Running head: PRIVATE SCHOOL STUDENT !

Private School Student Gets DUI

Shelly Neuhart

Arkansas Tech University 


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Private School Student Gets DUI

Investigation Prior to Decision Making

What Would Other Private, Liberal Arts Schools Do?

Public universities have to follow a rigid set of guidelines and uphold the Constitution in

ways private institutions do not have to throughout the student conduct process. “Thus, insofar as

the federal Constitution is concerned, a private university can engage in private acts of

discrimination, prohibit student protests, or expel a student without affording the procedural

safeguards that a public university is constitutionally required to provide” (Kaplin & Lee, pp. 25,

2009). Every code of conduct looks different from institution to institution, even if they are

similar. Private schools can, and several do, have a clause in their student handbooks which

allows an administration to act on a code of conduct violation whether or not they happen on

campus. Pomona College added an article to their student handbook that outlines the judicial

authority of their administration. “When an activity occurs off-campus, it is the responsibility of

the Vice President and Dean of Students to determine whether College jurisdiction will be

asserted” (Article II: Judicial Authority and Organization, n.d.). Williams College provides a

similar outline of how violations that occur off-campus can be dealt with through the university’s

administration. “The College does not give students protection from the consequences of

violations of federal, state, and local laws, and public authorities may act independently to

investigate and prosecute any such violations. When students are charged with legal violations

committed on or off–campus, the Dean of the College may also initiate disciplinary proceedings”

(Code of Conduct, n.d.). Most of the responsibility appears to fall on a Dean of Students or Vice

President of Student Affairs, depending on the organizational structure of the institution.

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What Would A Professional in Educational Law Say?

“For bad behavior not involving free expression protected by our federal courts'

interpretation of the First Amendment, determining whether discipline for an off-campus incident

conforms to state ‘nexus’ restrictions will continue to entail a subjective case-by-case

analysis” (Rubin, 2014). Although Rubin is not specifically referring to private, liberal arts

schools, his background in educational law provides a framework for how institutions of higher

education have viewed disciplinary actions for students who violate laws or codes of conduct

while away from campus. Students, in some cases, have the ability to appeal what the dean or

vice president has determined to be the best course of action, but the ultimate decision will

remain with the administration and with not the student or the student body.

Is There a Case to Build Into the Investigation?

One specific case stands out, which is Harwood v. Johns Hopkins from 2000. Although it

does not pertain to drug or alcohol violations, the ruling over contract law at a private institution

would come into play for this case. Harwood, a student at Johns Hopkins, was convicted of

murdering a fellow student. After he went to jail, he sued the university in hopes of obtaining his

official degree. Johns Hopkins had decided to put his degree on hold until the criminal case was

closed and ultimately decided to not award him his degree. “The court ruled that, because the

murder violated the university’s code of conduct, the university had the contractual right to

withhold the diploma” (Kaplin & Lee, pp. 249-250, 2009).

Plan of Action

The first step in this plan is to gather the information necessary regarding this student and

their DUI. There are multiple factors that need to be considered before moving forward with any
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actions, sanctions, or public acknowledgment of the situation. Is this student under the age of 21?

What specific codes were violated by this student in this particular incident? Does this student

have past violations through student conduct? Is this student still in jail and did they break any

other laws? Does this student have a history of drug or alcohol abuse? Did this student have to

leave campus to drink because it is a strict, dry campus?

The President Recommendation

The president might want this student to be kicked out, but the president probably does

not have the full picture of who the student is when they are making this snap assumption that

the student should be asked to leave the university. If this student has never had a violation

before this incident, is a highly engaged student with fantastic grades, did not break any other

laws, and does not have a history of alcohol abuse, does it make sense to have them leave the

university altogether? Kaplin and Lee provide stellar insight when discussing private schools and

how they handle these scenarios in the beginning, when crafting their codes of conduct. “Private

institutions not subject to the state action doctrine…Yet the principles reflect basic notions of

fairness, which can be critical components of good administrative practice; thus, administrators

of private institutions may with to use them as policy guides in formulating their codes” (Kaplin

& Lee, pp.446, 2009). Therefore the recommendation to the president would be to fairly assess

the situation through a just, student conduct investigation. Also, I would refresh the president on

what the current alcohol and drug policy looks like for the institution, which probably does not

include expulsion for first-time offenders. If this student was a repeat offender, then there could

be a case made for removing this student from the university.

The Student Body Recommendation

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The student body does not have a final say in whether this student will stay or go. There

is a code of conduct for a reason; the procedures and sanctions would be determined based on the

contract (student handbook) the student signed when they started at the university. However, if

they are vocal about the situation, it could impact the aftermath of whatever sanctions are

deemed appropriate by the administration. FERPA and school regulations do not allow us to

share information with the students that would sway our decision one way or another unless they

were asked to sit in on a conduct hearing. However, students who are familiar with people and/or

their case are almost always asked to present that information and be excused from the

proceedings. As an unconventional, learning opportunity, these students would be asked to

review the code of conduct and tell the university why this student should not be asked to leave

based on the public knowledge surrounding the situation. This could be another way for the

students to learn more about the codes included in their handbook as well as provide feedback

from a student’s perspective. Again, this could be a useful tool to enhance or clarify the current

code of conduct while educating the students who want to be involved in the decision. At the end

of the day, the students who show concern cannot make the final decision about this student.

Nevertheless, they can make an impact on similar situations in the future or learn why the

student was asked to leave on their own by reviewing the code of conduct. Another practical

intervention would be to develop additional programming (preferably mandatory) that educates

students on drugs and alcohol-related issues, recourses like Lyft or Uber, and the consequences

that can change their life forever if they decide to drink and drive.

The Media Recommendation 


As a private institution, there is more flexibility when withholding information from the
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media. The only accurate information they would have access to at this point would be whatever

is made public by local law enforcement. Media attention surrounding this student’s DUI can be

damaging because it can be a direct reflection of the administration and the campus culture.

Although the media does not need to know the full picture of what is happening, ideally they

should know the university is assessing the best possible outcomes for the student, the student

body, and the campus in general anytime something like this happens. Until a final decision is

made, the media would be notified that there would be no other comments at this time. Any

statement to the media would be directly run through the university’s legal team.

If I Had to Make the Final Decision

Based on the previous history of this student, the review of the code of conduct, and the

investigation (including benchmarking and administrative input), this student would be removed

from the Student Government Association for the remainder of the year and would have

sanctions that were standard for any drug or alcohol-related offense, if this was their first

violation. If this was there 2nd or 3rd violation of drug or alcohol-related policies, the student

would be permanently removed from the Student Government Association, would have sanctions

standard for any drug or alcohol-related offense, and would be asked to join AA or something

comparable in the area with proof that they are attending regularly. Anything beyond that could

result in expulsion. 

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References

Article II: Judicial Authority and Organization. (n.d) Pomona College: 2017-2018 student

handbook. Retrieved from http://catalog.pomona.edu/content.php?

catoid=26&navoid=5282

Code of Conduct. (n.d.) Willams College- Dean of Students- Student Handbook. Retrieved from

https://dean.williams.edu/student-handbook/code-of-conduct/

Kaplin, W.A.. & Lee, B.A. (2009). A legal guide for student affairs professionals (2nd ed.). San

Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.

Pomona College Student Code. (n.d) Pomona College: 2017-2018 student handbook. Retrieved

from http://catalog.pomona.edu/content.php?catoid=26&navoid=5282

Rubin, D. B. (2014). Disciplining Students for Off-Campus Conduct. School Administrator,

71(1), 9.