Undercover police investigation guideline recommendations were finalized by the University Committee on Student Affairs last week.
Other groups will receive the guidelines before they are submitted to MSU President M. Peter McPherson next month.
Jeff Ziarko, chairperson of the committee, said it was necessary for ASMSU’s Student and Academic assemblies and the Executive Committee of Academic Council to see the guidelines before McPherson reviews the document in mid-April.
The committee - which has seven student members, four faculty members and one noncollege faculty member - wrote the guidelines in response to an undercover MSU police investigation beginning about February 2000 into the student group United Students Against Sweatshops, now called Students for Economic Justice.
The committee has been developing guidelines for undercover police investigations since McPherson requested them last fall. Two sets of guidelines, a committee version and an administration version, were combined in March.
The final set of guidelines has two sections. There are eight requirements for conducting undercover investigations of MSU student organizations. There are four requirements for maintaining investigation records.
“People would have to have substantial objections for changes to be made,” said Ziarko, who also is ASMSU Academic Assembly’s director of university, governmental and budgetary affairs. “But given the roles these groups play in relation to (the University Committee on Student Affairs), we want them to be aware of the document before we submit it to the president.”
Ziarko said Student and Academic assemblies will receive the guidelines this week. Executive Committee of Academic Council will see them on April 9.
Ziarko said the student affairs committee will not meet again unless changes need to be made. He said McPherson will see the document as soon as April 10.
“I think we produced a really strong document that protects students,” he said.
McPherson said he is going to weigh the recommended guidelines heavily when he decides whether to accept the document as university policy.
“This committee has worked hard on these guidelines and I look forward to seeing what they propose,” said McPherson, who will make the decision to approve or reject the document before the end of the academic year.
Norman Abeles, chairperson of Academic Council’s executive committee, said the committee would be interested in learning more about the guidelines.
“They worked very hard on that and it would be helpful for our executive committee to look at it,” Abeles said. “It’s in the interest of the faculty to see the work product just so we have some information on it.”
Jared English, student affairs committee member, said it was necessary to send the guidelines to other groups that can provide input on what students want.
“It’s a way to hold (the University Committee on Student Affairs) accountable,” the ASMSU Academic Assembly James Madison College representative said. “It’s also a way to represent constituents of Student Assembly and Academic Assembly.”
