KRISTIN MELODY
PRIDE STAFF WRITER

With recent civility controversy at CSUSM and increase in tuition fees voted in by the Board of Trustees, students may ask what rights they have on campus.

In October, five CSU students sued the CSU Board of Trustees for raising tuition fees past the agreed upon amount for fall 2009. The class action lawsuit, Keller v. the Board of Trustees of CSU, is in process and the final decision may result in returned funds to students of the CSU system for the fall 2009 semester. It represents students at 19 of the 23 CSU campuses.

All eligible fall 2009 students are included in the 200,000 students represented in the lawsuit. If students wish to remove themselves, they must contact the courts. In the Clarke Field House, students must sign a liability form giving up their right to sue in the case of current or future unknown injuries when they work or participate in their excursions.

Humberto Garcia of the Risk Management & Safety Office (RM&S) conveyed if students should get hurt on campus, they should report to RM&S and the University Police Department (UPD). The university will respond at discretion of the UPD depending on the nature of the incident.

If there is a safety issue on campus, students can report anonymously through “phone… email…a RM&S webpage form or the drop box outside RM&S office,” Garcia said.

If students are hurt on campus, they are encouraged to report it to UPD, Student Health Services or Risk Management and obtain options available to them.

The recently implemented Civility program at CSUSM states its mission of “Treatment of others with dignity…promote[s] a physically and psychologically safe, secure and supportive climate.”

In November, CSUSM students filed a federal complaint against CSUSM regarding The Koala newspaper to the U.S. Department of Education for Title IX of civil rights. In 2010, reported hate crimes reached 10.

CSUSM strives for a “campus environment that is more tolerant of individuals, groups, cultures, values and ideas” stated the 2011 CSUSM Jeanne Clery report on campus safety.

The 2011 Clery report states that there were four instances of motor vehicle theft in 2009 and one in 2010. Also, three reported cases of burglary in 2008 and one in 2010.

“[I wouldn’t] think the university [was] responsible…but I would report it,” sophomore Rosa Cedillo said about if her car were broken into on campus.

CSUSM policies intended to keep students safe, including sectioning off smoking areas and holding bicyclists and skateboarders liable for on campus injuries.

There appears to be no written agreement in the student code of conduct that states whether the student has the right to sue if this climate is violated.