Section I

Preamble

 

(1) Trinity College within the University of Toronto is an academic community in which everyone, fellows, associates, staff, students and graduates, has freely chosen membership, thereby choosing to respect and uphold its standards and objectives. Participants in this community are expected to value the fostering of friendship, civic responsibility, civility and mutual respect through courtesy to others, the free interchange of ideas and the sharing of ideals and interests in a common effort to sustain theses purposes.

 

     It has been acknowledged that by registering at Trinity College in the University of Toronto, students are joining a community that stands for academic an personal excellence, community involvement, respect for others, and stewardship of property.

      

(2) The Trinity College Discipline Code is applicable to all students registered as Trinity College students, whether resident or non-resident, and to students in any faculty or division of the University of Toronto who are resident at Trinity College.

      

(3)   Sections IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, X, XI of this Code may be amended by the Joint College Meeting but only with the approval of the Provost.  All other sections may be amended only in accordance with the College Statutes and Regulations.

 

 

Section II

Jurisdiction

 

(1) The Trinity College Discipline Code shall apply to all non-academic discipline offences listed in Section III, which arise on College property or College sponsored activity where both the complainant and the accused are members or Trinity College.

 

(2) The Chair of the Discipline Committee and the Dean(s) of Students shall decide together whether a complaint falls within the jurisdiction of the Code.  An offence currently under review under the University of Toronto Code of Student Conduct shall not be eligible under this code.

 

 

Section III

List of Offences

      

       (1) The Following in addition to the offences listed in University of Toronto Student             Code of Conduct (section B) are considered offences under the Student Discipline             Code:

i)          Breach of rules established by the Board of Trustees, Senate, Divinity Council, Deans or the Provost.

ii)         Breach of rules established by College Meetings and endorsed by the Deans. 

iii)         Any activity or conduct that maliciously undermines the reputation          of any member of the College.  Proper use of the Disciplinary             procedures does not constitute a malicious attempt at undermining      someone’s reputation.

iv)        The counseling or aiding of any person in a conduct or activity   which would be a breach of any of the offences listed in this            section.

v)         Disruption of activities: conduct that unreasonably infringes on or            disrupts college activities, work, study requirements.

vi)                 Undermining of the integrity of the discipline process by breaching                                  its requirements or by influencing committee members outside of a hearing.

 

 

Section IV

Initiation of Discipline Procedures

 

(1)  Formal discipline procedures shall commence with mediation arising from a        written complaint.  A complaint by a student shall be lodged with the chair of the discipline committee and/or the Dean(s) of students.

 

(2)  Once a complaint has been lodged the complainant shall meet with the Dean(s) of students, the chair of the Discipline Committee and             if they wish the Heads of College.  This meeting should happen as quickly as possible after the complaint has been received.  At this meeting they will decide which course of action would be most appropriate to resolve the situation.  The decision is ultimately that of the complainant.  The decision may include any combination of the following actions.

     

i)    An attempt at mediation with a mediator to be agreed upon by both parties or in the event they cannot agree upon a mediator a dean of students shall mediate.

 

ii)   The complainant may request that the deans of students or the heads of college try to resolve the problem by using moral suasion and reason with the accused.

 

iii)   Immediately strike a discipline committee.

 

       (3) At any point the complainant may strike a discipline committee

 

       (4) The accused may choose not to participate in mediation.

 

(5) If an agreement is reached by both the Complainants and the accused and is approved in writing by the Heads of College and the Deans of Students, then such an agreement shall constitute an approved agreement.      

 

(6) Once the terms of the approved agreement have been completed and verified by the Heads of College and the Deans of Students then the complaint shall be considered resolved.

 

(7) If a complainant does not feel comfortable bringing a complaint forward,           they      may request that someone else do so on their behalf.  This may be done          anonymously is desired.  The original complainant may bear witness during        the proceedings.

 

 

Section V

Discipline Committee

 

(1) There shall be both a student Chair and a student Alternate Chair, for the Discipline Committee.

 

(2) The Chair and Alternate Chair shall be elected during the spring elections from amongst the members of the Joint College Meeting who are entering their third or Fourth year of university studies and who are not members of the Joint Board of Stewards.

 

(3) If the Chair withdraws at any point during the procedure, the Alternate Chair shall replace her or him until the Complaint is resolved.

 

(4) In addition to responsibilities specified in other sections, the chair shall decide all Discipline Committee procedural matters but shall not have a vote on the Committee and shall not retire with the Committee to decide guilt or penalty.

 

(5) The Discipline Committee shall be composed of students selected randomly from amongst the student body according to the following guidelines.

 

i)                    Two male and two female students from fourth year and one male and one female student from first, second and third year.

ii)                   One divinity student

iii)                 If the offence is deemed by the Chair to be a residence related offence then all students must be or at some time have been a resident student.

 

       (6) A student shall not sit on a Discipline Committee in the event that she or he:

 

i)                    Is either the accused or the complainant in the matter;

ii)                   Is not able to sit;

iii)                 Has a bias in the case;

iv)                 Has more than a casual acquaintance with the accused or the complainant;

v)                  Stands in a conflict of interest regarding the outcome of the trial;

      

       (7) The Chair, in consultation with the Heads of College, the Dean(s) of Students, shall decide if a selected student meets the requirements to sit on the Committee.

 

(8)   The selection process shall continue until ten students who individually meet the requirements of section (6) and collectively meet the requirements or section (5) have been selected.

 

(9)   Before the Hearing begins both the accused and the complainant must veto any two of the members without giving reason.  The remaining seven shall constitute the Committee at the Hearing.

 

(10)   If the Provost believes that the issues adjudicated have important implications of   principle for the institution, the Provost may direct that two additional panelists be selected randomly by the secretary, one Don and one elected staff or alumni member of Senate.

      

(11) It is the responsibility of the chair to notify all those on the committee of the                     time and location of any hearings at least one week in advance.

 

 

Section VI

Conduct of Hearings

 

(1)   At all meetings contemplated by this code:

i)          Both the accused and the complainant shall be represented or assisted by counsel or agent.

ii)         If the accused so desires, they may choose either Head of College to represent or assist them.  The Head may not decline and must represent or assist the accused diligently and honestly.

iv)                 The complainant or his representative and the accused or his representative shall be entitled to question all witnesses.

 

(2)   To ensure the privacy and security of the proceedings:

i)          Only the Discipline Committee, the accused and their council, the complainant and their council, the Chair, the Secretary, Heads of College and the Deans may be present

                        ii)         Witnesses may only be present when participating directly.

iii)         The secretary shall take minutes for the entire Hearing.

 

 (3)Once the Hearing is complete the members of the Committee shall withdraw.  Only the chosen members of the Committee and the secretary may be present at this time.  At least four student members must be present to deliver a decision.  A two-thirds majority is necessary for determining both guilt and punishment.  One senior student from the committee shall be chosen as the Committee Head and shall coordinate discussion in a productive way.  Once a decision is reached the Committee Head shall announce it.

 

       (4) The Secretary shall be the Alternate Chair.  In the case where the Chair has deferred his duties to the Alternate Chair then the Alternate Chair shall appoint a secretary for the proceedings.

 

(5) The Secretary shall take minutes from the deliberation.  These minutes shall only be made available to the Provost, Deans and those whom they deem fit to see them.

 

 

Section VII

Appeal

 

       (1) After the Committee has given its decision both the accused and the complainant may appeal the decision of the committee to the Provost.  If the Provost feels that there are grounds for appeal, then the Provost may send the complaint back to the chair of the Discipline Committee at which point a new hearing will be held with a new Committee.

 

(2) Grounds for appeal are:

                       

i)                    Guidelines in section VI (Conduct of Hearings) were not followed properly and because of this the outcome of the Hearing was affected.

ii)         The Provost, in her or his unfettered discretion, gives leave for such an appeal.

 

(3) Such an appeal must be made in writing to the Provost within seven days of the decision or the Committee.

 

(4) If an appeal is granted under section (2) i) then a second hearing shall be convened.

 

(5) If an appeal is granted under section (2) ii) then the provost shall hear from both parties and then make any decision and may impose any penalty or penalties which she or he considers appropriate.

 

 

Section VIII

Sanctions

 

(1) The following is a list of possible sanctions that the Committee may choose to invoke.

i)                    Public Notice by the College Deans

ii)                   Written reprimand from the College Deans

iii)                 Allocated costs for damage to College property

iv)                 Change in residence location by the Dean

v)                  Good Conduct Bond and or fine, total not to exceed $500

vi)                 Disqualification of future residence requests

vii)               Restricted use College Services including Dining Halls

viii)              Community service, not to exceed twenty-four hours

ix)                 Restricted participation in student and college events

x)                  Departure from residence for a specified period with notice not to be less than 24 hours

xi)                 Resignation of some or all student or college offices

xii)               Ineligibility for future election to some or all student and college offices

xiii)              Denial of access to College property for a specific period, except by prior arrangement by the Deans

xiv)             Retention of a permanent record of College sanction

 

 

Section IX

Summary Administrative Action

 

(1) In the case that immediate summary actions must be taken to protect College safety, then both Dean of Students, with the approval of the Provost, may take immediate summary actions.

      

(2) Any such action shall require a written report to the Provost.     

 

       (3) If the accused wishes to appeal this action, he or she must submit the request in writing to the Deans of Students and the Heads of College.  The Deans must submit a complaint to the Chair of the Disciplinary Committee within seven days of receiving the appeal.  At this point a Discipline Committee shall be struck as outlined above.  The decision of the committee, if not appealed, shall overrule any previous disciplinary measures.

 

(4) The Summary Administrative Action shall be enforced until such a time as it has been overturned.

     

 

Section X

Executive Disciplinary Action

 

       (1) If the safety of the College is not in danger but the need for timely disciplinary    action exists then the Deans of Students or the Heads of College may immediately        impose sanctions against an individual. 

 

       (2) The sanctions shall not be considered in place until 48 hours after the individual has received a written letter clearly stating why disciplinary action was taken and     what the sanctions are.  The letter must clearly state that the accused has the right      to appeal this decision under the Student Discipline Code

 

       (3) The accused may appeal this action within two weeks.  Appealing this decision shall send the complaint directly to the Discipline Code as a normal complaint         with the corresponding Head of College acting as the complainant.  All previously         imposed sanctions shall be removed.

 

       (4) This section shall not be used in any way to circumvent proper disciplinary         procedure, only to expedite matters which do not need all the structure in this           document to resolve.    

 

 

Section XI

Extraordinary Discipline Procedure

 

(1) This section shall replace the procedures outlined in Sections VI and VII for all Complaints lodged from April 16th to August 31st inclusive.

 

(2) The Deans of Students shall hear all Complaints to which this section applies and shall give such penalty or penalties as they consider appropriate.

      

(3) The Hearing shall be informal with all matters of procedure decided by the Deans.

 

(4) The Complainant shall be present at his or her own case unless the Deans direct another            individual to present the case.

      

(5) All decisions made may be appealed immediately to the Provost.  The Provost may choose to wait until September 1st and initiate regular discipline procedures as an appealing process.     

 

 

Section XII

Binding Arbitration

 

       (1) If both parties cannot agree on a mediated solution but also do not wish to go    through the trouble of convening a Discipline Committee then they may choose to   go to binding arbitration.

 

       (2) To go to binding arbitration both parties must agree in writing beforehand that    they have agreed to accept the decision.  Both parties must also agree on the    arbitrator.

 

       (3) Arbitration is only subject to appeal under section VIII of this code.

 

       (4) A complaint may not be taken to arbitration if the Disciplinary Committee has    been convened.

 

 

Section XIII

General

 

       (1) Complete copies of all decisions shall be given to the Accused, the Complainant and to the Secretary of Senate.

 

(2) All notices under this Code shall be deemed to have been received five days after mailing if sent by registered mail to the address maintained on the records of the Registrar of the College, or the date personally received.

 

(3) The secretary of Senate shall maintain records of all Hearings and all Appeals.

 

(4)All decisions and reasons from the Hearing shall be available to any member of College.  The only exception is when revealing this information may endanger someone’s safety or it is deemed to be of a sensitive nature.

                       

(5) The Provost shall have ultimate control over which persons shall have access to the records referred to in (3).