freedom and necessary order which best promotes its basic purposes by providing the environment most conducive to the many-faceted activities of teaching and learning.
1.2 Each right of an individual places a reciprocal duty upon others: the duty to permit the individual to exercise the right. The student, as a member of the academic community, has both rights and duties. Within that community, the student’s most essential right is the right to learn. (The college has a duty to provide for the student those privileges, opportunities, and protections which best promote learning. The student has duties to other members of the academic community, the most important of which is to refrain from interference with those rights of others which are equally essential to the purposes and processes of the College.)
1.3 The college cherishes many values, modes of thought, and standards of behavior that are better taught by example, persuasion, social pressure, and reward than by threat of penalties. Regulations governing the activities and conduct of organizations and individuals should not be comprehensive codes of desirable conduct; rather, they should be limited to the prescription of procedures for meeting the practical, routine necessities of a complex community and to the prohibition or limitation of acts which cannot be tolerated because they seriously interfere with the basic purposes, necessities, and processes of the academic community, or with rights essential to other members of that community.
1.4 Students are not only members of the academic community; they are also citizens of the larger society. As citizens, they retain those rights, protections, and guarantees of fair treatment which are held by all citizens, and the college may not deny them to anyone. The enforcement of the student’s duties to the larger society is, however, the responsibility of the legal and judicial authorities duly established for that purpose.
1.5 To protect student rights and to facilitate the definition of student responsibilities at Luther College, the following guidelines are established:
1.5.1 All regulations shall seek the best possible reconciliation of the principles of maximum freedom and necessary order.
1.5.2 There shall be no regulation unless there is a demonstrable need for it which is reasonably related to the basic purposes and necessities of the college as stipulated herein.
1.5.3 Students shall participate in formulating and revising regulations governing student conduct.
1.5.4 All regulations governing student conduct shall be made public in an appropriate manner.
1.5.5 Every regulation shall be as brief, clear, and specific as possible.
1.5.6 Procedures and penalties for the violation of regulations shall be designed for guidance or correction of behavior rather than for retribution.
1.5.7 Penalties shall be commensurate with the seriousness of the offense. Repeated violations may justify increasingly severe penalties.
1.5.8 There shall be clearly defined channels and procedures for the appeal of:
a. The finding of responsibility in an alleged violation of a regulation.
b. The reasonableness, under the circumstances, of the penalty imposed for a specific violation.
c. The substance of a regulation or administrative decision which is alleged to be inconsistent with the guidelines in this document.
d. The fairness of the procedures followed in the original adjudication.
1.5.9 Every regulation shall specify to whom it applies and whether responsibility for compliance lies with individuals, with organizations, or with both.
Article VI: All-College Regulations Governing Student Conduct
Introduction
Violation of the regulations listed in this code by an individual student or by an approved student organization, either on campus or at any off-campus college-initiated functions, is subject to disciplinary action according to the judicial procedures described in Article VII as well as civil law enforcement in the event that violations of these regulations are also a violation of civil law. Although the off-campus activity of individual students is subject to civil and/or criminal action and redress, and the college usually would not exercise jurisdiction, some off-campus actions may so disrupt or interfere with the life of a student or students on campus that the college reserves the right to initiate disciplinary action. Luther College has the authority to adjudicate complaints of interpersonal violence, whether the incident occurred on or off campus. Students may be held accountable under this policy as long as they are enrolled at Luther College. Former students, who were enrolled at the time of the incident, may be held accountable for a period of two years after the alleged incident. The College may also take administrative action on complaints related to non-enrolled persons such as prospective students. Persons (victims or others) who wish to make a complaint against a student for violating any of the following regulations should contact the campus judicial officer in the Student Life Office for further information. If an informal (unwritten) complaint is made, an investigation of the situation will be made, and discussion about possible actions will occur. If the judicial process outlined in Article VII is to be utilized, a written report must be made by the complainant.
6.1 Violent, Abusive, or Obscene Acts.
Separate policy statements regarding discriminatory or harassing conduct, which are excerpted from the Faculty Handbook, and are considered to be part of the student conduct code, may be found in that section of this handbook.
6.1.1 Violent, abusive, obscene, or excessively noisy acts, including physical abuse, threat of physical abuse, harassment, or provocations of any person are prohibited.
6.1.2 Sexual Abuse is prohibited. Sexual abuse is defined as unwanted sexual activity including, but not limited to rape. Sexual abuse occurs whenever either party has not consented to engage in intimate sexual behavior. Consent is defined as positive verbal affirmation—each party has to receive a verbal “yes.” Sexual abuse also includes taking sexual advantage of any person incapacitated by drugs or alcohol.
Please also see the Sexual Assault and Abuse section in this handbook.
6.2.1 Hazing is prohibited. Invasions of private rights which cause bodily harm, physical exhaustion, suffering, or personal offense, or which interfere with regular academic work, constitute hazing. Any person who participates in hazing another or any organization which knowingly permits hazing to be conducted by its members shall be in violation of this regulation.
6.3 Obstruction of Activities and/or Causing a Disturbance
6.3.1 Obstruction of teaching, research, college disciplinary procedures or any college activities and/or causing a disturbance of any kind is prohibited.
6.3.2 Failure to comply with the request of a college employee as they attempt to carry out their responsibilities.
6.3.3 Failure to comply with official college disciplinary sanctions.
6.4 False Testimony
6.4.1 Intentional use of false testimony, oral or written, before any judicial body or official is prohibited.
6.5 Falsification of Official Papers
6.5.1 False use of or misleading statements on admission, registration, permission, identification, or other official papers involving the college is prohibited.
6.6 Theft
6.6.1 Theft, to include shoplifting and/or unauthorized removal of college-owned property from its designated areas, is prohibited.
6.7 Damage or Vandalism
6.7.1 Damage or vandalism to college or personal property is prohibited.
6.8 Unauthorized Entry, Use of College Facilities or Property
6.8.1 Unauthorized entry, use of college facilities or property is prohibited.
6.9 Use of College-Owned Equipment or Facilities for Unlawful Purposes
6.9.1 Use of college-owned equipment or facilities to produce, for unlawful purposes, such documents as identification cards, driver’s licenses, or draft cards is prohibited.
6.10 Fire Alarm and Fire-fighting Equipment
6.10.1 Tampering with or misuse of fire alarm or fire-fighting equipment is prohibited.
6. 11 The purchase, possession, use, sale, or distribution of illegal drugs is prohibited. Please refer to the section on Alcohol and Other Drugs, as well as the section on State, Federal and Related Regulations, and Compliance Statements in this handbook.
6.12 Possession or Use of Alcoholic Beverages (Initially adopted by Board of Regents May 24, 1975 with additional revisions). Please refer to the section on Alcohol and Other Drugs, as well as the section on State, Federal and Related Regulations, and Compliance Statements in this handbook.
6.13 Alcohol and Other Drugs Policy for Students Traveling Off Campus. Please refer to the section on Alcohol and Other Drugs, as well as the section on State, Federal and Related Regulations, and Compliance Statements in this handbook.
6.14 Firearms and Other Weapons
6.14.1 Ammunition and weapons such as firearms, swords, switchblades, bows and arrows, slingshots, and bayonets shall in no case be kept in student rooms or on campus. Hunting knives with blades over six inches in length are weapons.
6.14.2 Any student living in college-owned housing who wishes to have a weapon for hunting purposes must store their weapons and ammunition with the Decorah Police Department (phone 382-3667).
6.14.3 The discharge or use of any weapon, anywhere on campus, including firearms, swords, bows and arrows, slingshots, knives, and bayonets is prohibited except as authorized by the department of physical education. The threatening use of any kind of weapon is prohibited.
6.15 Fireworks, Explosives, Incendiaries or Chemicals
6.15.1 The possession or use of fireworks, explosives, incendiaries or dangerous chemicals is prohibited.
6.16 Changes in College Regulations. Any member of the college community can suggest to the Community Assembly changes in regulations governing student conduct. Changes in regulations will become effective with the annual publication of the Student Handbook, or as noted by public notification to campus.