On Aug. 23, 2008, in Corvallis, Ore., four Trinity Western University students were arrested. According to The Province, members of the men’s soccer team, Nathaniel Pogue, Christopher Trauter, Shawn Parkes and Andrew Fink, were charged with criminal trespass, criminal mischief, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and possession of alcohol by a minor. All charges were due to activities in and around Reser Stadium, home to Oregon State’s University football team, the paper reported.
The team had traveled to Corvallis to scrimmage with the Northwest Christian College in Eugene, Oregon.

TWU was initially reported by The Province to have started conducting an internal investigation after the suspension of all four players. Back in Canada, this process started when each of the students met with Kelvin Gartly, Director of Student Life, for an initial interview. Gartly points to the TWU Student Handbook for explanation of the process. “If a student fails to maintain his or her commitment to the Responsibilities of Membership and/or policies and guidelines of the University…an accountability process exists that is structured around the goal of bringing the student back into relationship with the community while contributing to the student’s personal and spiritual growth.”

Gartly states, “When a student comes in and meets with me about an accountability incident it’s an educational opportunity to encourage them to recommit to their original commitment.”

Due to the seriousness of the situation, Gartly made the decision to push the case forward to a formal accountability process. “I sent it to the Accountability Committee because one person deciding is a little too difficult; [there are] so many elements,” Gartley said.

The Committee is made up of seven members: two students as well as a non-voting Resident Assistant, two staff members and two faculty members.

Students meeting with the committee can bring along one friend or relative for support and are given opportunity to address the committee and share anything they feel to be pertinent to their decision. After a decision is made students are informed of the outcomes in writing and the rationale for each one.

In a letter to the editor, TWU student Matt Enns expressed that he was “disheartened” that all four students were given the same treatment: A ruling that they must attend accountability meetings all year, any scholarships were revoked, removal from the men’s soccer team and suspension from TWU grounds for one week from the time of the ruling.

There are five levels of accountability actions that may be taken by Student Life or the Accountability Committee: official warning, conduct accountability, probation, suspension and expulsion. That the consequences span three of these categories speaks to the severity of the situation.

In response to student comments that the ruling was too harsh, Gartly has this to say: “It is a matter of perspective; I think it was a reasonable outcome. I don’t necessarily feel like the right decision is always that the student is happy or wanting to stay connected with the community. The decision sometimes leaves them feeling angry.”

The appeals process for Pogue, Trauter, Parkes and Fink is still in the works. All four chose to challenge the consequences put in place by the Accountability Committee ruling, the appeal of which was due by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, Sept.12.

Trauter speaks about the process, “We wrote a letter [in which] we had to bring more info to the table which they hadn’t assessed. They didn’t have any information on how we’ve served the community; we tried to explain ourselves, we tried to express [this] to the president and put our hearts on our sleeves and show who we are.”

Trauter added, “We did something we really regret. The biggest thing I want to come out of this is that the whole community of TWU will be able to forgive us. I know the other guys feel the same as me. I’m completely remorseful.”

Out of respect for the student athletes involved, Director of Athletics, Murray Hall, was not willing to comment on the issue at this time.

Further details on the Accountability Process and Policy can be found online in the Student Handbook at www.twu.ca/studenthandbook/policies.aspx