In response to recent concerns about Penn State University Judicial Affairs, Undergraduate Student Government members plan to look into office operations.

"We realized that there are a lot of things about judicial affairs that we don't know and we need to find out," USG President Matt Roan said.

Roan said USG has been discussing the possibility of forming a committee to look into some of the problems and complaints.

Martin Austermuhle, USG town senator, who was charged with failure to disperse in a July riot on Beaver Avenue, said he hopes that by looking into the Judicial Affairs system and outlining problems, USG can help to create "a system that is accountable and completely fair and democratic."

Austermuhle said that one of the Judicial Affairs charges against him and Michael Byrne, USG town senator, is failure to comply, defined in the Code of Conduct as "failing to leave University controlled premises," though the riot occurred on Beaver Avenue.

Steve MacCarthy, a spokesman for the university, could not comment on Austermuhle's complaint due to privacy considerations.

But MacCarthy said that if given a list of grievances, Judicial Affairs would review them. "To operate in a better or more efficient way — we're always looking to do that," MacCarthy said.

Austermuhle said his biggest concern is the jurisdiction that Judicial Affairs has in dealing with students. "The university practices universal jurisdiction over everything in our lives," he said. "That's not something any student wants."

But Penn State students are responsible for obeying the student code of conduct, MacCarthy said, and all students are notified about the code when they enroll in the university.

"It's all laid out on the Web, it's not like it's hard to see it," he said referring to Judicial Affairs' Web site (www.sa.psu.edu/ja). The process, he explained, begins with a review of a possible offense by the director of Judicial Affairs to determine whether action is needed. If Judicial Affairs believes something must be done, it invites the student to explain their side of the story.

Judicial Affairs then determines if a penalty is in order and what should be done. Students are then informed of the decision or penalty and given the opportunity to accept or contest the ruling.

Students who contest appear at a hearing before a jury of "essentially their peers." MacCarthy said. "There's been a lot of confusion about Judicial Affairs. The Judicial Affairs process at Penn State has been recognized throughout the country as being a model."

Another issue Austermuhle hopes USG will deal with is the lack of "openness" of Judicial Affairs proceedings.

The right to privacy, however, presents a problem in being open in dealing with cases involving students, MacCarthy said.

"There are confidentiality laws that protect students," MacCarthy said.