The day a student moves onto campus, they trade in the rules of Mom and Dad for the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and a time-out in their childhood bedroom for time in the Nashua Street Jail. Unfortunately, the latter is significantly less cozy.
The policies that regulate student life focus on a triad of three common vices: alcohol, illicit drugs and sexual activity. While not thrilled with these policies, some students, such as junior Sam Vaughan, can see the administration's reasoning. "Administrators are legitimately concerned about student safety. They want to make sure that nobody has a bad college experience," Vaughan said.
There are, however, ways to ensure that even if one does have a moment of weakness — or two or three — they will not necessarily end up in the hot seat. The best way to survive the system is to know the system, Eddie Mishan (LA '10), former member of Tufts Judicial Advocates, explained.
"No student is going to listen to all of the rules all of the time, but in order to stay out of trouble, you need to acquaint yourselves with what exactly the rules are," Mishan said. "That way, you can know exactly what punishment is in store for you, when and what officials can punish you for and, most importantly, when your rights are being violated."
First off, some terminology. After a Jumbo is convicted of rule-breaking, he or she will most likely be punished with a "disciplinary probation." There are two tiers of disciplinary probation — less severe rule-breaking usually results in the relatively lax level-one disciplinary probation (pro-one), which neither affects one's standing at the university nor appears on one's official record. Offenses such as disrupting the peace, noncompliance with a resident assistant's commands and obscene behavior will result in being put on pro-one.
More serious violations are punished with "level-two disciplinary probation" (pro-two), which, analogous to a misdemeanor, stains one's record for four years. A Jumbo on pro-two is prohibited from taking advantage of the many privileges that define a Tufts experience, including joining a fraternity or sorority, spending a semester in Talloires and attending Fall Ball.
Serial offenses can result in suspension, which requires that a student leave the university within two days and leaves a permanent record.
Finally, expulsion is reserved for the most egregious of violations and is, essentially, a permanent suspension from the university. Offenses such as attempted rape, assault, hazing and possession of weapons all result in expulsion.
After a disturbing number of alcohol-related incidents over the past few years, Dean of Student Affairs Bruce Reitman convened an Alcohol Task Force, which reviewed alcohol-related policies and revised them. The new policies divide violations into two categories: Level A and Level B infractions. Level A infractions involve drinking in public, and possession and consumption of alcohol by underage students, while Level B infractions deal mainly with intoxication that leads to disorderly conduct. Regardless of the designation, all students found guilty of an alcohol-related infraction are placed on pro-one.
Those placed on pro-one do, however, have the opportunity to replace their probation with a warning if they meet with the director of alcohol and health education within two weeks of their mandatory appointment with the Judicial Affairs Office.
Jumbos who intend to convert their dorm rooms into breweries should also take note that campus property is subject to random "search and seizure" by university officials, according to Tufts University Senior Counsel Dickens Mathieu.
"In general, the constitutional protections of the Fourth Amendment applies only when a citizen is subject to state action. Tufts, as a private institution, does not ordinarily act as the state and therefore is not ordinarily subject to the strictures of the 4th Amendment," Mathieu said.
The policies for possession of illegal drugs are similar to those for possession of alcohol, though a confession and a few Hail Marys to the director of alcohol and health education will do nothing to free students of their pro-one standing. Trafficking of illegal drugs is taken much more seriously than possession and always results in expulsion.
Breaking one Tufts regulation does not incur such hard and fast punishments, however.
Last year, Tufts' new policy on "sexiling" made national headlines as major news stations across the country marveled at the university's ruling that no student shall engage in sexual activity in his or her room while a roommate is present. While they stated that no one in the previous year was found guilty of violating the new sex policies, the Office of Residential Life of Learning did not specify the consequences for "sexiling."
