Joseph Puzycki, director of Judicial Affairs, will give a presentation on Penn State's off-campus code of conduct policy at tonight's State College Borough Council meeting.

Since the policy was revised about two years ago in reaction to several riots in Beaver Canyon, Judicial Affairs has not updated the council on its implementation and effectiveness, Puzycki said.

"[The presentation] is just a courtesy to let them know how I feel the policy is going," he said.

According to the Judicial Affairs Web site, www.sa.psu.edu/ja, the policy enables the university to discipline students for off-campus behavior that affects a "substantial university interest."

The site lists four criteria for conduct that would warrant disciplinary action by Penn State. The criteria include criminal offenses, presenting a threat to the safety of oneself or others, negatively affecting the rights of others or causing social disorder and threatening the educational interests of the university.

The policy breaks down offenses that would call for disciplinary action into three categories -- major, moderate and minor -- and lists many offenses that would fall under each category.

Sanctions given to students range from warnings to permanent expulsions and are based on the severity of misconduct.

Council member Cathy Dauler said the last of three downtown riots between 1998 and 2001 was the catalyst for strengthening the university's policy regarding off-campus behavior. Dauler said both alumni and many community members pressured the university and council to find solutions for the problem.

She said the policy was modeled after a similar one used by the University of Delaware. Penn State President Graham Spanier, State College Police Chief Tom King and the council reviewed Delaware's policy and pushed to implement a stricter version for Penn State, Dauler said.

"I would hope that [the policy] would be a deterrent, that people would stop and think before they do something that is not good for the community or for themselves," she said. "I understand that if people are wildly drunk, it's not going to stop them."

But Dauler said that after talking to police officers, she believes many students have already gotten the message.

"Now, when students are stopped by police, they ask 'Is this going to affect my academic standing?' " she said.

Undergraduate Student Government President Ian Rosenberger said he plans to attend the meeting and form a more definite opinion on Judicial Affairs' policy after hearing Puzycki's presentation.

"Students must remember that no matter where you are, you represent Penn State," Rosenberger said. "As far as the university being able to punish students for what they do off campus, the jury's still out."

The meeting will take place at 7:30 tonight in the State College Municipal Building, 243 S. Allen St., and is open to the public.