Santa Monica College Student Rights?

THE SMC SCAM: STUDENT RIGHTS?

SMC's Hidden Loopholes and The Double Standard

-- A SAVE SMC Editorial

Have you ever wondered why an institution of higher education such as Santa Monica Community College does so little to uphold the rights of its students (which it supposedly advocates)?

The Board of Trustees recognizes the importance of faculty, staff, students and the community to a safe campus environment. Violent or coercive behavior or the threat of such behavior will not be tolerated. The District through the development and enforcement of violence prevention procedures, will seek to provide a safe environment for students, staff and faculty.

-- BP 2415 Campus Safety

BUT THE REAL QUESTION IS:
Violent and coercive behavior or the threat of such behavior against whom will not be tolerated?

In the past, both faculty and students perceived the Office of the Disciplinarian as a place to go for "bad" students. The Office of Student Judicial Affairs is perceived as a place where students go to have problems solved, to sit down and come to agreements, to gather information, and to feel that they have experienced "due process." In addition to improving campus morale, this approach has the potential of assisting the College in avoiding costly litigation.

-- DRAFT **MASTER PLAN FOR EDUCATION** DRAFT
2001-2002 INSTITUTIONAL OBJECTIVES ANNUAL REPORT
(July 22, 2002)

Here's how Campus Disciplinarian Judith Penchansky deals with problem resolution:

She refuses to have a written dialogue. She repeatedly refuses to speak to the student. She uses campus police to remove the student from campus. She denies the student any procedural and substantive due process. She refuses to disclose student records for inspection as required by law. Furthermore, she forces faculty, staff, and students to lie against innocent students under coercion and fear of retaliation.

This approach erodes campus morale, dehumanizes the student, and inevitably leads to costly litigation.

The College's Student Conduct Code includes a Code of Academic Conduct that clearly states expectations and consequences for academic dishonesty. These documents are accessible in college publications, through the college website, and posted in all classrooms. Incidences of dishonesty are handled through the Student Judicial Affairs Office.

-- STANDARD II: STUDENT LEARNING PROGRAMS AND SERVICES
Description-IIA.7(b)

BUT WHO AT SMC IS MONITORING THE DISHONESTY OF THE STUDENT JUDICIAL AFFAIRS OFFICE RUN BY JUDITH PENCHANSKY?

Let's turn to SMC's Academic Freedom Statement:

The intellectual search for transmission of knowledge should go forward in an atmosphere free from fear of reprisal, while providing opportunities for critical thinking and understanding of conflicting viewpoints. In order that special interests or conflicting public opinion not impede the educational process, instructors and students must be free to investigate, to form conclusions, and to express judgments and opinions. Academic freedom also includes the right to constructively criticize college policies without fear of retribution.

Academic freedom carries with it several responsibilities. Faculty members must strive for factual accuracy and show restraint in dealing with topics outside their area of expertise. While showing respect for the opinions of others, the instructor should, after impartial examination of the evidence, present the conclusions to which the evidence points. Selective omission of available data would not be in keeping with academic responsibility. Promotion of a partisan point of view to a captive audience would be equally unsuitable.

-- ARTICLE 5200: ACADEMIC FREEDOM AND RESPONSIBILITIES
BP 5210 Academic Freedom Statement

On March 1, 2006, SMC Professor Jim Keeshen made a formal announcement to his ET18 Storyboarding class in which he stated that Autism and Asperger's is a "mental disease" that causes a person to be a "problem" and "destructive." Was this a topic within his area of expertise and relevant to storyboarding? Of course it wasn't. Furthermore, had Professor Keeshen done any research online, he would have found an open letter (dated January 27, 2006) from all the major Autism advocacy groups stating emphatically that Asperger's is "not a “mental illness” or a “disease."

The fear of retribution prevailed in Professor Keeshen's class that day, especially for a student with autism who heard his tirade.

Professor Keeshen threatened his students:

"I'm gonna come after you ... and I'm going to get you to the letter of the law and have you either kicked out or whatever other consequences they can do to you.... Got it? All right, that's all I have to say."

The District is committed to a work and learning environment conducive to open discussion and free of intimidation, harassment, or unlawful discrimination, whether purposeful or inadvertent.

-- BP 3120 Diversity/Affirmative Action

Was Professor Keeshen's announcement to his class an "open discussion" that was "free of intimidation, harassment, or unlawful discrimination"? Of course it was not!

Santa Monica College, as a public institution of higher education which receives federal assistance, is legally bound to prohibit discrimination in the recruitment process, the admission process and the educational process of students with disabilities.

-- SMC Disabled Student Services, The Laws

We will now take a look at SMC's "Student Bill of Rights" ...

Academic institutions exist for the transmission of knowledge, the pursuit of truth, the intellectual and social development of students, and the general well-being of society. Free inquiry and free expression are indispensable to the attainment of these goals. As members of the academic community, students should be encouraged to develop the capacity for critical judgment and to engage in a sustained and independent search for truth.

But what if the "pursuit of truth" contradicts the lies that the college administration wishes to uphold at any cost? And what if this "free inquiry" and "free expression" calls for something to be changed at the college through a particular person? What if you send an email to Professor Keeshen, requesting an apology on behalf of the disabled students for his hate speech against those with Autism?

Well, according to Judith Penchansky, you are in violation of Administrative Regulation 4410 L, Rules for Student Conduct, which states that you have engaged in the following:

Willful or blatant misuse of email or other inappropriate forms of communication towards faculty.

For that "crime," you are suspended for two years and will be arrested if you step foot on campus. Furthermore, you are not given any due process or right to appeal your suspension, despite the provisions set forth in SMC's own internal board policies and the California Education Code.

So, if you confront someone such as Professor Keeshen for his ignorant and discriminatory remarks, and SMC's administration wishes to cover its apparent liability, you can be suspended with a simple email from the Office of Judicial Affairs. But the school is accountable under the law for its thoughtless and indifferent acts as follows:

In the Gebseret case, the Supreme Court found that a school district could be held liable if the school official had actual knowledge of the wrong of a teacher's misconduct and had thoughtless indifference.

-- Gebseret al. v. Lago Vista Independent School District, No. 96-1896 (1998)

If you desire to publish your views, you are in luck since SMC's Student Bill of Rights, Student Publications, recognizes your freedom of expression through written materials:

Student publications and the student press are a valuable aid in establishing and maintaining an atmosphere of free and responsible discussion and of intellectual exploration the campus. They are a means of bringing student concerns to the attention of the faculty and the institutional authorities and of formulating student opinion on various issues on the campus and in the world at large.

However, you will find in this provision something interesting:

At the same time, the editorial freedom of student editors and managers entails corollary responsibilities to be governed by the canons of responsible journalism, such as avoidance of libel, indecency, undocumented allegations, attacks on personal integrity, and the techniques of harassment and innuendo. [emphasis added]

So what if the statement you wish to offer contests the integrity of a member of the college?

Then you are no longer a "RESPONSIBLE" WRITER.

SURE, you're free to express yourself, BUT

DON'T TRY TO CHANGE ANYTHING

and

DON'T SAY ANYONE'S DOING ANYTHING WRONG

because that contests a person's "integrity," and we all know that

EVERYONE HAS INTEGRITY AT SMC...

(DON'T THEY?)

Well, actually the faculty and administration (those whom are our examples at the college), and the SMCPD campus police officers (those who protect the college's students and property) do abide by the SMC College Policies... the new and improved viewpoint discrimination version.

SMC CHANGED THE RULES
(with a few slight additions)

1. Thou shall not beat up students (without "just cause" or within the sight of credible witnesses or video recording devices).

2. Thou shall not have students arrested (unless they find problems with your personal ethics or lack thereof, discover financial lack of accountability and hidden funds, seek vital public records under the California Public Records Act, or express their views about the questionable and arbitrary policies you have created or choose to defend at the college).

3. Thou shall appreciate thy students (if they contribute to the false image and/or finances of the college).

4. Thou shall honor thy faculty (if they pad enrollment and do not seek cost of living pay raises).

ALL MEMBERS OF THE SMC COMMUNITY ARE EQUAL,
BUT SOME ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS.

With that in mind, here is the...

SURVIVAL GUIDE TO SMC

1. Don't make waves or file any sort of grievance to defend your rights.

2. Do not openly contest your professors or administrators on their position on any issue.

3. Do not attack the college's stance on any issue.

4. Do not request inspection or copies of public records belonging to the college.

5. Do not attempt to assert your legal rights in a court of law.

6. Do not create a personal blog or website outside of campus to express your views.

7. Stay out of the way and sight of SMCPD campus police officers.

THE RIGHT TO REMAIN SILENT
(As interpreted by SMC)

You have the right to only remain silent, and no other rights, when you speak out about any dehumanizing politics at SMC.

Failure to exercise that right after you have exposed the College's harassment and retaliation of those who oppose SMC's political stance will result in interrogation and brutality by SMC's campus police, false charges, and imprisonment.

SMC's various college policies tell us that first and foremost, before any learning can take place or any policies be enforced, there must be the moral elements that constitute a place where people (including faculty, administrators, and campus police officers) can be trusted, a place of integrity.

And, in order to ensure this integrity, the college must go through a periodic "housecleaning," as it were, to weed out those who have gone against the standards of integrity. This means that there can be no "environment of integrity" within the college unless we all take the responsibility for taking whatever actions are necessary to ensure this "housecleaning."

Santa Monica College, is as a community-oriented, open-door, educational institution whose purpose is to educate and enlighten members of the community who seek knowledge. In order to uphold the academic integrity of the institution, all members of the academic community, faculty and students alike, must assume responsibility for providing an educational environment of the highest standards, characterized by a spirit of academic honesty; therefore, under no circumstances will academic dishonesty be tolerated at this institution.

--Preamble to SMC Code of Academic Conduct

To sum it all up...

We have the responsibility to CHANGE whatever needs to be changed to uphold the principles of INTEGRITY

BUT

YOU'RE ONLY OKAY as long as you PAY AND OBEY. $$$$$

-- Des Manttari,
Editor-in-Chief,
Phoenix Genesis

(c) 2006: Phoenix Genesis/MBS LP

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