Due process--which includes, but is not limited to, the arbitration matters touched upon in appropriate sections of the Student Government Association Constitution and the Student Handbook-is fundamentally a series of provisions designed to assure the proper presentation of all relevant facts and beliefs in an open and forthright manner.
Due process begins in the life of the general community itself. No amount of formal process will of itself create the conditions of general justice in the life of a community. In the deepest sense, justice is everyone's responsibility as well as everyone's right. Genuine discussion of problems requires openness. Due process rules out secret "trials," "information hearings" convened without the accused's knowledge or presence, "testimony" from faceless informers and so forth. Indeed, the presence of such activities within the life of a community invariably indicates weaknesses rather than strengths and suggest motivations which are not in line with the provisions of fundamental fairness. The health of a community is reliably indicated by the extent to which the community depends upon openness and directness rather than upon secrecy and expediency.
In any proceeding within the Community Arbitration Process, a person accused of a violation of University policy will receive written notice of the charge(s), be given a specific time, date, and place where such charge(s) will be mediated or arbitrated, and have the right to a neutral body as a fact finder and, if necessary, to determine a disciplinary response. The individual will be permitted to appear and present evidence and testimony and request others to do so on his behalf. The individual shall also have the procedural protections and appellate opportunities described herein. All proceedings will be intended to result in a fair and expeditious resolution, and strict rules of evidence and other judicial formalities shall not apply.
To read more about the Community Arbitration Process, download the Student Handbook.