Judicial Process

The ASA Executive Board, as the judicial body of the ASA, rules on violations by activities of ASA, UA, GSC, or MIT policies, procedures, or rules. In addition, it mediates disputes between activities, and in collaboration with the MIT Committee on Discipline (COD), hears complaints by students against student activities. The processes for such complaints and disputes is detailed in the ASA Operating Guidelines and is summarized below.

Process for complaints (subject to change as the ASA Operating Guidelines are updated in Fall 2019)

  1. A complaint is submitted to asa-complaints@mit.edu, which contains the ASA President and the Director of the Student Organization, Leadership and Engagement Office (SOLE).
  2. The ASA in conjunction with the COD, OSC, and SOLE decides whether the complaint will be heard by the ASA or by the COD.
    1. Cases involving hazing, sexual misconduct, serious injury or death will in general be heard by the COD.
    2. Cases involving breaches of agreements between groups or violations of ASA policy will in general be heard by the ASA.
  3. The body hearing the complaint will promptly notify the complainant of this decision and of the process by which the complaint will be heard.
  4. If the complaint will be heard by the ASA, the ASA President chooses three members of the Executive Board to hear the complaint.
  5. This three-member panel meets with the complainant, representatives of the groups in question, and other witnesses or parties as they see fit.
  6. The panel then decides on the resolution of the complaint, generally within one week of meeting with all relevant parties. They communicate this decision to the complainant, the groups in question, and to the remainder of the ASA Executive Board.
  7. The complaint may be appealed to the entire ASA Executive Board if it meets the criteria in the ASA Operating Guidelines; the original ruling can be overturned by a 2/3 vote of the Board. The procedure for further appeals is specified in the ASA Bylaws.

Process for policy enforcement

  1. In cases where the ASA Executive Board rules on a policy or rule violation rather than a complaint or dispute by a particular person or group, it shall decide on the ruling at a normal meeting of the Board.
  2. Such rulings will be communicated promptly to the group before they take effect, and within one week of the decision. They will also cite the specific policy, procedure, or rule violated, and specify the process for appeals.
  3. The ruling may be appealed back to the ASA Executive Board if it meets the criteria in the ASA Operating Guidelines, such as if there is additional information the Executive Board was not aware of at the time of the ruling; the original ruling can be overturned by a 2/3 vote of the Board. The procedure for further appeals is specified in the ASA Bylaws.