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The Rice Thresher
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by Brian Stoler thresher editorial staff Two Sid sophomores face university disciplinary action in connection with the Oct. 24 Sid Richardson College Council minutes. A complaint was filed with the Office of Judicial Affairs against the students, Vinay Kini and Patrick B. Murphy, who wrote the minutes while acting in their roles as the college secretaries, Sid President Laura Rees, a senior, said. Kini and Murphy declined to comment on any aspect of the case. Rees, who has been in close contact with Kini and Murphy, agreed to talk to the Thresher about what happened but declined to give any specifics about charges against the students. The complaint was sparked by the back page of the Oct. 24 minutes. The top of the page reprints an opinion column from the Oct. 13 issue of The Rice Thresher, and at the bottom is a parody of the column. The original column, "Registrar and financial aid eventually fix glitches," was written by Sid sophomore Jessica Dunn. The parody was titled "Great things about me that everyone should know," and included insults about Dunn, including comments like "You Are a Dumb Bitch" and repeated statements that she has sex with her twin sister Danielle, also a Sid sophomore. Jessica and Danielle Dunn declined to comment to the Thresher about the minutes or the case, citing the ongoing investigation. It is unclear who actually filed the disciplinary complaint. Rees said neither of the Dunns filed the complaint, but she would not say who did. Interim Assistant Dean for Student Judicial Programs Allen Matusow could not be reached, and Vice President for Student Affairs Zenaido Camacho refused to comment about this case.
The minutes prompted a flurry of messages to the Sid listserv just after they were printed, including from a message from Sid Master and Computational and Applied Mathematics Professor Steve Cox, condemning the publication. Within 24 hours, Kini and Murphy sent an apology to the listserv, stating that what they had written was wrong and that they did not intend to offend anyone. Jessica and Danielle Dunn later each sent messages to the listserv, acknowledging Kini and Murphy's apology and thanking members of the college for their support. Rees said to her knowledge, the Dunns accepted the apology and expressed no interest in bringing the issue to the university judicial system. "When I offered to take the issue to a higher level for them, because it was a big deal, they said that they were comfortable with the way that Sid had dealt with the issue, and that 'Sid Rich rules,' that they had had so much support from the community that that was enough," Rees said.
Kini and Murphy received an e-mail Monday requesting that they meet with Matusow Tuesday, Rees said. At this meeting, Kini and Murphy were told that disciplinary charges were being brought against them, but they were not informed of the details of the charges until Wednesday. No one connected with the case would give any information on the specific charges or who filed the complaint. Accusations of violations of the Code of Student Conduct are by default heard by University Court. However, at the request of any party involved, the case could be removed to Matusow's direct jurisdiction under the procedures set out in the code. If Matusow considered the case directly, he could form a subcommittee of the Judicial Affairs Committee to investigate the case and report on the facts to him. The subcommittee would include at least one student. The Judicial Affairs Committee is composed of faculty, masters, Student Affairs staff and undergraduate and graduate students. Rees said she did not know where Kini and Murphy's case would be first heard but that they would rather it went to U. Court. "The boys would rather see it go through U. Court, because other students are going to be judging them and students know the climate at Rice University that already exists," she said. "However, because this is a large case and because the trial is being pushed forward so quickly, I would not be surprised if [there] is going to be a subcommittee." Kini and Murphy resigned their positions as secretaries this week. Rees said that with the stress they are under due to the disciplinary action, they did not want to remain in the job. The position will be filled temporarily until the end of the semester, Rees said, and then there will be elections to choose who will be secretary for next semester. A problem in the college climate Rees said the minutes in question reflect a general problem in the environment at Sid, and so the entire college bears some responsibility for the minutes. "We feel that it is the college's responsibility more so than the boys'," she said. "I apologized as the leader of the college to the Dunns, because I felt as though the entire college community was responsible for what occurred." Rees, who was a Sid secretary two years ago, said Sid minutes have a history of content other than reports of announcements from the Sid Council meeting. "About three years ago, we started including jokes on both sides of the minutes, but the back page ... of the minutes has always been directed at individuals, it has always contained sexually explicit language and, on many occasions, it has been derogatory toward students within the college," she said. There are no guidelines given to secretaries about what should or should not be put in the minutes. "When I became secretary, no one in the entire college ever said to me, 'Be careful with what you write because you could be held liable,' or, 'Watch out what you write because some people could be overly offended by it,'" Rees said. In a 1998 memo from Assistant Dean for Student Judicial Programs Patricia Bass, sexual harassment is defined as conduct by an employee, another student or third party "that is severe, persistent or pervasive enough to either limit a student's ability to participate or benefit from an educational program or to create a hostile or abusive educational environment." It also states that this type of harassment is usually a result of a pattern of behavior, although "a one-time incident rises to the level of harassment if it is sufficiently severe." Sid members are circulating a petition saying that Kini and Murphy should not be responsible for the climate that has been at Sid longer than they have. "In short, we have fostered an environment at Sid Richardson College in which offensive minutes are expected if not approved," the petition says. "We regret any harm caused to the complaining individuals by the minutes in question, and do feel that something should be done to change the current state of affairs, but we feel that singling out and punishing Vinay Kini and Patrick Murphy is not the way to rectify the situation." Of the petition, Rees said: "It in no way is an attack on the Dunns, and it is in no way excusing the boys' actions, it is simply a statement of the fact that within our college this material has been acceptable for the past several years, and we even encouraged the secretaries to write in this style." Rees wrote in an e-mail to the college Wednesday evening, "We as a college have been responsible for an environment that needs to be changed."
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