Veritas, Vol. 13, No. 01, September 13, 1972

              volume 13 number 1
September 13, 1972
University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida
President Stanford Approves New Search and Seizure Policy

4 Departments Inaugurate Residence Academic Program
Frank Stuart, history, second from right
Dr. N. D. Gennett Dean of Students
A new policy on “Room Entry and Search and Seizure” has been approved by President Stanford. Copies were released August 24th to Faculty Senate Chairman Gary Salzman and to USG President Sami Burstyn.
In announcing the revised policy, Dean of Students Nicholas D. Gennett said: “In the area of student affairs, universities around the nation have found their policies on room entry and search and seizure among the most sensitive and subject to controversy. The key problem has been to devise a policy which will protect the student’s right to privacy yet enable the university to administer its residence halls in keeping with university regulations and state and national laws. We believe the new policy to be fair and equitable both to the student and to the University.”
Dr. Gennett also noted that the majority report presented to President Stanford by a faculty-student-administrator committee after a year’s study proved unacceptable because in essence it encouraged students to think of their privacy in “absolute” terms. The adopted policy is the result of consideration of the committee recommendations and consultation by the President with administrators responsible for the residence halls operations and programs and with the University’s legal counsel.
The need for a revised policy became apparent last year as a small segment of resident students indicated a growing resentment of an imagined “invasion of privacy” at the same time residence halls administrators were becoming increasingly aware of the presence of contraband items, particularly drugs, in the residence halls.
Under the new policy the University reserves the right to enter its rooms or apartments to ensure the maintenance of an educational environment and to provide for the health and safety of its residents.
New Semester...
New Communications
With this issue, Veritas begins its 13th year of publication decked out in a new format, designed to provide more space for better coverage of activities and actions of interest to the faculty and the administration.
It owes its new look to two men—President Henry King Stanford and Vice President for Academic Affairs Carl McKenry—who have been deeply concerned about internal communications over recent years.
As President Stanford commented,“During the past 10 years of my presidency, one of the continuing problems has been that of effective communications among the various academic and administrative divisions of the University. It is my hope that by enlarging the Veritas, better coverage can be given to policy matters, to actions of the Faculty Senate and major committees, as well as more in-depth reporting of University programs.”
Among the provisions of the new policy are the following:
•	Authorized personnel may enter a University-controlled room or apartment for legitimate administrative functions, including, but not limited to, those made to inspect
for the presence of unauthorized persons, to inspect for damages, to verify residency, or to repair facilities.
•	In the course of this inspection, the University maintains its right to confiscate contraband discovered within “plain and open view” and the subsequent use of such evidence in disciplinary actions. In the past, evidence of contraband was not accepted at disciplinary hearings unless a search authorization had been obtained.
The “student magistrate” system, whereby students so entitled exercised authority for issuing an “Application for Authorization to Search” but had no ultimate responsibility for student conduct in the residence halls, and were subject to pressure from their peers, has been discontinued. Under the new policy, authorization or denial of such an application will be determined by one of three professional members of the Dean of Students staff. Decision as to whether the search application is warranted will be made by the Director of Residence Halls, or his Associate or Assistant, who will judge whether there is “reasonable belief’ that there are contraband items or unauthorized persons in the University room or apartment for which the application for authorization to search has been requested.
“We recognize,” Dr. Gennett said, “that any policy of this nature deals with a highly sensitive area. Nothing is held more dear than personal privacy, and we are aware that indiscriminate use of authority is possible and dangerous. To avoid this possibility my office has taken definitive steps to educate our staff as to the meaning, purpose, and exercise of this policy.”
The complete text of the new policy is contained in the publication “Student Rights and Responsibilities” which will be given to all students during registration. Copies may be requested through the Dean of Students Office.
Dr. McKenry, who sponsored the concept of a redesigned publication and shares the President’s view, noted, “The success of Veritas in meeting the challenge of keeping up with what’s going on where will depend in great measure on the cooperation of all faculty and administrators.”
Following this first issue, Veritas will be published every other Monday during the academic year (holiday periods excepted) and will include a calendar of events for the subsequent two-week period. Deadline for all items and news for each issue will be 10 days in advance of the publication date.
The new full-time editor is Charles H.
(Kip) Feiglstok, former communications coordinator for Westinghouse in Pittsburgh and Winston-Salem. News and calendar items should be sent to him c/o News Bureau, Faculty Club. For last-minute news developments, phone 284-4073.
Sanford Schnier, whose news assignments prevented his taking on the full-time editorship, remains with the News Bureau as senior writer. He and other members of the staff will continue to be contributors to Veritas.
Faculty members care about the students here, as some 2,000 entering freshmen are quickly finding out.
The Residence Academic Program (RAP), lifestyle I, is just beginning in the 1968 complex and in Mahoney-Pearson residence halls. Conceived by Dr. Sidney L. Besvinick, associate dean of the faculties and director of academic planning and evaluating, RAP is designed to give new students the opportunity to meet faculty members on a personal basis and to extend their learning experiences beyond the classroom. For the first semester faculty members and graduate assistants from the departments of biology, chemistry, English, and history are volunteering their time to make the program work.
Dr. Leonard Greenfield, chairman of the biology department, is RAP coordinator for the biology portion of the program.
Henry Hubinger, associate professor of chemistry, has enlisted the aid of members of the chemistry department, while Helen Fagin is volunteering her time as coordinator of the English department’s role in RAP.
Along with Dr. Frank Stuart of the history department, eight graduate assistants are helping with his portion of RAP.
Each of the departments will have one evening a week in the freshman dorms for
Senate Council To Set Agenda
The Faculty Senate Council will hold its first meeting of the semester Tuesday, September 19.
At that time members will review the proceedings of the summer Council meetings and prepare an agenda for the first Faculty Senate meeting of the academic year, Monday, September 25, at 3 p.m. in Brockway Lecture Hall.
Faculty Senate meetings are open to all faculty members. While they may attend meetings and speak out on any subject on the agenda in which they have an interest, only elected representatives have voting privileges.
Senators representing each school or division are responsible for reporting to their constituents the agenda of the Faculty Senate and the actions taken during the meetings.
Bill Black, of Printing Arts, is graphics coordinator for Veritas, which will be printed on campus this year by the department of Printing Arts and Publications, headed by Norman Koski. Editorial adviser will continue to be Nedra McNamara, director of the News Bureau.
discussions, reviews, films, advising, or just “rap” sessions.
Sunday evenings will feature programs in a lighter vein. For example, the department of politics and public affairs will hold discussions on the upcoming elections; the chemistry department will feature a panel on environment. Kenneth Clark’s “Civilisation” series and the National Geographic series are among films scheduled to be shown.
According to program director Karen Dubitsky, RAP is designed to give freshmen the opportunity to involve themselves in the mainstream of University life at a pace that suits each individual.
Helping Mrs. Dubitsky coordinate the program is Charles Lynch, associate director of residence halls.
Any faculty member in the four departments now represented can participate in RAP by contacting the department coordinator. Other faculty members are welcome to attend any session, Mrs. Dubitsky said.
Residence Academic Programming is not confined to evening sessions. During the day will occur perhaps the most novel aspect-freshmen can take their required western civilization 101 course without ever leaving their dorms.
Course instruction includes a multi-media approach to learning, with some live lectures in the residence hall auditorium, some TV lectures, panel discussions and lectures on video tape. Work-study centers have been set up for this purpose.
Above all, Mrs. Dubitsky emphasized,
RAP will be flexible, responding to the needs and the wishes of the students. She will coordinate the different programs as well as advise and assist the students in making RAP meaningful and useful.
Sibley Named Trustee
Harper Sibley, Jr., chairman of the board of Sibley Management Associates and the Ocean Reef Club, was elected to the University Board of Trustees on June 14. Mr. Sibley will fill the unexpired term of the late Edgar B. Lau. A graduate of the Groton School and of Princeton University, A.B., 1949, Mr. Sibley is a native of Rochester, New York.
In other action, the Board elected President Stanford as an ex officio member of the Board by virtue of his office, with full voting privileges, and appointed Don Shoemaker, editor of The Miami Herald, to be a trustee of the Scientific Education Fund.