Ohio University's office of Judiciaries is considering tacking on fees of up to $200 for judicial violations, in addition to existing costs from required education courses.
Under the proposal, students would be charged $100 for Type B offenses and $200 for Type A offenses. Type B offenses include the unauthorized use of alcohol, the possession or use of marijuana and disturbing the peace, while Type A offenses include academic misconduct, causing mental or bodily harm to self or others and distribution or misuse of drugs or narcotics.
Introducing new fees for judicial referrals is just one way to find new sources of revenue in a climate of financial uncertainty, said Jim Sand, director of Judiciaries, adding that it would be premature to estimate how much money the university could bring in through the fees.
Student Senate Treasurer Robert Leary, who also works for Students Defending Students, said Judiciaries approached both the Council of Student Leaders and SDS at the end of last quarter.
Leary is a member of The Post's Publishing Board.
(Students Defending Students is) all against it
he said, adding that the fees could further clog up the judicial process by encouraging students to challenge charges against them.
They are already paying for the education class it just seems like a lot of money he said.
Prime for Life is a $100 substance abuse program that is accepted as a court-ordered educational program within the state.
Because the proposal is still in the preliminary discussion stage, it remains unknown whether fees would be stacked for multiple offenses or whether there would be a cap for how much a student could be charged, Leary said.
In the presentations given to Students Defending Students, Judiciaries had not decided where the fee money would go, with options including the Student Affairs general fund and the Student Activities Commission, Leary said.
Judiciaries will conduct student surveys in upcoming weeks to educate students on the proposal, and Students Defending Students will host a debate on May 5.
Leary said that Kent Smith, vice president for Student Affairs, will present a revised proposal to the senate following the surveys and debate before making a decision.
The university does not know where the new revenue would go, but one possibility is the Office of Judiciaries, Sand said. While acknowledging that the idea could come under fire from students, Sand said he doesn't see a problem with supporting Judiciaries by means of the people coming through that office.
You're paying for the services that you're using
in a sense
he said.
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Wesley Lowery
