Your Rights and Responsibilities as a College Student

Your life has no doubt changed significantly since you became a college student.  Now that you're a young adult, you have more autonomy and the freedom to make important choices.  You're developing mature, adult relationships.  Professors are asking for your views on various topics.  You have more school work than you ever expected, reading assignments that are enormous, and projects that seem monumental.  You're trying to balance all of this with everything else you have to do in your life off-campus.  And sometimes you feel irritated and overwhelmed; maybe to the point where you react and/or behave in ways that you might not under different circumstances.

 

It takes time to make a change, and the transition to the culture of a college campus is no different.  Our job is to educate you so that you may reach your personal and career goals, and encourage you to be a person who will make a positive impact on our campus and the world.  That said, the College also has many expectations of you; how we behave and treat each other is one of them. 


I am amazed and appalled when students and other campus personnel tell me story after story about how someone screamed at a teacher or got in a student's face, a student who disrupted a classroom with swearing and a hissy fit, college property that was damaged willfully, others' belongings being stolen, and people getting stupid loud and inappropriately hanging all over each other in the Student Lounge.  This is not high-school, people.  It is expected that everyone will behave like responsible adults.  Behaviors like those listed above are absolutely inappropriate and unacceptable on our campus.  Period.

To help you understand, I've listed the rights and responsibilities that clearly explain appropriate conduct that  everyone is expected to follow while on campus:  


Your Rights Concerning Other Students and College Personnel:

• The right to a clean, peaceful and non-threatening environment in which to learn.
• The right to ask for help and support when it is needed, without worry of retribution.
• The right to be present on campus without worry of being stalked or harassed.
• The right to clear and informative answers to questions that concern you.
• The right to be present on campus without worry of criticism and judgment of your personal opinions.
• The right to be present on campus without worry of emotional, psychological and/or physical threat and/or violence.
• The right to be respectfully asked, rather than "ordered."
• The right to be present on campus without worry of others' angry outbursts and rage.
• The right to make a complaint if any of your rights have been violated, with the expectation that a solution will be found quickly.
• The right to have your rights protected.

Your Responsibilities Concerning Other Students and College Personnel

• You are responsible for helping to keep the campus clean, and behaving and speaking in a peaceful and non-threatening manner to create an environment conducive to learning.
• You are responsible for treating college property with the utmost respect and will not cause intentional damage.
• When asking for help and support, you will do so calmly, respectfully, using good manners.
• You are responsible for behaving in ways that do not violate the rights of others in ways that they feel stalked or harassed.  You are also responsible for reporting stalking or harassing behaviors directed to you, another student, or college employee.
• When seeking clear and informative answers, ask a college employee to direct you to the appropriate source.  If you still don’t understand, say so in a calm and mature manner.
• You are responsible for reporting any inappropriate criticism and judgment.  You will refrain from criticism and judgment of other students' or college employees’ personal opinions as well.
• You are responsible for behaving in ways that do not threaten or harm any member of the campus community.
• You are responsible for asking questions in respectful ways, and without a tone of "ordering."
• You are responsible for behaving in ways that do not include angry outbursts and rage.
• You are responsible for respecting and protecting the rights of every college community member.

Behaving appropriately will serve you well as you prepare for your new career, and fortunately, we give you many opportunities to learn and develop them while on campus.  But what happens if one chooses not to abide by these rights and responsibilities?  When violated, SCCC takes a zero-tolerance stand.  Action will be taken.  And the consequences can sometimes be very serious.

The SCCC Student Code of Conduct (CoC) was created to clearly explain the unacceptable behaviors that can occur on campus (or at an off-site campus-sponsored activity), and the consequences that are handed to students who choose to misbehave, which range from taking no action to expulsion for an indefinite amount of time from the college.  A student who engages in illegal activities will be arrested.  I recommend that if you haven't already done so, check out the CoC and get informed.

We understand the changes that are expected as one grows into adulthood can be crazy hard.  There is much to learn and it takes time.  Nevertheless, we are committed to protect the rights and responsibilities of everyone on our campus...including yours.  We expect that you will do the same.


 

Source:  http://www.sunysccc.edu/student/conduct.htm

 [All images courtesy of Google Images, unless otherwise noted.]

(c)2012 Robyn M. Posson