Change in Code

Lack of Code of Conduct forms distributed at club meetings raises questions of code changes

Gillian Dunlop, Editor-in-Chief

For over 15 years, LT administration mandated that Code of Conduct forms be distributed and signed for every individual club and sport a LT student participates in. This year, a decision was made to eliminate the printed-out version of the Code of Conduct form due to impracticality and to place a stronger emphasis on the student handbook doled out to every student at registration.

The main challenge of issuing a Code of Conduct form to every student for each individual club and sport is managing students who join clubs later in the year, Student Activities Director Peter Geddeis said.

“The other challenge is it struck us as a sort of a waste thing. Three-fourths of students are involved in activities and the vast majority of students are in more than one club. Where could we store three to four codes per student each year?” Geddeis said.

Although written out codes will no longer be distributed, administration will be reinforcing the code before major events.

Club sponsors had some discussion about whether or not it would be a good idea to have a meeting to highlight safe and unsafe behavior before field trips, Student Assistance Program Coordinator Jeanne Widing said. However, this change has not been precipitated by specific student behavior, but rather by a desire to strengthen the message intended by the Code of Conduct.

The administration stresses that despite the Code of Conduct not being distributed during club meetings, students will still be expected to read and understand what is in the handbook.

“I intend to send out reminders throughout the year that sponsors should remind students about their responsibilities to the code,” Geddeis said.

“I don’t think students can be held accountable for reading their handbooks, but having clubs fully explain the consequences in meetings would not be a bad thing,” Liz Wyckoff ‘15, a participant in such clubs as Model United Nations, Peer Leadership and Student Council, said.

LT’s administration has decided to take a different approach this year in how the code is enforced; however, the first class principles read out at every Freshman Experience Day and intermittedly throughout the year remain the same and apply to all students and faculty.

“The thing to remember is that the Code of Conduct was not established to punish students,” Geddeis said. “It was established for students’ own good. “