Resolution 6: EA R6: Reducing Community Violence and Hate through Staff Involvement and Support

TermAY 2017-2018
AssemblyEmployee Assembly
StatusAcknowledged by the President
AbstractIn response to recent cases of violence and discrimination on campus, the EA makes this statement in opposition and calls on the administration to take specific actions to challenge institutional inequity.
Resolution FilePDF icon ea_r6_reducing_community_violence_.pdf
Supporting Documents
TitleEA R6: Reducing Community Violence and Hate through Staff Involvement and Support
Sponsors Jeramy A. Kruser (jak474)
Reviewing CommitteeEmployee Assembly Executive Committee

Resolution History

Date Action View Details
09/20/2017 Introduced to the Assembly view
10/04/2017 Tabled view
10/18/2017 Tabled view
11/01/2017 Other Communication view
11/15/2017 Tabled view
12/13/2017 Tabled view
01/17/2018 Amended view
01/17/2018 Adopted by the Assembly view
01/19/2018 Conveyed to the President view
02/16/2018 Acknowledged by the President view

Associated Meetings

Meeting Date View Details
Cornell University - Employee Assembly Meeting 09/20/2017 12:15pm to 1:30pm view
Cornell University - Employee Assembly Meeting 10/04/2017 12:15pm to 1:00pm view
Cornell University - Employee Assembly Meeting 10/18/2017 12:15pm to 1:30pm view
Cornell University - Employee Assembly Meeting 11/01/2017 12:15pm to 1:30pm view
Cornell University - Employee Assembly Meeting 11/15/2017 12:15pm to 1:00pm view
Cornell University - Employee Assembly Meeting 12/13/2017 12:15pm to 1:00pm view
Cornell University - Employee Assembly Meeting 01/17/2018 12:15pm to 1:30pm view

Comments

** Commenting is closed.

While I will be unable to

Submitted by Matthew Andrew Battaglia on Tue, 2017-10-03 14:13

While I will be unable to attend this meeting due to an academic conflict I agree with what Mr. Kruser's comment raised above in that the current system utilizes a higher standard of evidence to limit the risk of false positives among a number of other reasons (including a sense of fundamental fairness (e.g. innocent until demonstrated otherwise), concern over long-term effects of incorrect findings, an imbalance in the power and resources that the University can bring to bear against an individual, etc.) and that due to this complex interaction of issues, seeking a change in the standard of evidence is likely a more complex and nuanced topic that can be addressed in the three lines of this resolution. I also note for the record that the Judicial Codes Counselor’s (those who represent individuals accused of an infraction) are strongly against lowering the standard of evidence. Moving towards a more restorative and educational system is something the CJC is exceptionally interested in and is something we are actively pursuing alongside the Judicial Administrator's Office as the primary purpose of a University is educational. On this, the Judicial Administrator is currently piloting a course about responsible decision making and the CJC plans to examine incorporating restorative justice elements into the Code (where appropriate) to focus less on punitive outcomes and more on restorative ones. Additionally, it is worth noting that new regulations promulgated by the Department of Education a few weeks ago also appear to muddy the field in terms of using mixed standards of evidence depending on the infraction an individual is accused of which adds an additional layer of complexity to this discussion. I am also more than happy to meet and discuss this (or any other topic) further with any member of the Employee Assembly or Cornell Community. Finally, in terms of the resolution as a whole, I wished to note my agreement and support of the condemnation of violent hate crimes and of those who commit such violent actions.

reply

Jeramy Kruser

Submitted by Jeramy A. Kruser on Thu, 2017-09-28 11:42

Regarding the final resolved clause beginning line #67 "Be it finally resolved, the administration and the University Assembly will consider revisions to the Code of Conduct and Policy 6.4 that reduce the standard of evidence for bias-related/hate crimes to be the same as the standard of evidence for sex/gender discrimination." I have had a convincing argument made against reducing the standard of evidence in a punitive system. It is essentially 'If we are going to seek retribution against the accused, we want to be very sure that they are guilty.' This is one of the many reasons I support a move towards a more educational, restorative system, which would result in 'We are pretty sure the accused is guilty, so we are going to help them learn to avoid making the mistake again.' Perhaps there is a means of utilizing the degree of evidence to inform the sanction, but that may be outside the scope of this resolution. What do you think?

reply