As sophomore Stefanie Dazio writes at The Huffington Post, American colleges and universities are increasingly subjecting students to discipline for their off-campus actions. Their codes, she notes, often use “broad, vague language” that gives “university officials more discretion in sanctioning misconduct both on and off campus.”
Dazio, a student at American University, notes that her own campus changed its code of conduct last June to allow disciplinary action
“when, in the judgment of University officials, a student’s alleged misconduct has a negative effect on the university’s pursuit of its mission or on the well being of the greater community”
even if such “misconduct” took place off campus and did not violate any law.
studentactivism.net 
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September 27, 2010 at 4:55 pm
reclaimuc
we’re dealing with the same thing in california. check out this post from last may:
http://reclaimuc.blogspot.com/2010/05/jurisdiction-and-territorialization-of.html
September 29, 2010 at 5:45 am
lauredhel
“A university’s mission” is the vagueism that stands out first for me. A for-profit university’s mission is to make money: this sort of wording could, say, be applied to a disabled student who blogs angrily about inaccessibility issues with the university, or a trans student who talks about their experience with faculty transphobia. Or perhaps a student who is openly gay, in the case of some religious institutions.
Scary stuff.
October 4, 2010 at 2:21 am
Tonei
@lauredhel true, but i feel like there are very few for-profit universities that are structured in a way that would even have a student code of conduct. most private universities are non-profit and have a mission something like this:
“The central commitment of American University is to develop thoughtful, responsible human beings in the context of a challenging yet supportive academic community.” (AU strategic plan)
The section quoted in this post also leaves out a key element: the alleged misconduct must both have a negative effect on the university or the greater community AND violate the student code of conduct. While I agree that this could be dangerous at a school like Catholic University (which mandates compliance with Catholic doctrine), it’s less egregious than it initially sounds in most cases.