Fake ID cases total 228, 49 drug incidents reported
USC's Office of Student Conduct has handled 961 alcohol violations from the start of this academic year until mid-February.
Data for previous years wasn't available Wednesday, but Alisa Cooney, student conduct director, said several factors may have caused the number to be higher than normal, including larger freshman class size and a change in living options, such as the re-opening of Patterson Hall.
Fake ID violations ranked high for this year as well, with 228 incidents.
Cooney said she hears common excuses like "everyone has one. It's not a big deal," from students who are caught with fakes, but most don't know if they are arrested for having a fake ID, they may face two charges. Cooney said this can disqualify students from going through a diversion program.
The charges a student receives is up to a police officer's discretion, according to Capt. Eric Grabski of USC's Division of Law Enforcement and Safety.
"If we find a student in possession of a fake ID, or if we find a student to be drinking underage, our officers have the option of writing a student discipline ticket for that student that goes to the Office of Student Conduct," Grabski said.
"The officer may also write a criminal charge for that case or they may not write a criminal charge and just have it go to the Office of Student Conduct."
The process is designed to help students think twice before they drink underage, become intoxicated or have a fake ID, Grabski said.
There were only 49 drug-related incidents, which Cooney estimated was due to the nature of drug users.
"Students who have been smoking before they got here, or who are using other drugs, are savvy at doing it. They've been hiding it — they lived in their own homes — so they're just not obvious about it," Cooney said. She added that newer drug users are typically those who get caught.
When a student is written up by a police officer, resident mentor or anyone else — because anyone can submit an incident report — that student is sent to the Office of Student Conduct.
The office then assigns an administrator to the case, and he or she sits down with the offender to discuss the incident.
"A lot of what we're doing is figuring out what's behind the behavior," Cooney said. "Because you can't prevent it from happening in the future, if the student isn't recognizing why it's happening in the first place."
If the student commits a repeat offense, then he or she meets with the same administrator as the first time. But only about 5 to 7 percent of students are repeat offenders, according to Cooney.
"Some of those students come back more than once and those are the students we worry the most about," Cooney said.
Parental notification occurs on a second alcohol offense, when there is a violation of probation because of alcohol or drugs or when a student is hospitalized.
If a student is not content with the punishments they receive, or think they are unfair, they have the option to appeal their case to the Carolina Judicial Council (CJC).
Cooney estimated that out of about every 2,500 conduct cases that are processed, only 25 to 30 Carolina Judicial Council hearings take place. CJC hearings are run by three students and two faculty or staff members.
A student council member is the chair of the hearing and students have the predominant vote because, according to Cooney, it allows students set the standards for their peers.
"Some students need to hear it from other students, and that's perfectly understandable," Cooney said.
In a judicial council hearing, a student is given the chance to share his or her side of the story. At that point, a representative from the university, the CJC panel and even the student can all ask questions. Then witnesses are presented and questioned. After that the CJC panel decides responsibility, the university recommends sanctioning and the panel makes its judgment. The panel's decision is the ultimate outcome and the only way a CJC decision can be appealed is if a procedural error or bias occurs in the process.
Joseph Mitchell, president of CJC, said the biggest difference between criminal proceedings and CJC proceedings are the level of evidence. In court, it has to be proven "beyond a reasonable doubt" but in a CJC hearing, Mitchell said, it only has to be 51 percent or more likely the student violated the honor code.
The panel determines sanctions based on precedence of cases that CJC has heard before.
Violations on alcohol can range from taking a class and counseling to paying
fines and community service or probation, and the punishments can vary based on whether students have a prior record and the extent of the violation, according to Mitchell.
"There is a difference between having two beer cans in your room and throwing a kegger in your dorm," Mitchell said.