SARP Response to Covid Violations

Gallaudet is fully committed to returning to campus for the 2021-2022 academic year and moving forward safely by following public health guidance. While Gallaudet University is relying on each member of the community to respect and adhere to the University COVID-19 directives including the Gallaudet Together Student Pledge. The University will have limited tolerance for actions that do not demonstrate commitment to interpersonal care, personal accountability, and community values during the COVID-19 pandemic. Not following any COVID-19 directive and/or the pledge will be taken seriously and considered as violations of the Student Code of Conduct.

Students who demonstrate a willful pattern of non-compliance, such as exposing university members to demonstrable health risk, or engage in behavior that includes additional violations, such as disorderly conduct or threatening the health and safety of others, may result in additional charges against them, including the possibility of residence hall relocation, or an interim suspension from the University or residence halls, pending the resolution of the charges(s) with Student Accountability and Restorative Practices (SARP).

The following will provide some examples of behaviors contradictory with the COVID-19 directives, and the SARP responses to such violations.

Category 1 Violations (Personal and Guest Compliance Expectations)

Some examples of behaviors include:

• Failure to follow Gallaudet’s mask policy, especially the yellow and orange statuses (first/second violation);
• Failure to follow Gallaudet’s social distancing policy
• Failure to complete the required daily self-health assessment (first/second violation).
• Non-compliance with campus and/or Residence Life & Housing guest and visitor expectations such as not registering off-campus students staying overnight and/or not obtaining permission from all suitemates/roommates;
• Hosting an in-person party in excess of 2x the room occupancy rate;

Category 2 Violations (Incidents of Heightened Significance)

Some examples of behaviors include:

• Repeated Category 1 Violations
• Failure to complete required weekly COVID-19 testing;
• Intimidating or Harassing a person based on actual or perceived COVID-19 status.
• Possession/consumption of hard liquor (alcohol with 16% or above alcohol content) in residence halls;
• Hosting an in person dorm gathering with alcohol in excess of 2x the room occupancy rate.

Category 3 Violations (Incidents of Great Concern and Substantial University Impact)

Some examples of behaviors include:

• Repeated Category 1 and/or 2 Violations
• Failure to follow a specific directive, such as quarantine, isolation, or contact tracing;
• Furnishing false information on self-health assessment, external COVID-19 tests, vaccination cards, or waiver requests;
• Having non-student visitors enter the residence halls or stay overnight;
• Intentionally coughing, sneezing, or spitting in the direction of others;
• Hosting an in person dorm gathering with hard alcohol (alcohol with 16% or above alcohol content).

Resolution Process and Response Options

Restorative Practices

Category 1 and some Category 2 incidents may be resolved using a restorative practices approach, which will be a 1:1 conversation with an assigned staff member from Health and Wellness Programs, and online educational modules or courses.

Student Conduct Process

Some Category 2, all Category 3, and repeated violations will beresolved through the student conduct process. Please refer to (will add link ASAP) for more information.

Sanctions assigned for Category 2 violations resolved through this process may include, but are not limited to:

• One-on-one meeting with an assigned staff from Health and Wellness Programs
• Online educational modules or courses
• Disciplinary Probation
• Campus and/or building access restrictions

When a student is found responsible for violations under this process, the SARP office will consider the nature of the violation, the circumstances surrounding the violation, the student’s prior conduct history (if any), the community impact of the behavior, and sanctions assigned to previous findings for similar violations.

Sanctions assigned for Category 3 violations resolved through this process may include, but are not limited to:

• Disciplinary probation;
• Loss of residence hall privileges;
• University suspension.

Additionally, more significant sanctions may be assigned when incidents involve multiple violations of the Student Code of Conduct, in addition to public health-related expectations.