Imagine your daughter, a college student, being subjected to possible disciplinary action because she didn’t cover her paper during an exam and was charged with “allowing herself to be used as a source for cheating.” Imagine that this charge, which could result in your daughter being expelled, is being heard only by fellow students, that she has limited rights to defend herself, no right to counsel, no protection against self-incrimination and no right to appeal.

Or imagine that your son forgets to hand in the exam booklet from Part One of an exam before beginning Part Two, and instead, hands it in upon completing the exam. He now finds that he has been charged with creating “the opportunity to cheat” and is subsequently suspended for a full year, even though he has not been found to have cheated. He is suspended for having created a potentially unfair advantage.

These are but two examples of the kinds of things that are taking place in colleges and universities across the country every day. A politically incorrect comment resulted in another student being barred from his dorm. A student who collaborated on a homework assignment was thrown out of school. Having too much to drink can now permanently ruin a student’s college standing.

“Not to my child,” you say? The affected students are from all segments of the society, from the children of CEOs to those who are working two jobs to pay their tuition, from the academically gifted to those who are struggling to get by.

Colleges and universities have become quite sensitive to student conduct and have taken steps significantly to expand their rules and codes governing student behavior. What would have at one time been considered a small, informally handled matter, now may result in permanent expulsion from the university.

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