Students arrested off campus are now in double trouble.
This year’s changes to the U. Iowa Code of Student Life mean students arrested anywhere in Johnson County — as opposed to just on campus — for violence or drug or alcohol possession will be subject to university disciplinary action.
Punishment can vary from a simple warning to suspension for repeat or serious offenders. The changes went into effect Aug. 12.
They echo the policies of more than half the Big Ten schools, including the University of Illinois, Ohio State University, and the University of Wisconsin.
Some students hope the new policies will encourage safe behavior, no matter where students choose to party.
“I think the students need that push to act responsible. We are students, so what we do would eventually reflect on us at the school,” UI junior Kyle Berthel said. “I want the school to protect me as an individual. I don’t want to be paired up with someone in a class who has been arrested for something like [violence].”
And students should be held accountable for what reflects back on the UI’s reputation, said freshman John Wright.
“We have a responsibility to represent the university on campus or off,” he said.
But some students said they feel one too many shots elsewhere in Johnson County shouldn’t affect their campus record.
“The school shouldn’t have anything to do with the legality of students’ actions on or off campus,” UI senior Ani DeGroot said.
Another key change to the code is the installment of the Responsible Action Protocol, or the “Good Samaritan” policy, which means students can seek medical help for a friend without worrying about disciplinary action for themselves.
Marni Steadham, spokeswoman for the Students for Sensible Drug Policy chapter at the university, said her group had been in contact with Student Services about the policy last fall.
“Anytime a university adopts a medical-amnesty program is good news,” she said. “The issue came up a few years ago before I was a student here, and the administration said, ‘Absolutely not,’ but [officials have] really turned around.”
The Good Samaritan Policy would send a notification to the parents of the student who needed medical help, but step in with alcohol education only if it was apparent after assessing the student that he or she needed it.
“Students would still be held responsible for things like the destruction of property, and law enforcement could hold students responsible for underage drinking,” said UI Dean of Students David Grady.
He emphasized the other recent changes that clarified the vague descriptions of sanctions for drugs and alcohol, as well as making the UI’s Code for Student Life more in line with set minimum sanctions of other schools.
These sanctions range from a notice to the parents and meeting with an adviser to suspension or expulsion.