University may punish students for off-campus acts

The alarming trend towards trying to keep students in suspended animation festers.

Regents for the University of Wisconsin system (a public university system) are considering asking state lawmakers to allow students to be punished by the university for off-campus conduct unrelated to school.

Wisconsin law already has reasonable provisions allowing institutions of higher book-learnin' to penalize off-campus conduct IF SUCH BEHAVIOR IS RELATED TO SCHOOL - for instance, online harassment of a schoolmate or professor.

The latest proposal though would institute unreasonable provisions to expand this power. For example, students who violate minor city ordinances or who receive a minor drug charge may be punished, even if their transgressions were not on campus and had nothing to do with school.

This isn't the first time something like this has been attempted in this fine nation. I attended a community college in Kentucky several years ago where the student handbook threatened disciplinary action against students who had minor drug offenses nowhere near campus. (The school seems to have since repealed this policy.) Ironically, no other off-campus offense was punishable by the college - which proves again how Kentucky education officials are so paranoid that they think there's a stoner or "dry druggie" hiding under every bed.

(Source: http://www.madison.com/wsj/topstories/449839)