By ANIKA SETHY
In light of recent debates over the interpretation of federal legislation which dictates whether universities have the power to send home — against their will if necessary — students who pose a direct threat to themselves or others, Cornell will maintain its current policies.
Currently, the University has the authority to send students home who act as a disruption to the campus community under University Policy 7.2, which first invites affected students to take a “voluntary leave,” and only after “careful consideration by staff … is an involuntary leave invoked,” according to Dean of Students Kent Hubbell ’67.
In March 2011, the U.S. Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights changed their interpretation of Title II, interpreting the new regulation as restricting the options of universities due to a change of the definition of a direct threat to be “a significant risk to the health or safety of others that cannot be eliminated by a modification of policies,” according to the Department of Justice.
Brochures posted at Gannett Health Center remind students to reach out for help in times of need. (Michelle Feldman / Sun Staff Photographer)