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Class drafts possible student bill of rights
By Courtney Albon on 2/22/07
AU students are drafting a Student's Bill of Rights to fill what they see as a void in the campus community.
While studying human rights in a class recently, Sergio Garciduenas-Seas, a senior in the School of International Service, and his classmates were asked by SIS professor Mubarak Awad whether AU has a bill of rights for students.
"Nobody answered because none of us knew," Garciduenas-Seas said.
Awad proceeded to appoint Garciduenas-Seas as the leader of a class initiative to first find out if the university has such a document and if nothing was found, to draft one as a class, Garciduenas-Seas said.
Approaching the Student Advocacy Center and the Registrar's office, Garciduenas-Seas said he was directed in both cases to the "University Codes, Policies and Guidelines" listed in the student handbook. Items listed were more a code of conduct for students than a statement of entitlement or rights, Garciduenas-Seas said.
"This discovery, or lack of it, then led our class to come up with a basic list of rights for students," he said. "From there, I gathered and composed the Student's Bill of Rights. ... It is the start of something new that we all should be guaranteed and we deserve as students and as citizens."
The document, still a preliminary draft, groups rights into four categories: the right to a safe learning environment, the right to guaranteed services, the right of freedom of information and the right to quality of education.
Alfia Agish, a senior in SIS and a classmate of Garciduenas-Seas, said a students' bill of rights is important to campus culture.
"Students are entitled to know what rights they do and do not have," Agish said. "We have the right to be respected and treated as adults by university staff and faculty."
Linda Bolden-Pitcher, the university registrar, said students play a major role in the university's governance and policies are instated based largely on student's interests.
While studying human rights in a class recently, Sergio Garciduenas-Seas, a senior in the School of International Service, and his classmates were asked by SIS professor Mubarak Awad whether AU has a bill of rights for students.
"Nobody answered because none of us knew," Garciduenas-Seas said.
Awad proceeded to appoint Garciduenas-Seas as the leader of a class initiative to first find out if the university has such a document and if nothing was found, to draft one as a class, Garciduenas-Seas said.
Approaching the Student Advocacy Center and the Registrar's office, Garciduenas-Seas said he was directed in both cases to the "University Codes, Policies and Guidelines" listed in the student handbook. Items listed were more a code of conduct for students than a statement of entitlement or rights, Garciduenas-Seas said.
"This discovery, or lack of it, then led our class to come up with a basic list of rights for students," he said. "From there, I gathered and composed the Student's Bill of Rights. ... It is the start of something new that we all should be guaranteed and we deserve as students and as citizens."
The document, still a preliminary draft, groups rights into four categories: the right to a safe learning environment, the right to guaranteed services, the right of freedom of information and the right to quality of education.
Alfia Agish, a senior in SIS and a classmate of Garciduenas-Seas, said a students' bill of rights is important to campus culture.
"Students are entitled to know what rights they do and do not have," Agish said. "We have the right to be respected and treated as adults by university staff and faculty."
Linda Bolden-Pitcher, the university registrar, said students play a major role in the university's governance and policies are instated based largely on student's interests.
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