Knowing the Student Code can help students when dealing with Ball State University, but it can also win students a free lunch this week.
As part of the 2006 Student Code Awareness Week, themed "Know the Code," the Office of Student Rights and Community Standards is giving presentations and hosting contests on Student Code trivia.
"The Student Code is like the Indiana Criminal Code in that people never really look at it until they need to," director David Fried said.
To inform students and faculty about both their rights and responsibilities, there was an hour-long presentation Tuesday night in the L.A. Pittenger Student Center. Some of the issues covered in the code include the bereavement process, grade appeal and the drinking policy.
To also help increase awareness, the office runs daily questions in the Daily News and has a quiz online for students to complete. Prizes are gift certificates for local restaurants.
"This is an incentive for students to dig into the code, know their rights and their responsibilities and know why they are here," said Betsy Mills of the Student Rights, Ethics and Standards committee.
Mills said the committee revamped the grade appeals process last year.
"I'm really proud of the work our committee did on that," she said. "There are people who will stand up for you if your grade is wrong."
A new policy that Fried said he hoped would be included in next year's Student Code is a "good Samaritan exception." The exception would protect students from being punished by the university for breaking rules if they are helping someone else.
The idea came up because of a story about a student who was drinking underage and needed to go to the hospital but was not taken there because his friends were drinking underage and could have gotten in trouble, Mills said. While the exception would protect students from the university, they could still get in trouble with the police.
"This is the university's way of saying we want you to get your friend help," Mills said.
Fried said he hoped more students would become aware of the code and what it means.
"It's important for you to know not only what is expected of you but what you can expect of the university and what your rights are as a student," Fried said.
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