The Student Conduct Appeal Committee, which reviews disciplinary cases that are questioned by students, has upheld suspension on two of the three cases. The third case is still pending. The name of the instructor whose class was disrupted or any further details on the cases were not available since one of the cases is still pending, he said. According to district policy, an instructor has the right to suspend students for two consecutive class meetings and they are not allowed to return to class unless they meet with the college disciplinarian. Students on the other hand have the right to appeal any cases they feel were not handled fairly and have the right to continue class while the case is pending.
Every student has a right to education and if any one student is interfering, they are violating.
We want a college free of disruption and free of harassment. Sally Takenaka teaches math at SMC and experiences the disruptions caused by beepers and cell phones in the middle of her instruction. It happens once in a while, and the student is usually embarrassed by it and shuts it off. As long as the student realizes his or her mistake and doesn't keep repeating the offense, it's not a case that requires suspension, she said. The students were issued fair warning before such a drastic measure as a suspension was carried out, said Gonzalez.