Some of the rules established by Indiana Wesleyan University have received widespread attention among students in recent years. The evangelical school’s stance on media, social dancing and compulsory chapel services are frequent topics of heated debate. Meanwhile, potentially contentious lesser-known rules have gone uncritiqued.
IWU published an updated, 64-page student handbook in October 2011 that specifically requires students to familiarize themselves with its contents.
“IWU students are responsible for the behavior expectations and policies set forth in this handbook,” states page 4 of the 2011/2012 handbook.
“All students should be familiar with and abide by the expectations set forth in this publication.”
These expectations include some nuanced clauses that may be unfamiliar to students.
Page 44 explicitly forbids opening windows “to transmit music to the community outside the residence hall.” (That’s right, Scripture Hall Disney fans, we’re looking at you.)
“All candles are prohibited,” states page 35. “This includes wickless gel candles, candle warmers, and decorative candles.”
Officials have very clearly defined IWU as a dry campus. Students are not allowed to drink alcohol off-campus or attend dance events where alcohol is sold or provided. Page 31 of the handbook takes the rule a step further and prohibits alcohol substitutes, including “near beer,” which includes a variety of malt beverages with little or no alcohol. Page 35 prohibits empty beverage containers, advertisements and clothing items that promote alcohol on-campus.
“As a Christian community, IWU is careful not to celebrate the pagan holiday called Halloween, with its emphasis on the occult, witches, the dead, ghosts, and rituals,” states page 22. “For this reason students should avoid dressing in costumes or otherwise promoting Halloween during this time of year. Therefore, any event or activity on or near Halloween which may include costumes must be approved by Student Development in advance of the promotion and marketing of the event.”
In two separate paragraphs on page 19, the handbook necessitates church attendance, stating that IWU community members “are to revere the name of God and observe the Lord’s Day through worship and spiritual edification and renewal for tasks ahead.”
Some of the handbook’s regulations are clearly defined, but others leave questions in the minds of students and administrators who interpret the loosely worded rules differently.
For instance, is the church attendance policy to be interpreted as a rule or a suggestion? That question may seem petty, but other questions are clearly not.
Are students permitted to attend a dance-free party where alcohol is served, so long as students do not consume alcohol? There are clear rules against drinking and attending dance events at venues where alcohol is sold or provided, but there is no prohibition of simply being in the presence of alcohol.
This did not stop the drafters of the handbook from suggesting that such a rule exists. Page 47 summarizes potential handbook violations in an inexhaustive list that includes “attending a party where alcohol is served (unsolicited confession)” as a Level I violation.
Points of potential contention and varied interpretation exist throughout the 2011/2012 handbook. The legislative process is one of constant evolution, so these cases represent issues that should be clarified one way or another in the coming semesters.
In each of the next few weeks, I will explore one or two topics found in the student handbook with lesser-known rules or inconsistencies in hopes of highlighting points that should be clarified or abolished, including issues of sexual misconduct, intellectual property rights, free speech and nondiscrimination.
As always, The Sojourn invites IWU community members to participate in the conversation. Send a letter to the editor to iwusojourn@gmail.com.
This column is part of a series:
The handbook: an introduction
The handbook: intellectual property
The handbook: free speech
The handbook: sexual misconduct
The handbook: bigotry
This article was the first news I’ve heard about the IWU Handbook being updated. My only question is that if the university desires for us to be responsible for all the rules contained in the publication, I’m wondering why hasn’t there been a push for students to either get the handbook in their hands or view it online. I actually just found a digital copy of it on the Wildcat Page ( http://wildcat.indwes.edu/Resources/Forms/default.aspx?id=1297&terms=handbook – click “Student Handbook” ).
In the end, I appreciate that you brought this to our attention, Stephen. Thanks for being thorough. I guess what gets me here is that if the university wants us to be responsible for their policies, I think there could be more effort on their part to provide us with the ways to get the information so we are ABLE to be responsible. However, students actually BEING RESPONSIBLE once they have the information– that’s an entirely different matter.