OUSA vs the CoC: Student pulls out, case continues

October 20, 2009 16:31

The student at the centre of OUSA’s judicial review against the University of Otago’s Code of Conduct (CoC) has withdrawn. OUSA will go ahead with the review, scheduled for this Friday, despite the setback.

First-year student Nathan Stewart was excluded from the University for one semester after he was identified throwing a bag of rubbish at a car during the Toga Parade that descended into disorder during Orientation in February this year. This punishment was upheld by the University’s Appeals Board, which convened without a student representative as the University has decided that OUSA’s opposition to the CoC is a conflict of interest preventing any student sitting on the board for cases involving the Code.

OUSA has had official policy opposing the CoC since shortly after it was introduced, but sought involvement from a student punished under the Code before challenging it.

The judicial review was to challenge the University’s actions on three grounds: that the University acted unlawfully in applying the CoC to conduct outside its jurisdiction; that the Appeals Board acted unlawfully by not including a student representative when it was possible to do so; and that the penalty imposed on Stewart was disproportionate to the offence.

Continues...

APOLOGY
The title attached to a letter submitted by Sue Heap in Critic Issue 28 (October 19) was inaccurate and offensive. Critic apologises for any grief caused to Ms Heap or her family, and we will in future always do our best to ensure our words are accurate and not unnecessarily hurtful to those they refer to.

- Amy Joseph
Critic Editor, 2009.