Division of Student Life : : Office of the Dean of Students

Drug and Alcohol Hearing Board Guidelines

Philosophy

Wellesley College views the educational process as one in which students develop concurrently as individuals, citizens and scholars. The basis of this view rests on the assumption that individual integrity is of fundamental value to each member of the community. Therefore, the personal honor and responsibility of each individual are centrally important as the student approaches both the regulated and non-regulated areas of student life. The regulations regarding the Wellesley College Drug and Alcohol Policies are designed to protect the health and safety of both the individual students and the community at large. Policies which are thought unnecessary should be publicly questioned rather than privately violated so that they may be explained, reviewed, or changed.

The Alcohol Hearing Board is designed to hear cases in which there is a conflict specifically regarding an alleged violation of the Wellesley College Alcohol Policy. It is not designed to and should not be expected to function as a court of law. The procedures below are designed to treat all cases as individually as possible, to assure fairness and due process in all considerations, and to specify and safeguard the rights of all parties involved.

Jurisdiction of the Alcohol Hearing Board

The Alcohol Hearing Board operates under a code of procedures to be periodically reviewed by the Dean of Students or her designee. The Hearing Board will only consider alleged violations of the Wellesley College Drug and/or Alcohol Policy(ies) received from members of the Wellesley College community. The Hearing Board automatically reviews:

a third offense of Category I, Category II and Category III offenses;
Category I offenses, if the referred student does not take responsibility for the referral.

A case in which both the Honor Code and the Wellesley College Drug and/or Alcohol Policy(ies) are violated will be heard separately by their respective judicial processes. Any prior sanctions for an individual will be shared with the Hearing Board only after a student has been found responsible so that the appropriate level of sanctions may be determined. If town/state/federal laws have been violated, the Chief of Campus Police reserves the right to refer the incident to the appropriate authorities. Cases referred to the Drug and Alcohol Hearing Board will proceed independently of any other disciplinary or legal process.

Composition of the Hearing Board

The Hearing Board will be comprised of three members of the College community: one student, one faculty and one staff member. The student present will act as the non-voting Chair of the Hearing Board. The membership pool includes a minimum of six students, three faculty and three staff. From this pool, the three members of the Hearing Board for a particular case will be selected. While the board will strive for consensus, a vote will be taken at the discretion of the student chair in order to determine the outcome of cases.

Procedures of the Hearing Board

Referral

Any member of the Wellesley College community may refer any student. Referral forms are filed with the Office of the Dean of Students. The referred student is presented with a copy of the referral and informed of the two possible avenues--acceptance of responsibility or request for a hearing before the Hearing Board.

Acceptance of responsibility (Category I, first and second offense)--

The referred student agrees with the charges and accepts responsibility. The student notifies the Office of the Dean of Students and receives the sanction specified in the Wellesley College Drug and/or Alcohol Policy(ies).

Request for a hearing before the Hearing Board--

The Office of the Dean of Students notifies the referred student of the hearing date and of the names of Hearing Board members.

The rights of the referred student include:

the right to appear or not appear at the hearing, understanding that failure to appear results in forfeiture of the right to appeal;
the right to a formal presentation of the referral with the understanding that the referred student will be judged only on the basis of that referral;
the right to know the possible sanctions;
the right to have, for the purpose of review and in the presence of the Chair, access to all written evidence submitted to the Hearing Board (This material may not be copied nor may it be removed from the review meeting with the Chair. All evidence should be submitted to the Chair at least 24 hours prior to the convening of the Hearing Board.);
the right to have her referral addressed only on evidence presented in the hearing;
the right to protect oneself against self-incrimination and to declare invalid all confessions not made before the Drug and Alcohol Hearing Board;
the right to address the Hearing Board after all evidence is presented and prior to the conclusion of the hearing;
the right to appeal within five business days after the decision has been presented in writing;
the right to disqualify a member of the Hearing Board no later than five business days after the referral is processed
the right to designate a member of the College community to serve as a support person during the hearing. (The support person may address the student she is supporting only during breaks formally announced by the Chair of the Board.);

The rights of the referring individual include:

the right to designate a member of the College community to serve as a support person during the hearing. (The support person may address the student she is supporting only during breaks formally announced by the Chair of the Board.);
the right to identify witnesses prior to the hearing and address them during the hearing;
the right to be notified of the validity of the referral. Sanctions will remain confidential.

The Hearing

All hearings will be private and confidential: only the parties involved and members chosen by the referred and referring individual from the College community may attend. Any witness called by either party will be permitted in the hearing room only when testifying.

Written evidence to be used in the hearing on behalf of either the referred student or referring individual must be introduced 24 hours prior to the hearing. A witness list must be submitted 48 hours prior to the hearing to the Office of the Dean of Students.

The hearing will be taped and the tape recording may be used as part of the appeal case. The tape will be destroyed by the Office of the Dean of Students after seven years.

The Chair will open the meeting with the statement, "This is a meeting of the Drug and Alcohol Hearing Board on (date)."

The Chair will introduce the members of the panel, the referring individual making the charge, the referred student, and, if present, the support person for both the referring individual and the referred student. The Chair will then read the referral.

The referring individual will present evidence and witnesses to substantiate the referral. The referred student will then have the opportunity to address the referral and to offer evidence and present witnesses. Questions may be raised by any member of the Hearing Board, by the referring individual, and by the referred student during the hearing.

At no point during the judicial proceedings shall an individual's past disciplinary record be brought before the Hearing Board. Previous Wellesley College Drug and/or Alcohol Policy(ies) violations will have no effect on the Hearing Board’s decision regarding the validity of the referral. .

Deliberations

Immediately after the hearing, the members of the Hearing Board will meet privately to determine the validity of the referral and, if necessary, to determine the appropriate sanctions as outlined in the Wellesley College Drug and/or Alcohol Policy(ies).

After deciding the validity of the referral, any Drug and/or Alcohol Policy sanctions for the referred student will be introduced to help inform the deliberations regarding the level of the sanction required.

Reporting Decision

The Chair will verbally inform the referred student, if she is present at the hearing, of the decision. The referred student will have five business days after the date on the written notification to appeal the decision to the Associate Dean of Students.

Any student who has received suspension or expulsion from the residence halls as her sanction who chooses not to appeal must vacate within 48 hours of receipt of written notification of the decision.

Appeals

An appeal may be sought on two grounds:

if the referred student is of the opinion that the Hearing Board violated her rights;
if new evidence or information material to the case which was not available at the time of the hearing becomes known.

A formal written appeal to the Associate Dean of Students must be filed with the Office of the Dean of Students within five business days from the date on the Hearing Board’s written decision. Subsequently, the Chair of the Hearing Board will be informed.

Within five business days from the date on the written notification, the referred student may request permission to listen to the tape of the proceedings of the Hearing Board in the presence of a member of the Hearing Board. The Hearing Board decision shall be suspended during the appeals process.

Appeals Process

Within five business days of receiving a notification of appeal, the Associate Dean of Students will inform the student in writing of her decision, to uphold, overrule or alter the sanctions. The student can then accept the Associate Dean of Students’ decision or choose to appeal.

If the student disagrees with the Associate Dean of Students’ decision, she may file a second appeal within five business days from the date on the written notification. This appeal should be made to Dean of Students.

Within five business days of receiving a notification of appeal, the Dean of Students will inform the student in writing of her decision to uphold, overrule or alter the sanctions. The student can then accept the Dean of Students’ decision or choose to appeal.

If the student disagrees with the Dean of Students’ decision, she may file a final appeal to the President of the College within five business days from the date on the written notification.

Within five business days of receiving a notification of appeal, the President of the College will inform the student in writing of her decision to uphold, overrule, alter the sanctions , or remand the case back to the Dean of Students.

If at any point during the appeals process the decision of the Hearing Board is overturned, the referral will be dismissed and no disciplinary action will be taken. The Associate Dean of Students, the Dean of Students and the President of the College reserve the right to modify the sanctions recommended by the Hearing Board. In the absence of the Associate Dean of Students, the Dean of Students or the President, one of their designees will be appointed to address the appeal.

Alcohol Policy
Appendix A: Procedures Governing the Use of Alcohol at Student Events
Appendix B: Drug-Free Schools and Campuses Act Codified as Part 86 of EDGAR (34 CFR Part 86)
Appendix C: Applicable State of Massachusetts and Town of Wellesley Liquor Laws
Appendix D: Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988 (41 U. S. C. Chapter 10)
Alcohol Hearing Board Membership Roles and Responsibilities
Frequently Asked Questions

Fall 2001