Students claim suspension unjust

Fabian Arzuaga News Editor

On Sunday, April 2, seven students began distributing fliers across campus in defense of Saied Ghaffarian ’08, who was allegedly suspended on March 29. According to the flyer, among their grievances is the claim that the decision of the College Regulations Panel, which handles disciplinary cases, was “hasty,” leading to “an unfair and excessive punishment.”

Dean of Students DB Brown said that he recognized the concerns of students who took issue with disciplinary procedures, but felt strongly against anyone who would reveal the identity of an alleged defendant along with the details of the case publicly.

Although Brown could not confirm the existence of Ghaffarian’s case, he did say that the results of each hearing, in which the student remains anonymous, are posted outside his office. A
March 29 posting contains many of the same charges that the flyer listed.

The authors of the flier allege that Ghaffarian was wrongfully charged with cocaine use and possession, which led to his suspension from campus and the residence halls.

Referring to the flyer, Brown said he suspected the authors relied on “hearsay, word of mouth,” adding, “They weren’t there, or were there and are bound by confidentiality.”

Authors of the flier contend that the College’s judicial process lacks transparency. “The problem with the College Regulatory Panel is that everything about their policies and procedures is so vague,” said Lindsay Martinez ’07, one of the authors of the flier.

Elected student representative to the College Regulations Panel Wayne Coito ’07 said “

The [judicial] process is very fair [and] if students understood the process they’d understand it as fair.” Although Coito said he was not involved with Ghaffarian’s case, he asserted his faith in the Panel. “Every board I’ve dealt with [has been] very compassionate…even overly-so.” He added that suspensions were usually handed out in cases where the defendant was deemed “harmful to others in the community.”

Martinez said that she and other authors of the flier do not wish to incite resistance to the verdict or judicial process. “We’re just trying to encourage students to ask questions,” said Martinez. “The more people who ask questions, the greater the likelihood that we will get answers.”

Additional reporting by Lauren Sutherland, Assistant News Editor