Each semester, the Student Conduct Committee brings forth the cases that were adjudicated during the previous semester. The following are incidents that recently took place and the committee’s response to those incidents.
Incident Date:
May 4, 2012
Charge:
A student was charged with unacceptable social behavior by virtue of violating the College’s Drug and Alcohol Policy on or about May 4, 2012
Outcome:
A Disposition by Agreement was accepted by the co-chairs of the Student Conduct Committee on September 5, 2012. The elements of the agreement stipulate a one semester suspension effective Fall 2012 semester, eligible to return Winter 2013 semester. The student will remain on probation with a one year suspension held in abeyance if found guilty by the Student Conduct Committee of any future acts of social misconduct. Furthermore, the student is not allowed on the Bates campus during their suspension period unless the student has special permission from the Dean of Students Office.
Incident Date:
September 25, 2012
Charge:
A student was charged with academic misconduct by virtue of plagiarizing a thesis proposal on or about September 25, 2012.
Outcome:
The Committee found the student guilty of the charge. The penalty of the Committee was 1) Suspension for Winter 2013 semester, eligible to return Short Term 2013; 2) Probation for the remainder of the student’s career at Bates with expulsion held in abeyance should the student be found guilty of any future acts of academic misconduct; and 3) Required to complete 20 hours of community restitution. Furthermore, the student is not allowed on the Bates campus during their suspension period unless the student has special permission from the Dean of Students Office.
In addition to the penalty, the Committee provided the following rationale. “The Committee feels that academic integrity is central to the functioning and purpose of such educational institutions as Bates College. The fact that such a seemingly successful senior finds himself so profoundly in violation of the accepted practices of intellectual honesty is surprising and deeply distressing to the members of this Committee. Such deceit undermines our ability to function as a learning community because it undermines the core educational mission of the College.
We find the student’s actions in this case both egregious and flagrant. We do not find his claim that he made an honest mistake credible, and even if we did, it would not absolve him of responsibility for appropriating someone else’s text. The verbatim nature of the borrowed text would be acceptable in no department at any college in this country. The student’s refusal to take any responsibility for his actions disturbed the members of the committee even further. The fact remains that 60% of the senior thesis proposal was appropriated word-for-word from other sources, and, moreover, without proper attribution (these are separable infractions). The Committee hopes that this enforced time away from the academic pressures of Bates will allow the student an opportunity for some profound self-reflection. We recommend that he pay particular attention to re-assessing his understanding of the purpose of tertiary level learning.”
Incident Date:
November 15, 2012
Charge:
A student was charged with unacceptable social behavior by virtue of violating the College’s Drug and Alcohol Policy on or about November 15, 2012.
Outcome:
A Disposition by Agreement was accepted by the co-chairs of the Student Conduct Committee on December 3, 2012. The elements of the agreement stipulate a one semester suspension effective Short Term 2013 semester, eligible to return for Fall 2013. Furthermore, the student is not allowed on the Bates campus during their suspension period unless the student has special permission from the Dean of Students Office. The student will also be placed on probation with a one year suspension held in abeyance if found guilty by the Student Conduct Committee of any future acts of social or academic misconduct.
Incident Date:
Various Dates – Fall 2012 Semester
Charge:
A student was charged with unacceptable social behavior by virtue of providing false information to a University official with intent to deceive and misrepresent in order to gain access to a service. Both of these violations occurred while studying abroad from July 2012 to November 2012.
Outcome:
A Disposition by Agreement was accepted by the co-chairs of the Student Conduct Committee on December 12, 2012. The elements of the agreement stipulate probation for the remainder of the student’s academic career at Bates College with a one semester suspension held in abeyance if found guilty by the Student Conduct Committee of any future act of social or academic misconduct. In addition, upon the student’s return to Bates College next semester the student is required to meet with a counselor in the Health Center to discuss this incident and to follow up on any recommendations they may make.
