Canisius College

A.  Jurisdiction of the College
By voluntarily choosing to affiliate with Canisius College, students accept the responsibility to comply with the regulations outlined in the Community Standards, which apply to behavior both on and off campus.  Therefore, College jurisdiction and discipline shall generally include conduct which occurs on College premises, which occurs off College premises, including abroad, or which adversely affects members of the College community or the pursuit of the College mission. The Dean of Students or designee shall decide whether the Community Standards shall be applied on a case-by-case basis.

B.  Conduct – Rules and Regulations
Any student or organization alleged to have committed or alleged to have attempted to commit any of the following acts is subject to the judicial process found in Article IV:

1.  Physical abuse, verbal abuse, threats, intimidation, harassment, menacing, stalking, coercion and/or other conduct which threatens or endangers the health, well-being or safety of any person.

2.  All forms of sexual misconduct, including any form of unwanted sexual contact and/or exploitation.  “Unwanted” means against a person’s wishes or without consent and includes those instances in which the individual is coerced or unable to give consent because of sleep, unconsciousness, impairment or intoxication.  A “no” or absence of resistence is not required to prevent sexual contact; whereas
a verbal or nonverbal “yes” is required to permit sexual contact.

3. Hazing, for the purpose of initiation, admission into, affiliation with, or as a condition for continued membership in, a group or organization. Consent of the student or participant is not a defense. Apathy or acquiescence in the presence of hazing are not neutral acts and are considered violations.

4. Behavior or conduct which is disorderly, lewd, or indecent.

5.  Use, possession or distribution of illegal drug-related paraphernalia, narcotics or other controlled substances except as expressly permitted by federal, state and/or local law.

6.  Public intoxication or the use, possession or distribution of alcoholic beverages except as expressly permitted by federal, state and/or local law and
College regulations (see College Alcohol Policy).

7.  Possession of firearms, replica firearms, ammunition, explosives, or other weapons, or unauthorized use of dangerous chemicals or substances on College premises.

8. Tampering with or falsely activating fire equipment. 

9.  Attempted or actual theft of, damage to, or unauthorized possession or alteration of property of the College, property of a member of the College community or other personal or public property.

10.  Actual or attempted acts of dishonesty including but not limited to the following:
 a. Academic misconduct as defined in Appendix A;
 b. Furnishing false information to any College official, faculty member, course instructor or office;
 c. Forgery, alteration, or misuse of any College document, record, or instrument of identification;
 d. Aiding or abetting the conduct in (a), (b), and/or (c);

11. Attempted or actual theft or other abuse of computer resources and systems pursuant to the Acceptable Use Policy for Canisius College Computer Facilities. This includes downloading copyrighted material.

12. Behavior or conduct resulting in the disruption or obstruction of teaching, research, administration, disciplinary proceedings, student organization, other College activities or events, including its public-service functions on or off campus, or other authorized non-College activities, when the act occurs on
College premises.

13.  Failure to comply with directions of members of the College community or emergency or service personnel acting in performance of their official duties and/or failure to identify oneself to these persons when requested to do so.

14.  Obstruction of or dangerous interference with the free flow of pedestrian or vehicular traffic on College premises or at College sponsored or supervised functions.

15.  Unauthorized possession, duplication or use of keys, combinations, or access cards to any College premises or unauthorized entry to or use of College property.

16.   Engaging in illegal gambling activities. 

17.  Violation of published College policies, rules, regulations, notices or statements, including, but not limited to, those contained in or pertaining to the Student Handbook, Alcohol and Drug Policies, Smoking Policies, Sexual Harassment Policies, Statement on Sexual Assault, Notice of Nondiscrimination, Information Technologies Policies, Housing and Dining Contract, Treatment of Animals, Parking and Traffic Policies and Regulations, and the College Catalog.

18.  Abuse of the Judicial System, including, but not limited to, the following:
 a.   Failure to comply with the directive to appear before a hearing panel or hearing officer.
 b.   Falsification, distortion, or misrepresentation of information before a hearing panel or hearing officer.
 c.   Disruption or interference with the orderly conduct of a judicial proceeding.
 d.   Knowingly instituting a judicial proceeding without cause.
 e.   Influencing or attempting to influence another person to commit an abuse of the judicial system.
 f.    Attempting to discourage an individual’s proper participation in, or use of the judicial system.
 g.   Attempting to influence the impartiality of a member of a hearing panel or of a hearing officer prior to, and/or during the course of, the judicial proceeding.
 h.   Inappropriate behavior or conduct (verbal or physical) and/or intimidation of any person involved in a judicial proceeding prior to, during, and/or after that judicial proceeding.
 i.    Failure to comply with a sanction imposed under the Community Standards.

19.  Any off-campus conduct demonstrating disregard for the rights of others.

20.  Any violation of federal, state and/or local laws/ordinances regardless of whether such violation occurred on or off the College premises.

Students shall be responsible for the behavior and conduct of any guests. Any violations of the Community Standards by a guest may result in a complaint against the hosting student.


C.  Violation of Law & College Discipline
1.  College judicial proceedings may be instituted against a student charged with violation of a law which is also a possible violation of the Community Standards, for example, if both violations result from the same factual situation. Proceedings under the Community Standards shall normally be carried out without regard to the status of off-campus civil or criminal proceedings. Determinations made and/or sanctions imposed under the Community Standards, shall not be subject to change because criminal/civil charges arising out of the same facts were dismissed, reduced, or resolved in favor of the defendant.

2.  When a student is charged by federal, state or local authorities with a violation of law, the College shall not request or agree to special consideration for that individual because of his or her status as a student. If the alleged offense is also the subject of a federal, state or local proceeding, the College may advise off-campus authorities of the existence of the Community Standards and of how such matters shall be handled internally within the College community.