Provost announces policy changes
Another policy level change involves tighter regulations for social Greek-letter organizations at Baruch.
“The President and I, on the recommendation of the Student Affairs team, have decided to impose a moratorium on Greek social organization pledging activities during the Fall 2014 semester,” read the email. “I will need assurance that students are not placed in a situation that compromises their physical safety or well-being during pledging.”
The aggressive policy comes after the Dec. 9, 2013, death of freshman Chun Hsein “Michael” Deng while participating in an unsanctioned pledging event for Pi Delta Psi, a social Asian-American organization, which has since been banned from the college and suspended by the national board of Pi Delta Psi. During a hazing ritual that happened in the yard of a rented home in Tunkhannock Township, Penn., where the pledging took place, Deng and three other pledges carried 20-pound sacks of sand on their backs as they ran across a field, blindfolded, while their other fraternity members repeatedly tackled them to the snow-covered ground.
According to authorities, Deng was knocked down to the ground during the ritual, immediately losing consciousness. The fraternity members carried Deng’s unresponsive body inside the house, changed his clothes and placed him next to the fire, spending the next hour researching the freshman’s symptoms and allegedly covering up all fraternity-related memorabilia and audio-visual evidence of the happenings of the night before. By the time Deng was brought to the hospital, he was already brain dead.
Deng passed away two days later, at the age of 19, as a result of major brain trauma. The 30 or so members who attended the retreat might be charged with hazing, a misdemeanor in Pennsylvania courts. Some members might be charged with criminal homicide, which in Pennsylvania means anything from involuntary manslaughter to premeditated murder. The charges, expected during the summer, have not been filed yet.
Earlier, Christy sent a letter to social Greek-letter fraternities and sororities at Baruch announcing the new policy, the email stated.
In response to the moratorium, Jonathan Albujar, former chapter president of Alpha Phi Delta and former vice president of Inter Greek Council, said, “Speaking on behalf of my chapter and the Greek community as a whole, we condemn the events that cost Michael Deng his life last year and pray for his family and those close to him as they continue to mourn his loss.”
“Although we dissent with this decision as an organization, we recognize the need to have stricter bylaws in light of recent tragic events,” Albujar said continuing his statement. “Alpha Phi Delta will adhere to the new rules, while advocating for the resumption of recruitment events across all Greek organizations, as we believe the Greek community can continue to better the college experience for countless students and should not be penalized for the actions of a few,” Albujar clarified.
Besides the policy-level changes, Christy addressed issues of academic integrity at Baruch in the email. In February 2013, the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program at Baruch was suspended for a breach in its student certification training. Earlier, in December 2012, an administrative director for executive programs at the Zicklin School of Business pled guilty to 11 charges of felony and 10 misdemeanor charges after allegations of forging grades and falsifying business records.
The issue of academic dishonesty was addressed by the provost and President Mitchel B. Wallerstein during convocation this fall, and the school looks to improve on this aspect of college by enlisting the help of the Undergraduate Student Government.
At Baruch, academic dishonesty is defined as cheating in any form, including distribution of tests, unauthorized phone use during exams, and the use of the same or similar paper for multiple classes. Plagiarism includes purchasing papers from online databases, not acknowledging sources and failing to give credit to students who have collaborated on projects. These provisions are all outlined under the “Academics” link on the college’s website.
“We are working with Provost Christy on an event or series of interactive events where students, faculty and staff can openly discuss and learn about academic integrity in such a way that the topic becomes more present to them,” stated Michael Harris, executive vice president of Baruch Undergraduate Student Government, in an email.
Harris and Samuel Rubinstein, USG’s vice president of academic affairs, will work alongside the dean’s office in order to ensure that the message of academic integrity is spread throughout campus.
“Academic integrity means not only the typical definition—not cheating, for example—but also learning from your studies, taking things away from what you’ve learned in the classroom and applying them outside the classroom,” Harris added. “As USG, we want to make academic integrity well-understood rather than something that’s dismissed and not taken seriously enough.”
Dr. Ronald Aaron, the academic integrity officer at Baruch, has dealt with numerous issues concerning rule violations during his time at the college. Speaking to The Ticker, Aaron described his approach to academic integrity issues as proactive.
“Our policy here is not, ‘Thou shall not cheat, if you cheat, to the guillotine you’ll go.’ The goal is not to scar [the students]. My goal is to engage them in conversation where they come away with a better understanding of what they did and how they may avoid putting themselves in that situation in the future.”
Aaron acknowledged that a student might have committed an act of academic dishonesty in the past and found the act to be acceptable to carry on to college. Some students might commit acts of academic dishonesty due to the pressure to perform well, he added.
If a student is caught cheating or plagiarizing, punitive measures are taken to ensure that the student does not do it again, and severe measures, including suspension and expulsion, are taken depending on the severity of the case, as well as the frequency. However, according to Aaron, 99 percent of the cases are typically resolved between him, the faculty member and the student, but if a student feels that the allegation is unfair, the student has a right to due process.
“The most important thing to me is that the student develops a sense of integrity,” Aaron said.
The email further announced administrative appointments made at Baruch during the summer, including that of Dr. Fenwick Huss as the new dean of Zicklin. Huss, formerly dean at the J. Mack Robinson College of Business at Georgia State University, was recommended to the CUNY board in March this year.
Art King has been appointed the assistant vice president for student affairs and dean of students. King has previously served in similar capacities at San Jose State University, Calif., and Towson University, Md., among other institutions for over 20 years. Additionally, the email announced the appointment of Heather Samples as the director of the Bernard L. Schwartz Communication Institute.
Additional reporting by Mary Pauline Pokoradi.