The proposed amendments Board of Trustees By-Laws, which are scheduled to be voted on by the Board on Dec. 1, 2014, would eliminate an accused student's right to remain silent without any assumption of guilt during a campus disciplinary hearing.

We call on the Board of Trustees of the City University of New York to preserve students' right to remain silent without assumption of guilt. 

After 44 years of affording student’s heightened due process protections, the Board–by removing the current provision from the bylaws–will be eviscerating the foundation of our disciplinary process, creating the risk of erroneously depriving a student of her/his liberty and property interest and subjecting an accused student to potential subsequent criminal prosecution. 

We believe safeguarding the right to remain silent without any adverse inferences being drawn is not only in the best interest of the students, but also for the reputation of the University as a highly regarded and respected institution of public higher education and champion of citizen's rights and freedoms.

You can view the proposed revisions to the bylaws by accessing: http://www1.cuny.edu/portal_ur/newswire/2014/article-xv/Article_XV_Amendments_draft.pdf