Talking Stick - July/August 2009 - 39

and making reparations than it does on punishment or retribution. Proponents of restorative justice look at the impact of behaviors on the larger community and stress a collaborative remediation in which violations are explored by both the offender and the victim. In the restorative justice model, students are accountable not only to the immediate victim but also to the community. Thus, when the intervention is successful, students hold themselves accountable for their actions, understand the value of modifying behavior, and continue to learn from the experience; they also engage in giving back to the community, thus making whole what has been taken away. The University of Colorado at Boulder has been one of the strongest proponents of practicing restorative justice on campus, praising how the process brings together, in a safe environment, the offender and the people harmed or affected by the offender’s actions. They also call in a trained facilitator and co-facilitator to the meeting, as well as family and/or friends of the offender and the harmed party or parties. During the meeting, the offender accepts responsibility and talks about what happened, the harmed and affected parties describe how they have been affected, and all parties prepare a “harm-repairing” contract. Completion of this contract (for example, a student agrees to repair damaged property) is monitored by the restorative justice program coordinator. Again, the emphasis is on identifying the impact an action has had on the community, identifying the harm done, and rectifying as needed. For all its benefits, though, this approach is not appropriate for all situations, as Scott-Duex explains: “[Restorative justice] is not for all. Not everyone is going to benefit. It may be less than a dozen students.” She notes that restorative justice provides “another level of partnership that results in more educational sanctioning. It takes time to do it right, but it creates great opportunities.” What is most important is that administrators have a wide range of options available to them so that the consequences fit the crime. As King says, utilizing multiple adjudication models allows for this kind of flexibility: “There is not a ‘one size fits all’ approach. There should be a variety of options at [one’s] disposal creating an educational process to meet students where they are.” Adding Tools to the Toolbox There are many tools that can be used to guide and to discipline student conduct. Jennifer Meyer Schrage, director of the University of Michigan’s Office of Student Conflict Resolution, and Dr. Nancy Geist Giacomini, a private educator, Is your university housing keeping up with students’ technological needs? Believe it or not, students occasionally use their Internet connection for applications besides Facebook, YouTube and online gaming. Today’s students need access to electronic publishing, collaborative studies and online courses to keep up academically. Unfortunately, all of these demands can put a serious strain on your school’s network. There is a solution. By partnering with Connexion Technologies, you can upgrade to a fiber-optic network that is ready to support students’ Internet, video and telecommunications needs. Find out more at www.connexiontechnologies.net or contact us at 919.535.7329.

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Talking Stick - July/August 2009

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Talking Stick - July/August 2009