The fee: free. The assistance: priceless.
When impending consequences of illegal or academically immoral actions threaten to damage a student’s reputation and bank account, ASMSU, MSU’s undergraduate student government, has free resources available to help.
Recent MSU graduate Gavin O’Mara said his misdemeanor of a noise violation was reduced to a civil infraction with the help of student defenders during his junior year.
ASMSU Legal Services and Student Defenders are two separate entities under one roof in the Student Services Building.
Both entities provide council for varying types of cases free of cost, said Gregory Dachko , a political theory and constitutional democracy senior and director of Student Defenders and Student Legal Services. One must be a registered, current MSU student and have not received a refund of their ASMSU taxes in order to qualify.
Of the many cases the Student Defenders cover, the most common academic cases are plagiarism accusations, while the most common judicial cases involve drinking in residence halls, Dachko said.
Anything within the bounds of the university, including grade disputes, are handled by Student Defenders, Dachko said. More serious offenses like MIPs and DUIs and anything involving arrest is better handled by Legal Services, which is made up of professional practicing lawyers.
Because most come in terrified, Dachko said he tries to calm students by assuring them ASMSU has its clients’ best interests in mind.
“We are student employees,” Dachko said. “We serve the students. So everything we do is in the best interest of MSU students, graduate and undergraduate.”
University Ombudsman Robert Caldwell , who serves as an advocate for fairness and justice within the MSU community, said he tries to just make students who come to him with university issues aware of the available resources on campus. In the past, many students have not realized these services are available.
“I think they’re great to have on campus because they do a lot of the work that a lawyer would do, except you don’t have to pay them,” O’Mara said. “So ASMSU kind of takes that burden off of the student.”
It is Dachko and his staff’s job to find the best resolution for both the student involved and the opposing party.
Dachko said Student Defenders and Legal Services are not here to get students off for free, get them out of trouble or find loopholes in the system so they can worm their way out of trouble.
However, for the students who have a legitimate case and issues, Student Defenders make themselves available.
“If you need to make use of it, you’d be making a huge error not to,” Dachko said.
Appointments can be made by calling 810-623-0587 or emailing dsdls@asmsu.msu.edu.
