Eastern has a university-wide policy that states that the outcome of judicial board hearings will not be released to the public.

In most cases, I would have to agree with that policy. The university really has no reason to publicize the names of all the students busted for minor offenses like having candles in their residence hall rooms, or having an unescorted visitor wandering their floor. Even slightly more serious offenses, such as cheating on an exam or plagiarizing a paper, are not really the concern of the entire campus community or cause to humiliate a student by publicizing their error.

The judicial board serves an important function on a college campus. In a university setting, it’s important for students to learn from their mistakes without having them publicized for the entire campus community to see.

However, in certain situations, the public has a right to know what happened at a judicial board hearing. For example, in the case of violent crimes, students have a right to know the outcome of the hearing. They deserve to know whether the perpetrator is still on campus.

Historically, the underreporting of crimes on college campuses has been a problem. For several years, the Buckley Amendment protected judicial boards from having to release information to the public.

But, in 1998, Congress passed the Campus Security Act, which altered the Buckley Amendment and allowed universities to release the outcomes of disciplinary proceedings involving crimes of violence or sex offenses when the accused is found guilty in the proceeding.

It has been more than two years since this change was made and Eastern has not amended its policy, continuing to keep all judicial proceedings closed. Possible changes to the policy have not been discussed, although they may be in the future, said Keith Kohanzo, student judicial hearing officer.

Student Body President Katie Cox said she thinks the university community has a compelling interest in being informed of the disciplinary sanctions imposed upon students found guilty of violent crimes.

“I would hope that in these sanctions being made public, students might think twice before taking part in an act that could lead to similar consequences,” she said.

The office of judicial affairs and student life office should consider changing this policy to allow for the release of the final outcome of judicial proceedings. In a campus community, especially on a small campus such as Eastern, students have the right to know this sort of information.

“I would favor the office of judicial affairs releasing the final results of university-related cases involving violent crimes as requested through the Freedom of Information Act or a similarly formalized process,” Cox said.

Cox raises a good point when she states that a formalized process could regulate the release of this information. A simple process, such as filling out a Freedom of Information request, could be used to find out the final ruling. Obviously, the victim’s name would not be released at any point in the process, as is the current policy.

Students have the right to know the outcome in judicial board hearings when they concern violent crimes. The university should look into a policy that would make this information available.