Judicial fines fund student life projects

It's every student's nightmare: an envelope arrives in your mailbox, informing you that the Student Community Standards Board is slapping you with several hundred dollars in fines. It could be for petty vandalism or underage drinking, or maybe just for having an unapproved appliance in your dorm that could be a fire hazard.

Whatever your offense(s) may be, you lose your appeal and pay up. But where does your money go? The answer is far less sinister than you might, in your momentary bitterness, imagine.

Dean of Students James Annarelli is the dean who oversees disciplinary issues with students, and he also has control of the college's revenues from student judicial fines. It should be noted that money paid for parking tickets is not included in judicial fines, with these funds collected instead by the Business Office.

"When judicial fines are collected by the college," says Annarelli, "they are deposited in a restricted account over which I have control. The money in that restricted account is used for various student life projects and programs."

He proceeds to reel off a lengthy list of events, programs and items that have been funded with judicial fine money including increased security at major campus events and the presence of a St. Petersburg Police Officer to guard the front gate at night. Student fines also have paid for the climbing rock in Slater's Woods (behind the main cafeteria), a new TV for Sigma's lounge and a new stove for Kappa's lounge.

The money even paid for many of the furnishings found in dorm lounges across campus, which were purchased from a defunct restaurant.

Annarelli could not estimate the exact amounts of judicial fines revenue and spending, noting that these figures vary significantly from year to year.

His rationale for his student-oriented spending policy is that judicial fine spending should improve student life.

"In violating community standards, the quality of community life is being undermined," he says. "Therefore, in my view, whenever possible, the compensatory sanction for that violation should be directed toward the repair of or the building up of the Eckerd Community.

Although Annarelli is quite pleased with his model of campus improvement through judicial fines spending, he worries that some students do not fully understand it.

"We try to make this clear to [students] that these fines are funneled back into student life," he says, "but I guess the misconception is that these fines are collected and are, in effect, deposited into the college's general fund. I want [students] to know that these fines remain within the student life program and are used for student life projects and programs."

Annarelli's concerns are well founded, as many students do not know how the college spends judicial fine money and often assume the worst. "I have no idea [where the money goes]," says Freshman Morgan Engle.

"I don't even know," adds Sophomore Alec Schlosser.

While the student body's misconceptions about judicial fines spending are worrying, it is perhaps more worrying that students do not know where to turn for information about what they can be fined for and how much the fines will cost.

Schlosser indicates that he would ask Campus Safety for such information. However, Campus Safety only has information about and jurisdiction over parking fines, which are not included in judicial fines. A student inquiring about the fines schedule in the Campus Safety office would almost certainly be turned away and directed to the Student Affairs office, as student fines are set annually by the Community Standards Incident Review Committee.

The Community Standards Incident Review Committee (CSIRC, or "see-surk" as it's commonly pronounced), meets weekly and is composed of the five associate and assistant deans of students, Community Standards Coordinator Lori Meehan and the director of the Student Community Standards Board. The current student fines schedule established by this body is laid out in 14 pages of figures, criteria, procedures, and other important fine information.

In a recent interview with The Current, Annarelli was surprised to learn from Meehan that this fine schedule is not available to students, even by request.

"I think that's important for students to know," he said. "If I get a speeding ticket, I have a right to know what the fine parameters are. I think it's important for students to know to ensure the consistency of sanctions."

In response to Annarelli's concerns, Lori Meehan provided The Current with the fine information that appears elsewhere on this page, representing some of the most relevant and most common student infractions and their corresponding penalties, which include both monetary fines and other punitive actions.

The Current is not aware of any CSIRC plan to release the entire fines schedule to the public, but students can brush up on some of the more general procedures of the college's judicial processes by consulting the EC-Book, the official student handbook of Eckerd College. The EC-Book even includes provisions for students who wish to perform community service in lieu of paying fines.

As is the case at many schools of all levels across the nation, many students at Eckerd decline to read or even skim this text.

"I think people find out [the rules] after the fact," says Engle, citing anecdotal incidents in which her fellow students were surprised to be fined for having empty bottles of alcohol or certain kinds of power strips in their rooms.

The EC-Book, which is updated annually, is distributed to freshmen at the beginning of the year. The college publishes only a limited run of copies for new students for sustainability reasons, but the current EC Book always is available on line at the my.eckerd.edu site. Students interested in a paper copy should drop by the Student Affairs office in Brown Hall to request one.