Student Rights & Responsibilities 10|Page www.kutztown.edu/thekey 4. Due Process Educational institutions through the regulation of the use of their facilities and the setting of standards of conduct and scholarship of students have an inherent responsibility in carrying out the educational purposes of their charter. The principles of civility, example, and due process will be followed. Proper safeguards will be provided to protect individual or group rights of students from the imposition of unjust penalties. Any student or student organization charged with violating a university regulation shall have the right to be heard by the appropriate hearing authority. All such bodies shall follow the basic procedures of due process. A. Rights 1. University students have the same constitutional freedom of speech, peaceful assembly, and right of petition as other citizens enjoy and are subject to the same civil laws and due process as other citizens. 2. Illegal activity by students, whether on or off-campus, subjects the individual to prosecution by civil authorities. The principle of dual jurisdiction may apply in some disciplinary matters where a student is charged (1) by law enforcement agencies of violating a civil or criminal law, and (2) by university officials for violation of a university regulation on-campus or off-campus when behavior represents a substantial university interest and/or poses a threat to the health, safety, or well-being of the university or its members. 5. Student Media A. Student Communication Media are a valuable aid in the dissemination of information as well as establishing and maintaining an atmosphere of free and responsible discussion and of intellectual exploration on the campus. They are a means of bringing student concerns to the attention of the faculty and the institutional authorities and of formulating student opinion on various issues on the campus and in the world-at-large. B. As safeguards for the editorial freedom and responsibility of student communications the following provisions are necessary: 1. The student communication media shall be free of censorship and advance approval of copy, and its editors and managers shall be free to develop their own editorial policies and news coverage. The editorial freedom of student editors and managers entails corollary responsibilities to be governed by the canons of responsible journalism, such as the avoidance of libel, indecency, undocumented allegations, attacks on personal integrity, and the techniques of harassment and innuendo. In the delegation of editorial responsibility to students, the institution must provide sufficient editorial freedom and financial autonomy for the student communications media to maintain their integrity and free expression in the academic community. 2. Editors and managers of student communication media shall be protected from arbitrary suspension and removal because of student, faculty, administrative or public disapproval of editorial policy or content. Only for proper and stated causes, violations of the canons of responsible journalism shall editors and managers be subject to removal, and then by orderly and prescribed procedures. 3. All student communication media shall explicitly state that opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the University or student body.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NzcxOTE=