The California State University student conduct code, Title 5, was entirely updated during a CSU Board of Trustees meeting held Nov. 8-9 where members, after months of deliberation, voted to replace the several decade-old code with a new one.

The revised code, which is three times longer than the old, includes several new provisions, more clarification for terms ?” like hazing ?” and extends Sacramento State’s jurisdiction to off-campus student activities, said Lori Varlotta, vice president of student affairs.

In addition to being outdated, recent hazing tragedies at CSUs, such as a February hazing-related death in Chico, may have prompted some of the new revisions, Varlotta said.

Varlotta said that the CSUs are still in the formulation stage of the conduct policy and do not intend to use the new code until CSU Chancellor Charles B. Reed issues an executive order, and until students are aware of the code’s implications.

“Our goal is to help students make responsible choices ?” it’s not punitive. The judicial process is educational,” Varlotta said.

The code gives campuses more flexibility and oversight of on- and off-campus activities that are university-related, said Colleen Bentley-Adler, public relations director for the CSU board of trustees.

“Students are being asked basically to act responsibly because they represent the university community,” Bentley-Adler said.

According to the new code, students who engage in underage drinking, illegal drug use, binge drinking and the possession of weapons at off-campus events, or with other students, risk facing disciplinary action from the chief judicial officer and campus administrators ?” aside from any trouble they might face with local law enforcement.

At Sac State, Leonard Valdez, the new chief judicial officer, will handle most matters of student discipline.

The normal administrative sanctions ?” such as warning, probation, suspension and expulsion ?” will apply to the new code and will be determined by the variables of each violation, Valdez said.

Despite Sac State’s increased off-campus jurisdiction inherent in the code, Varlotta said the university’s priority will remain on-campus, and the current budget climate will not allow a large number of resources to go to off-campus happenings.

“We’re not out to get students in off-campus activities,” Varlotta said. “It (the code) is for substantial disruptions along the lines of safety and security.”

Bentley-Adler said the flexibility in the new policy would allow administrators to decide penalties on a case-by-case basis.

And as with the old code, students will be able to fight any charges the university brings against them.

“All students are afforded due process ?” a right to be heard, to be present and ask questions,” Varlotta said. “It’s a pretty lengthy process that is taken seriously.”

Other changes to the new code entail a longer list of what the university deems inappropriate, including computer misuse.

When the code was first developed, CSU campuses weren’t yet immersed in the digital age and didn’t have widespread computer technology, Bentler-Adler said. The new code deals with this by outlining the misuse of computer resources, such as the unauthorized use of a file, the publication of academic presentation and the sending of obscene, intimidating or abusive messages.

In addition, terms are more clearly defined in the new code’s body. Hazing, which includes any method of initiation into a group of students, is more explicit in the new code, and will have more extensive applications for the parties involved in the hazing ?” including the people that watched, the person that was hazed, and those who did the hazing, Varlotta said.

At a California State Student Association summer meeting, Associated Students Inc. President Angel Barajas said he met with other campus presidents to pass a resolution opposing Title 5. “I’m pretty sure the majority of students will be against the policy,” Barajas said. “What students do in their private lives is not related to their academic lives.”

Barajas said even though idea behind the new code is honorable ?” that students are members of the university, so they should represent Sac State with integrity ?” being policed more is a violation of student rights and liberties.

ASI Director of Natural Sciences and Math, Clifford Hawley, who is also a member of Democracy Matters and the Environmental Student Organization, said that while he does not drink alcohol or use illicit drugs, he feels that the college has no business in regulating student behavior when not on campus.

However, Hawley said he recognizes the need for students to act responsibly when representing the university.

“I do believe that students should generally refrain from these activities while representing Sac State as a club or organization, but that is up to the individual student,” Hawley said.

The code is directed more toward residential CSUs like Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, and Chico State, where there are more pubs and fraternities near campus, Bentley-Adler said.

“It lets students know even if you’re not in a campus building, but you’re underage drinking, you still reflect on the reputation of the university,” Bentley-Adler said.

She said the code doesn’t apply to most students because it is uncommon for students to defy university standards.

“The majority of students act responsibly and take care of their fellow students,” Bentley-Adler said. “A lot of it frankly is called common sense.”

Hawley said he doesn’t think the code will have a huge impact.

“I don’t think this code will have much measurable effect on student drinking or drug use,” Hawley said. “It’s not against the rules unless you get caught or someone gets hurt and word gets out.”

Jessica Weidling can be reached at [email protected]