University of Oregon claims new authority to punish off-campus student conduct

University of Oregon claims new authority to punish off-campus student conduct

Via Just The News:

A sweeping new disciplinary policy at the University of Oregon is drawing attention from legal experts for potentially subjecting students to its jurisdiction regardless of where they are, physically or online.

The Board of Trustees approved the resolution last month. It gives the university authority to punish off-campus student behavior when UO has a “clear and distinct interest as an academic institution” in that behavior.

For that interest to be met, the behavior must cause “substantial disruption to the University community or any of its members,” involve “academic work or any University records, documents, or identifications,” or “seriously” threaten “the health or safety of any person.”

The pre-vote resolution was flagged by economics professor Bill Harbaugh, who runs the watchdog blog UO Matters. Both he and the Daily Emerald note that the UO Senate was not consulted on the resolution, which shortly followed several large backyard parties that went viral on social media.

The changes are “much bigger” than simply letting the university punish students for crowded gatherings late in the COVID-19 pandemic, Harbaugh wrote. They incorporate “by reference every other UO policy.” He didn’t respond to a query on whether his primary concern was the failure to consult the UO Senate, whose members include students, faculty and staff.

The university was named among the 10 worst colleges for free speech by the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) in 2017, “and the pattern continues,” UO constitutional law professor Ofer Raban told Just the News.

“Unfortunately, the University of Oregon is insufficiently careful in safeguarding the free speech rights of its students and employees,” he wrote in an email.