Organizational Amnesty

Student organization amnesty policy

We believe that student organizations are capable of making good decisions and engaging in a Culture of Care for the health and safety of others. In partnership organization members to promote health & safety, responsibility, and self-governance for a culture of long-term well-being, organizations will be eligible for amnesty from conduct processes in certain situations. Organizations will be eligible for amnesty when swift action has been taken by the organization to stop behaviors related to alcohol, drugs, and/or hazing, to provide an immediate remedy, and to propose or put measures in place to prevent such behaviors from occurring again. Amnesty does not offer an organization a ‘pass.’ This policy offers organizations an opportunity to engage in an educational process that will best meet the organization’s and its members’ needs in partnership with the University and its own self-governing processes.

The expectation for organizations utilizing this policy is that they ensure immediate care for a student in need, self-report this incident to the Office of Student Conduct, and provide complete and truthful information about the situation.

Should this policy be utilized, IU may not apply conduct charges, may not hold an administration conference for the organization, and may not progressively increase the organization’s sanctions. Additionally, IU may not report this incident and any agreed upon actions on the “University Organizations Subject to Discipline” found on the Office of Student Conduct’s website.

The following process identifies who is eligible for amnesty, what behaviors may be given amnesty, and the process for enacting organizational amnesty.

Apply for Organizational Amnesty

Eligibility

All registered student organizations, including university sponsored organizations (USOs) and student-governed student organizations (SGSOs), are eligible. Prior behaviors of a similar nature in the past calendar year may be taken into consideration in determining whether amnesty will be granted to an organization. Specifically, an organization may not be eligible for amnesty if it has utilized the amnesty policy within the current academic year, or if it has any active disciplinary status for a similar behavior. While amnesty may be granted more than once a year, additional cases may be reviewed. Application of the amnesty policy will be granted at the discretion of the Dean of Students.

For incidents that involve more than one organization, this amnesty policy will only be considered for organizations who have followed all procedural steps outlined in the following section. If organizations involved in a reported incident do not complete the requisite procedural steps, a formal conduct process for those organizations may move forward.

An organization may request amnesty for incidents involving alcohol, drugs, and for some hazing behaviors, including but not limited to:

  • Possession, consumption, or distribution of alcohol at an organization event, where medical attention is needed. The medical attention may be related or unrelated to alcohol use.
  • Possession or consumption of drugs at an organization event, where medical attention is needed. The medical attention may be related or unrelated to drug use.
  • Facilitation of hazing behaviors by the organization or its members in which the behavior was:
    • Immediately stopped, no medical attention was needed, and alcohol and/or drugs were not involved.
    • Prior behavior reported by organizational leadership in an effort to seek help from the university and to actively change or remedy the organization’s culture. Prior hazing incidents may be considered for amnesty under this policy or other alternative resolution processes at the Dean of Student’s discretion.

Procedures

To make a report and engage in the amnesty process, an organization and/or individual representing the organization must follow the below steps:

  1. A member of the organization must call police if there is, or there is a threat of, serious or imminent harm to any member and/or other person present at the organization’s event or on the organization’s premises (e.g. guests). The caller must stay with any person(s) in need of assistance. Serious or imminent harm may include, but is not limited to, injuries requiring medical attention, health concerns, hospitalization, presence or knowledge of a weapon, and/or physical harm to others.
  2. A member of the organization’s executive leadership must complete and submit the Online Amnesty Form within 24 hours of the incident having occurred. All information included in this submission must be complete and truthful, and any responsibility the organization may have in possible IU policy violations must be disclosed. If multiple organizations want to engage in the amnesty process for the same incident, a separate form must be submitted for each organization. This promotes direct communication between executive leadership and the Office of Student Conduct and active engagement in the amnesty process.
  3. The organization’s representative must call and/or email their organization’s staff/faculty advisor within 24 hours of the incident having occurred.
    1. Sororities and fraternities must call and/or email their Office of Sorority and Fraternity Life (OSFL) Chapter Coach.
    2. USOs and SGSOs must call and/or email their University Advisor. This may be a faculty advisor, staff from an academic unit, or staff in the Student Involvement and Leadership Center (SILC).

After a report is received, the following will occur:

  • The organization’s leadership will be required to meet with the Office of Student conduct to provide full disclosure of the incident. This will occur within three business days of the report being submitted.
  • Information learned may be shared with an organization’s inter/national office and/or headquarters. Organizations may choose to send information to these offices on their own in addition.
  • The organization will be responsible for drafting an educational action plan, which may include, but is not limited to, alcohol education, drug education, and creation of or updates to the organization’s risk management plan and safety procedures.
  • Organizations will complete check-in meetings to discuss the educational action plan with a University staff advisor at a frequency agreed upon by the advisor, the organization, and the Office of Student Conduct.

If an organization (1) completes steps 1-3, as outlined above, participating fully and honestly in the process, and (2) is determined to be eligible for the amnesty process based on the facts of the report and the organization’s prior conduct history, the organization matter will be resolved under the amnesty process.