"I want people to say that Michigan is a better, more distinguished place for me having been here. That we are more humane and are taking better care of our undergraduate and graduate students."

- University President Mary Sue Coleman to the Detroit Free Press.

There is a two-tiered justice system at the University. University employees reserve the established rights of the U.S. judicial system in their disputes with the University. Students, however, do not receive this treatment.

Disputes between students and the University are resolved under a different set of rules. The Statement of Student Rights and Responsibilities, formerly known as the Code of Student Conduct, governs students' legal dealings with the University. The Code has gone through a series of permutations and name changes, but its fundamental dimension has yet to change. The denial of judicial rights that is at the center of the document has not been amended or reformed.

Among the more unfortunate aspects of the Code, the resolution process stands out as particularly egregious. Students cannot have legal counsel speak on their behalf and hearsay evidence is admissible in the kangaroo court's proceedings. The University administration has justified these regulations as tools to improve students' education and encourage their personal development. To allow its students to be unfairly exposed to the possibility of suspension or expulsion and justifying it as in the best interests of the students is unconscionable.

Every other academic year, the Code is eligible to undergo a series of revisions. This process, which involves the joint work of the Michigan Student Assembly, the Executive Officers of the University and the Senate Advisory Committee on University Affairs, culminates in a presidential decision to accept or deny the various changes. The last time this process was undertaken during the 2000-2001 school year, weak executive leadership and internal turmoil prevented MSA from effectively challenging the administration. Former President Bollinger conceded to 85 percent of the proposed changes. In reality, these changes consisted of grammatical and verbal revisions that kept intact most of the Code's disconcerting provisions.

For the first time in the history of the Code, the University has a new president with no previous connections to the University. While past presidents have been content to let the status quo reign, Coleman is uniquely positioned to implement the far-reaching changes that will give students the rights at the University that they possess in civil society. The next academic year could prove to be a watershed moment in the history of student rights at the University - if students actively assert their opposition to the Code.

The Code was once the prime concern of student activists across campus. Massive rallies in opposition to the document were frequent through the late '80s and into the '90s. But that spirit vanished as students left Ann Arbor and the Code became entrenched into the fabric of student life. This apathy must be rejected. Students need to once again pressure the president and her administration to destroy the Code.

President Coleman's vision of a more humane University is an inspiring goal. The first and most obvious step in what will necessarily be an extended process is to eliminate the Code. It is time to restore humanity to the academy.