By Chelsea Reil
In an effort to make student rights easier to understand, the Student Government Association (SGA) is in the early phases of creating a website that will comprehensively list student rights, members of SGA said. The site will encompass aspects of student life, including academics, off-campus activities and leasing laws.
Ryan Fox, SGA vice president for student services, said he is in the early stages of planning and research for the site.
It will be called “Know Your Rights,” and will “make rights clearer and boil down what everything means,” Fox said.
Fox is working with the Office of Student Conduct and Conflict Resolution (OSCCR), Northeastern University Division of Police Safety and the Boston Police Department to gather information on laws and regulations that affect students’ lives.
While OSCCR’s website has some information on student rights, including the rights and responsibilities of students during the student conduct process and a frequently asked questions section, Fox said he wants the SGA site to be different.
“We want to do things a little more graphically, a flowchart of OSCCR procedures,” Fox said. “Not everyone can read the code and know exactly what it means. Some people learn differently.”
Valerie Randall-Lee, director of OSCCR, said she was unfamiliar with Fox’s project, but said she realizes the importance of helping students better understand the Code of Conduct.
“We are all in agreement that students need to have a better understanding of university polices and how things work,” she said in an e-mail to The News. “We are looking at many different angles in getting information out. However, in the end it really comes down to a person wanting to know the information and seeking to understand.”
Some students say the website will be an invaluable resource.
“I think [this project] is a good idea,” said Amanda Horton, a middler industrial engineering major. “If I got in trouble, I would have somewhere to go.”
Also in the plans for the website is a list of the most common violations and what to do charged with something. Fox said he feels that this will help cut down on violations.
“A lot of times people don’t know what the rules are, so they don’t know that they’re breaking the law,” he said.
He also said he wants to make sure that students feel comfortable questioning their rights, and the website will include information about that as well.
“Know Your Rights” will be ongoing, and will be updated every year to keep students informed, Fox said. Students will be encouraged to speak to members of SGA if there is anything they do not understand.
Fox is also working with Off-Campus Student Services, as well as Michelle McNeilly, SGA’s vice president for academic affairs, and Erin Pritchard, SGA’s vice president for student affairs.
“I think many students aren’t aware of what their rights or responsibilities are when it comes to issues within the residence halls, off campus apartments and leases or OSCCR, to name a few,” Pritchard said. “Some of these departments have their own sections of what your rights are as a student, but there is no place that combines all of these as a one stop for students who are concerned.
