The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 78, No. 12, Ed. 1 Friday, October 5, 1990 Page: 8 of 16
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8 FRIDAY, OCTOBER 5, 1990 THE RICE THRESHER
University court handles student cases adeptly, providing fair trials
by Matt Daly
You have just been accused of an
infraction of Rice regulations. What
happens next? The gallows? Room
101 and the thought police? Death by
firing squad? No—a fair trial by the
University Court, and a sentence to
fit the crime if guilt is established.
Almost all violations of university
rules, with theexception ofacademic
violations which are taken care of by
Honor Council, are handled by the
University Court. The court is com-
prised of fifteen members (nine
undergraduates, four graduate stu-
dents, and two freshmen representa-
tives) selected through all-campus
elections.
Before the 1988-1989 schoolyear,
the court was made up of the chief
justices of each college, but this pol-
icy was changed to give each class
fair representation.
Sentences, according to the phi-
losophy of the court, are meant to be
constructive rather than solely puni-
tive. For instance, the normal sen-
tence for underage drinking is ten to
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UtINDS N' WHEELS
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Sales & Service on:
Bridgestone, Red Line,
Fuji and Trek bikes.
5925 Kirby Drive
Call 529-9002
SCHLUMBERGER FIELD
ENGINEERS
DON'T:
• *iiJ v jut; lies
• • iff!| ■ p,if .1 ■!
• ani'Wt > f. ■ h.jni;- : ; day
• .it at a iesk
DO:
• take charge
• wnrk long hours
• assume heavy responsibility
• work outdoors
• make decisions
• face many challenges and risks
• perform data acquisitions and measurements of
physical properties of subsurface formations
• nterpret that information
ENJOY:
• working with a great deal of autonomy
' .if.t:oq on an .de.'i and risk carrying it to tru^or
• taking i>rnle *n a jot> well done
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING
(and other engineering disciplines)
GEOSCIENCES
APPLIED SCIENCES
INFORMATION MEETING:
Date: October 18. 1990
Time: 6 30 pm - 8 30 pm
Place: Miners Lounge
INTERVIEWING:
Date: October 19. 1990
Place: Please check with Placement Office
PLEASE NOTE: You must attend the information meeting jj
at the time and place indicated or an interview cannot be !;
scheduled
Exceptional People.
Exceptional Technology.
Worldwide.
Schlumberger
w
rra
77 1
Ysf
fifteen hours of community service
and possibly some alcohol counsel-
ing. Such a sentence was handed out
late last year, after a an underage
student was caught repeatedly
drinking in Willy's Pub.
Three members are elected by
the court to serve as chief, vice-chief,
and secretary.
The present court has Baker Col-
lege senior Phillip Miller, Brown
College senior Anureet Bajaj and
Brown senior Teresa Schiller in
those positions, respectively.
The chair is in charge of oversee-
ing the proceedings during trial and
acting as liaison between the court
and the dean of students. The vice-
chief acts as a backup to the chief,
and also serves as treasurer, while
the secretary is in charge of corre-
spondence and the posting of min-
utes.
There are also five ombudsmen
that act as advisors, but not defense
attorneys, to the accused, and sit in
on the hearings to ensure proper
procedure.
Trial proceedings are similar to a
normal court. The accused first goes
through a pre-trial, where he meets
with several of the judges and his
ombudsman, and decides on a plea.
There are three plea options:
"guilty", or acceptance of the stan-
dard penalty for the crime; "not
guilty", or a request for a formal trial
in which to prove his innocence; and
"noli contendere" (no contest),
INS & OUTS
which entails a formal trial without a
guilty or not guilty plea.
During a formal trial, the accused
has several guaranteed rights, in-
cluding knowing the identity of the
witnesses, the ability to cross-exam-
ine, the ability to summon witnesses,
or, if the accused so chooses, to
remain silent during the trial.
A quorum of seven judges is nec-
essary to render a verdict, which is
decided by majority vote. If the ver-
dict is "guilty", or if a guilty plea was
originally entered, a sentence is rec-
ommended to the president of the
university by way of the dean of stu-
dents. The dean has the right to
remand the decision, to throw out
the case due to improper procedure,
or to lessen the sentence before rec-
ommendation to the president
One case has been heard by the
court so far this year. A student's
Rice I.D. was found at the bottom of
the swimming pool in President
Rupp's back yard during O-Week,
and a charge of trespassing was en-
tered.
The student pleaded guilty in the
pre-trial on September 6, and re-
ceived ten hours of community serv-
ice and a demand for a letter of apol-
ogy to the President.
The University Court operates
under a strict constitution. Abstracts
of cases are made public, and are
accessible at the main desk in Fon-
dren Library.
Names in public reports are al-
ways kept secret. Much information
about the court can be found in the
booklet "An Introduction to the Rice
U niversity Court", which was distrib-
uted among the student body at the
beginning of the year. Further infor-
mation can be obtained by contact-
ing a member of the court
Pub
FROM PAGE 1
are brainstorming, trying to get
people here," Cheyette said, men-
tioning the Wednesday night bands
sponsored by the Rice Program
Council, the reduced prices for pitch-
ers on Mondays, and Tuesday'sTex-
Mex specials.
Rice Program Council President
Keith Jaasma, a member of the
Committee on the Pub, said, "A card
reader for food would make a big
difference, because there's no way
anyone's going to the Pub for lunch,
when they can use their cards at
Sammy's."
Jones School students are "practi-
cally our entire [lunch] clientele,
with some exceptions," Cheyette
stated.
"Ever since [a card reader] was
brought to Sammy's, it's been dis-
cussed repeatedly," Jackson said.
"The University has not in any way
been receptive to doing that"
"The food plan is for food," said
Food and Housing Director Marion
Hicks. "Not beer, not soda, not
snacks over there...We may have
overextended it by letting it go to
Sammy's...but that is part of our
operation."
Hicks said extending a card
reader to the Pub would probably
attract five percent of the people who
eat at the colleges. "Then we're put-
ting ourselves in a position in the
colleges that's very difficult to oper-
ate."
"I'm not even sure, now that we're
separate from the university, if that's
a possibility," said Cheyette.
Jaasma and Cheyette both said
the Pub might have to raise prices,
which have been slightly lowered
from last year's. "If we have to, we
will," Cheyette said. "But we don't
want to do that"
Hendren said she would rather
approach alumni or the administra-
tion for money first, because raising
prices might sour even more stu-
dents toward the Pub.
The International Management
Consulting Firm
McKinsey & Company,
Inc.
is hosting a presentation about
their business analyst program.
Date: Monday, October 15
Place: Miner Lounge
Time: 7-9 p.m
Refreshments will be provided.
All interested students should attend.
For more information visit the
Career Services Center.
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Moeller, Kurt & Yates, Jay. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 78, No. 12, Ed. 1 Friday, October 5, 1990, newspaper, October 5, 1990; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth245763/m1/8/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.