Freshmen all hear horror stories their first few days on campus from older students about being written up by an R.A. and then having to go in front of a hall director to try to explain themselves.

For the students who attended yesterday’s presentation put on by the First Year Success Series, “I Didn’t Do It I Swear/ I’ve Been Documented?! Now What?” they now know they have some options.

The purpose of this program was to educate students on the responsibilities of living in the residence halls as outlined in the student handbook. It also gave students a chance to learn what choices they have once they have been written up and documented by either campus or community officials.

After meeting with the hall director over the alleged violation, the student has the opportunity to appeal the ruling to the Residential Discipline Committee, said Anne Becker, a graduate assistant and part of the Dean of Students Discipline Committee. The RDC is a peer-level hearing body that is responsible for hearing all disputed cases stemming from incident reports.

Becker said her purpose in putting on this event was to find fun ways of getting this information out, so students will “know the process has many levels and they do have the right to ask for a formal hearing.”

She also went on to discuss the rights of people who apply for a formal hearing, known as the “rights of the respondent.” These rights include receiving a notice of the hearing, being able to meet with a member of the dean of students, as well as receiving a list of witnesses and their expected testimony.

The students in attendance said they took a lot out of the presentation.

Freshman Nicole Holzemer was one of the students at the event.

“[I’m] interested in what the RDC does and to learn about the process of appealing a citation,” Holzemer said.

When it comes to appealing a citation, there are several steps students can take to make the process easier. Some of these things include meeting with Becker or Jim Hague, who are both advisers to the RDC. Then they need to write down a personal statement to be used during the hearing and contact witnesses to testify on their behalf. They also have the option of being accompanied by an adviser to the actual hearing.

“It is helpful to know what you can do if something does happen,” said freshman Leigh Taylor, who was at the event. “I didn’t know there was a student organization.”

There were also some basic recommendations to avoid involvement with the discipline process. These included such basic things as obeying the law, knowing and following the Student Code of Conduct and remembering students are responsible for their behavior both off and on campus.

It was also recommended that if students are stressed out they should go to the gym and work off some anger. But if students are documented for something, it is important they conduct themselves in a respectful manner at all times to make the process easier for everybody involved, the speakers suggested.