Pomona College Student Code

Article I: Definition of Terms
Article II: Judicial Authority and Organization
Article III: Code Violations
Article IV: Administrative Process for Alleged Policy Violations
Article V: Hearings
Article VI: Sanctions
Article VII: Appeals
Article VIII: Selection of Members and Term of Office

Preamble 

The Pomona College Student Code is established to provide clear definitions of rules and fair procedures to govern the conduct of students within the Pomona community. The goal of the Student Code is to delineate a common set of standards promoting education and community accountability. These are Pomona College's procedures and are distinguished from public law enforcement, which is the province of local, state, and federal authorities. All College policies that do not have their own enforcement mechanism are enforced through the Student Code. Pomona College expects that all members will inform themselves of the community standards. 

The educational goals of the College can only be achieved with genuine community interaction and respect for the rights of others. As such, the Student Code is a document which continues to be created and modified to adequately reflect changes in community standards. Modifications to the Code are made through the Student Affairs Committee, which consists of five ASPC Senate members, two Student Affairs staff and three faculty members. Modifications shall be approved by a majority of those present and voting, including the vote of at least one student and at least one faculty or staff member. Any member of the Pomona community may submit proposals for amending the Student Code to the Student Affairs Committee. The Judicial Council, as an advisory body that suggests Code amendments, can serve as a resource for those seeking to formulate such proposals. Ultimately, however, only the Student Affairs Committee may amend the Student Code. 

Cases brought pursuant to the Student Code may raise difficult interpretive questions about the scope of the Student Handbook's provisions as applied to a specific scenario. When the meaning of a provision of the Student Handbook, read alone and applied to a case, is clear, judicial bodies are bound by the text's publicly-understood meaning. If there is reasonable ground for disagreement about the meaning of the Student Handbook's text as applied to a case, judicial bodies may look for guidance in the context of the provision, the structure of the Student Handbook, statements of purpose found throughout the Student Handbook and other official College documents, previous judicial bodies' decisions in adjudicating analogous cases, and community standards held by contemporary students of the College (as represented by members of the judicial body). 

Extraordinary Authority of the President 

Notwithstanding any other provision in the Student Code or any other College policy to the contrary, the President of Pomona College shall have the authority to act in extraordinary circumstances to ensure the safety of individuals, the protection of property, and the continuity of the educational process. 

In executing this authority, the President is specifically permitted to remove a student from campus, to prohibit a student from being on campus, and to expel, suspend, place a student on leave, or take any other action with respect to the status of a student of the College that the President deems appropriate or necessary in their absolute discretion ("the Action"). 

If the President is not able to act in a situation that requires the exercise of extraordinary authority, the authority shall pass first to the Vice President and Dean of the College; and if the Dean of the College is also unable to act then such extraordinary authority shall pass to the Vice President and Dean of Students. 

If a student is the subject of an Action, the officer taking the Action shall state at or about the time of the decision the terms, if any, upon which resumption of normal student status will be permitted. 

A student whose status is affected by an Action may ask that the decision be reviewed by the President, the Vice President and Dean of the College, and the Vice President and Dean of Students, all of whom shall then meet and give their advice as to whether the decision should be affirmed, modified, or reversed. In conducting this review, the group shall follow any procedures and consider any evidence that they, in their sole discretion, deem appropriate. 

After completion of the review, the President (whether the Action was the President's original decision or that of another officer exercising the authority) may affirm, modify, or reverse the original decision, as the President shall determine in their absolute discretion. The Action shall remain in effect while the matter is under review.