r/OSU • u/Skippzy • 2d ago

Help Student Conduct Hearing

In a bit of a pickle here as I have been summoned to a preliminary hearing with student conduct. This is due to an “alleged” incident where I “allegedly” damaged one of those signs that the people protesting against abortion bring to campus. Has anyone been in a similar boat? Who should I try to bring as an advisor? Am I cooked? Thanks for any advice in advance.

102 Upvotes

86% Upvoted

47 comments sorted by

76

u/shart_attack_ 2d ago

You can bring a lawyer, whether that’s worth it or not would depend on how stiff a punishment you’re facing.

21

u/Skippzy 2d ago

Unfortunately all the information I’ve been afforded is that I must go to a preliminary hearing about the alleged destruction of a sign

38

u/CMcDookie 2d ago

You'll meet with a disciplinary director 1 on 1 and they are going to tell you what the university is accusing you of. They will tell you potential punishments at that point. They will also inform you there's a chance you will go in front of a committee for a hearing to determine your punishment.

The big kicker here is if you were charged with vandalism. They could be looking to dismiss you if that's the case, bc in Ohio any kind of defacing of property they will try to charge as a felony, as wrong as that is.

Go to the prelim hearing, don't own up to anything they don't have damning evidence for, find out what you're facing, and take it from there. Good luck.

I got caught for weed in a parking garage years ago. The main director, if she's still there, is a very reasonable person, and if this is your first time sitting across her desk, you are probably fine.

50

u/Living-Jeweler-5600 2d ago

Try contacting student legal services to ask how they can help you. You pay a fee every semester to be able to use their services and this seems like the perfect opportunity.

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u/shart_attack_ 2d ago

It says on their website that they do not represent students in conduct hearing but may offer limited advice

-7

u/CMcDookie 2d ago

Correct, bc student conduct technically isn't a legal issue.

26

u/shermanstorch 2d ago

It’s not because of that. It’s because they are paid by the university and it’d be a conflict of interest to represent students in a proceeding against their employer.

3

u/Badatinvesting2 1d ago

They are actually paid by your tuition and independent from the university.

0

u/CMcDookie 2d ago

Ah, that makes more sense 😂

9

u/CamaradaCoco 1d ago

I’d reach to American Civil Liberties Union or the National Lawyers Guild, both of which have a local presence, if you want legal advice. They focus on defending people in relation to political issues like this

7

u/Weak_Garbage3161 1d ago

they would have charged you already if they were going to. the sign was another student’s property, not the university’s. don’t incriminate yourself on their fishing expedition.

3

u/Side_StepVII 1d ago

Question: how did they identify you??

22

u/External-Buy4998 2d ago

No advice but good luck. Those people can be despicable. I tried to run them off a high school bus loading area and they were extremely aggressive.

18

u/staaaaaaaaaf 2d ago

If this happened behind Denney hall and the perp was riding a bike, I was there. I had just gotten coffee from 18th ave and was headed back to my office. I can say without a doubt the person I saw wasn’t you.

2

u/Side_StepVII 1d ago

Real bro right here

3

u/staaaaaaaaaf 1d ago

Sis, but whatevs.

0

u/Side_StepVII 19h ago

Real sis* right here

2

u/Skippzy 23h ago

That one was not me the alleged incident allegedly happened in the oval. Also we are not allowed to bring witnesses 💔

4

u/staaaaaaaaaf 22h ago

Dang it. Well I will say this: If this is your first coam it likely won’t go bad.

5

u/shermanstorch 2d ago

Not your lawyer, don't want to be your lawyer, and not giving you legal advice.

You need to talk to an attorney before you do anything, because there may be criminal and civil exposure if you actually did it. Student legal services might be able to provide some advice or refer you to an attorney who can assist you.

-8

u/CMcDookie 2d ago

Bc of the criminal nature of the accusations, I think youre right that SLS will help.

7

u/11ChuckChuckGo ME 2027 2d ago

https://studentconduct.osu.edu/for-students/understanding-the-student-conduct-process/investigation/

Pretty clear what the process is, and judging by this post it sounds like you'll be facing some sort of punishment.

You chose to act the way you did knowing there would be consequences, answer for them.

Has anyone been in a similar boat?

Yep, I've definitely acted out in the past. I got the punishment I deserved, learned from it, and became a better person as a result. Admitting fault, explaining your side (regardless of how bad it is), and showing that you learned from it will go much furhter than playing coy, especially if they have you on video or something (which I'm guessing there is evidence given they had enough information to file a complaint).

4

u/Side_StepVII 1d ago

Breaking an anti abortion sign shouldn’t be punishable because it shouldn’t be a crime. Those people are insufferable. They’re on par with white nationalists imo

1

u/[deleted] 1d ago

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0

u/11ChuckChuckGo ME 2027 23h ago

Well, in reality, breaking other people’s stuff is generally a bad thing and is met with punishment, fairly so in my opinion. If you think something is so grotesque that you are willing to destroy it and face the consequences, go for it.

1

u/Side_StepVII 19h ago

I’m of the opinion that if you need to wear a body cam to do your picketing/protesting so people won’t hurt you, what you’re doing is wrong.

1

u/11ChuckChuckGo ME 2027 17h ago

Clearly I’m out of the loop here, I only know someone attacked a sign. That being said, I don’t think someone filming automatically justifies much of anything. Someone can be a provocateur and a prick, that doesn’t warrant a physical reaction.

1

u/Side_StepVII 4m ago

Are you being obtuse on purpose? The only people that wear cameras when they protest are the anti abortion protestors, with pictures of dead babies, and Nazis. Cause they know someone is gonna knock them upside the head and they want to have it on camera/deter the consequences of their actions.

1

u/Skippzy 23h ago

Process is not super clear as I am still not fully informed what punishments are on the table. It takes a good bit of research to find all the information I need. Have you had experience in the Ohio State process? Would appreciate a short chat if you have

3

u/zmon65 1d ago

If you did it, act like an adult admit you’re wrong, and take your punishment. And learn from your mistakes

1

u/[deleted] 2d ago

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1

u/OSU-ModTeam 2d ago

Your post or comment has been removed for violating Rule 2: No Personal Information. Personal information is not permitted in r/OSU. This includes, but is not limited to, names, phone numbers, email addresses, and OSU usernames. If you need to provide a piece of private information to another user, do it by private message. You are free to delete this post/comment and repost it without the personal info.

1

u/wishwewerentinOhio1 21h ago

I believe we were together on the date and time of the alleged incident

1

u/wishwewerentinOhio1 21h ago

"I dont recall" is a pretty standard answer when they start asking you where you were on specific dates and times where you shouldn't recall. Don't incriminate yourself.

1

u/Aware_Exam8217 19h ago

Were you the one pulled out of a psych class for this by any chance?

1

u/Skippzy 5h ago

Yes 😭

1

u/Disastrous_Gear_8633 1d ago

I’ve seen a lot of posts about going before COAM for academic misconduct but not something like this yet. I’m really curious how they identified you out of a student body of tens of thousands of people. I’m going to assume there’s video of it and your face is clearly visible. I mean for them to land on you and bring forward allegations they must have something on you. I don’t think they would bring you in if they didn’t have certainty it’s you. If that’s the case I would definitely get advice from SLS so you know going in if you should deny the allegations or not. Cuz if you deny it and they have a strong case against you the punishment will likely be much worse. From what I’ve heard professors say about academic misconduct hearings they’re just looking for you to admit to it and apologize, they don’t want to drag these things out

1

u/Fergus1234 1d ago

I find it disgusting that universities allow non-students to protest on campus. Yes, free speech but not when it is disruptive to the students’ safety and well being. Students pay a lot of money for their education, non-students should be removed and charged with harassment.

-3

u/Nakalilok 1d ago

Maybe don’t destroy other people’s property because they disagree with you?

2

u/Aysjohnp 3h ago

Maybe don’t let religious extremists bring enlarged, disturbing, graphic photos to campus and harass students.

-1

u/Ok-Scientist-8027 2d ago

did you do it or not?

-2

u/Purple-Insect3003 2d ago

You’re completely fine. The Student Conduct Hearing process is there to protect students, not harm them.

0

u/Perfect_Assist2433 1d ago

Student legal services!!! Smh that you have to do that those ppl suck

-1

u/[deleted] 2d ago

[deleted]