Office of Student Conduct
Students Rights & Responsibilities
Each student has the right to assume that he/she will not be deprived of
life, liberty, or property without due process. Although each student has
rights guaranteed by the U. S. Constitution, these freedoms cannot be enjoyed,
exercised, or protected in a community which lacks order and stability.
It is, therefore, each student's responsibility to adhere to the conduct
and standards prescribed by the University, the Board of Trustees for University
Louisiana System, as well as those established by local, state and federal
law.
Each student is entitled to the essential rights common to all institutions
of post-secondary education which are held to include the following:
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Speech and Expression. Students
shall be free to discuss questions of interest and to express opinions.
Public expression of students or student organizations reflect the views
of those making the statement and not necessarily the University community.
The University retains the right to provide for the safety of students,
faculty, and staff, to protect property, to ensure the continuity of the
educational process in maintaining order.
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Assembly and Demonstration.
Students shall be free to organize and to associate to promote their common
interests. Assembly and demonstration, just as speech and expression within
the institution in public places, are permitted subject to reasonable
time, place, and manner restrictions for the maintenance of order and
is applicable to local, state and federal laws. Approval from the Vice
President for Student Affairs shall designate a "free expression"
area for demonstrations. However, students must reserve the designated
area in advance and must adhere to regulations governing usage.
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Publication and Distribution.
Students shall be free to publish and to distribute their ideas in the
form of newspapers, newsletters, leaflets, handbills, and the like, subject
to time, place, and manner restrictions. Publications shall be disseminated
in the designated "free expression area" on the campus.
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Expression through Media.
Students shall be free to express opinions through student media as long
as they are governed by and adhere to the canons of professional journalism
and applicable regulations of the U. S. Constitution and the Federal Communication
Commission. Similar rights are afforded oral statements of views on student-run
radio and television stations.
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Discrimination. Students
have the right to be free from all forms of discrimination on the basis
of race, color, religion, sex, political affiliation, and/or national
origin. The University will not condone any practices or policies that
discriminate against the handicapped.
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Privacy. Students have the
right to be secure in their possessions against invasions of privacy and
unreasonable search and seizure. However, the University reserves the
right to enter occupied residence halls with a warrant or under other
special circumstances. Conditions for entry by University authorities/officials
into occupied rooms in residence halls are divided into three categories:
inspection, search and emergency. (See "Residential Living"
Handbook, p. 24 and Housing Assignment Contract.)
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Confidentiality. Students
have the right to confidentiality of Official Records, Transcripts, Personnel
Records, and Disciplinary Records. Students also have the right to confidentiality
of information relating to personal views, beliefs, and political associations,
acquired by administrators, instructors, counselors, advisors, and officials
of University in the course of their work.
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Redress of Grievances. Any
time a student's rights as outlined herein are contravened, the student
shall have the right to petition for redress of such a grievance through
procedures as promulgated within this cover.