One of the more tedious proposed Regental policy changes is the draft of a new student code of conduct. One must scroll through 31 pages to find just three small revisions tucked away in the standing text.
Two of the revisions simply repeat the changes proposed for the separate harassment policy (see yesterday’s post for the specific language). The only new change comes nine pages in, where Item C.7.e under Prohibited Conduct would change from “Use of technology to send harassing or abusive messages” to “Use of an Institution’s technology to engage in harassment.”
This specific change is curious. Item C.7.e is bracketed by other prohibitions on conduct involving “technology” in general, not just technology belonging to our universities. The Regents ban “use of technology” to interfere with other students and faculty work, to break the law, to infringe on intellectual property rights, or to hack university systems. Does this change really mean to say that the Regents will bust a student for hacking the campus network with his personal Macbook but won’t bust that same student for harassing another student with that same device?
Or is this clause, revised or not, made superfluous by the overarching anti-harassment policy (also under review next week)? After all, if harassment in general is banned on campus, it doesn’t really matter whose or what type of technology (library computer, personal phone, megaphone, or one’s own two hands) a student uses to harass another; harassment is harassment, and there will be consequences.