At the Board of Trustees meeting on September 29, the activist groups Trans Action Building and Fossil Free Pitt were escorted out after repeatedly interrupting the proceedings (you can read more about these events here). The Pitt students involved with both groups were all subsequently charged with conduct violations for violating the University’s protest and demonstration guidelines; the non-Pitt affiliates with Trans Action Building were charged with disorderly conduct. Fossil Free Pitt had no non-Pitt affiliates involved in the action.
While the university administration was reportedly displeased with the actions, nobody else cared. The students involved reported that at their conduct hearings, their cases were all swiftly dismissed. As of the time of writing, three of the four protestors charged with disorderly conduct have appeared in court, and all have been found not guilty.
After the students’ cases were dismissed, they were each invited to fill out a survey on their experience with the student conduct process. To provide insight into student activism and its consequences moving forward, one of the student protestors has agreed to share their responses with The Pitiful News and the public.
The questions are bolded. The responses are italicized.
Your anonymous responses will assist us in maintaining a fair, consistent, equitable, and transparent student conduct process.
Please enter the last 4 digits of your PeopleSoft number.
8008
Did you receive notification of the date, time, and location of the hearing?
Yes, but I assumed it was a phishing email so I ignored it.
Did you receive notice of the alleged violations of the Student Code of Conduct?
The fact you have to ask that doesn’t make me feel good about how well this office performs.
Explain why you chose to attend your hearing in person or remotely.
I went in person because the ninth floor of the William Pitt Union has nice bathrooms.
Did you attend your hearing?
Yes, that’s 30 minutes of my life I’ll never get back.
Were there any technical issues with the hearing?
Technically, I shouldn’t have been there at all.
Did you have the opportunity to speak on your behalf during the hearing?
*muffled duct tape over mouth noises*
Was the conduct process biased? If so, how?
The hearing officer was my mom, she was very disappointed in me. She took away my allowance.
Given the option, who would you choose to hear your case?
- A Hearing Officer (Examples: Residence Director, Director of Student Conduct, Associate Director of Student Conduct, etc.)
- A Student Conduct Peer Review Board (comprised of 3 Pitt students)
- Other:
Other: Judge Steve Harvey in front of a live studio audience.
Were you aware of the Student Code of Conduct prior to the notice of your hearing?
Of course! I keep my 2-inch thick, 20-pound Student Code of Conduct booklet on me at all times, like any model Pitt student. I also memorized all the Panther Tenets shouted by the town crier in the WPU food court.
Will you think more critically about the choices you make in the future due to the Conduct process?
No lol.
Please tell us how we might improve the conduct process.
By not letting admin use it as an intimidation tactic for students they don’t want to deal with. You scheduled the hearing right in the middle of my lecture. The guy running the hearing told me to keep my mouth shut because Pitt Police didn’t actually say anything about what I (allegedly) did (props to him, btw). The only evidence against me would be out of my own mouth. Apparently, there needs to be no evidence basis to be charged with an (alleged) conduct violation. If Pitt wants to improve the conduct hearing process, maybe don’t use it to cast us aside like what we want doesn’t matter. Give your students real improvements for once.