UA students busted for off-campus parties will start facing additional on-campus discipline starting in January under a pilot program designed to ease the relationship between the university and surrounding neighborhoods.
On a weekly basis, the Dean of Students Office will receive all Tucson Police Department case reports on red-tag citations, issued for unruly gatherings, and determine which party hosts are university students, said Veda Kowalski, associate dean of students.
Campus penalties can only be for red-tagged parties hosted by students with students as the vast majority of guests and must be linked to specific violations of the code of conduct, including the sale or distribution of illegal drugs or controlled substances, violence or serving alcohol to minors, Kowalski said.
"Those behaviors present a clear danger to the safety of the university community," Kowalski said. "As the host of a party you are responsible for the lawful behavior of the people who attend your party."
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Red tags impose a $100 fine on each resident present at the party and must remain visible for 180 days. Additional noise violations while the tag is posted result in progressively steeper fines, up to $1,500. The ordinance is a decade old and has remained popular with neighborhood groups.
Officer Frank Amado, a Tucson Police Department spokes-man, said the department supports the cooperation of the university.
"This is a prime example of our commitment to a working partnership to make the community a better place in whatever way we can," he said.
The pilot program, first proposed in August, will be the first time anybody has examined which portion of the city's red-tag citations are issued to students, who are widely thought to receive the bulk of the citations. An Arizona Daily Star analysis of active red tags in August found most were concentrated within two miles of campus.
"We're going to be gaining a lot of information and part of it is getting an understanding of exactly who is being red-tagged, where they are being red-tagged and under what circumstances they're being red-tagged," Kowalski said.
The Dean of Students Office will follow up with students who are red-tagged, sending a letter requesting a formal meeting.
Receiving a red tag does not automatically mean a student will be disciplined for violating the code of conduct. Students are allowed to present their case, whether it's arguing they're not responsible or identifying extenuating circumstances.
"Students are always given the opportunity to present their side of the situation," Kowalski said. "Receiving a red tag will be the trigger that gets a referral here that starts a conversation with the student."
The university is developing a two-hour "good neighbor" class, similar to alcohol classes for underage-drinking violations, that will be the first level of discipline. Penalties for subsequent or more severe violations will rise to community service and could eventually reach expulsion.
"There's nothing different about this. It's our discipline process authorized by our student code of conduct," Kowalski said. "As always the range is a warning to expulsion from the university."
University officials will review the program after the spring semester and solicit feedback from students, police and neighborhood groups to determine whether it will continue, Kowalski said.
