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Student Defender Profile: Steven Lazickas, Student Advocates program director at Binghamton University

Chrissy Creations Photography.

In honor of this week鈥檚 debut of , we鈥檙e profiling students already helping peers accused of conduct violations navigate their school鈥檚 often-confusing disciplinary systems.

Today, we鈥檙e featuring our recent chat with State University of New York at Binghamton鈥檚 Steven Lazickas. When we spoke this spring, Lazickas was director of the school鈥檚 Student Advocates program. He鈥檚 since graduated. This summer, he spent several weeks working with the to help refugees in crisis in the Middle East. He鈥檚 currently a summer law clerk for the . He told FIREhow he got involved with Student Advocates, how his 鈥渢ype A鈥 personality is a great fit for student-defender work, and how simply knowing your rights can get you out of trouble.

Some questions and answers have been edited for length and clarity.


FIRE: Hi, Steven. Tell FIREreaders how you got involved in the Student Advocates program and how it works.

Steven Lazickas: Sure. First, I think a little background is important.

A few years ago, the Student Association鈥檚 vice president for academic affairs, an elected student, created a program that allowed students to be trained in the conduct system to better represent and advise students caught up in the conduct system. So, the Student Advocates act as advisers and representatives to students going through the conduct system.

We have a great working relationship with the university, but the Student Association at Binghamton University is actually a separate entity from the university itself. We represent all undergraduate students at the university.

The conduct system lets students know if they鈥檝e allegedly violated the conduct code. They鈥檙e informed that the Student Advocates exist and where to find us.

FIRE: In a nutshell, what do you guys do? And why is it important?

SL: We let students know what their rights and privileges are under the student code of conduct, the student handbook, and the student bill of rights. So if a student were to be written up for a violation, we would just let them know their rights and the standard punishments that have been agreed upon by the university so that they know what to expect. We also inform them about the conduct system and how the hearings generally go and what they can and can鈥檛 do in terms of requesting outside counsel.

Some cases involve more serious sanctions than others.

FIRE: How did you get involved?

SL: It鈥檚 kind of a funny story. I鈥檝e been involved in the Student Association ever since I first came to Binghamton as a freshman. I immediately became a student congress representative, was very active in area-wide government for my dorm and whatnot. Then, a couple of my friends, being rambunctious freshmen, ended up getting in trouble for drinking on campus. But because I was aware of the SA program and had already looked up the rules in the student code of conduct 鈥 I鈥檓 just one of those very type A people 鈥 I let them know that I would be their adviser and let them know what their rights and privileges were under the student code of conduct.

So that鈥檚 how I became a student defender.

FIRE: Wow. Lucky them.

SL: (Laughs.) Yeah. I鈥檇 like to go to law school. I鈥檓 taking a gap year first, but I鈥檝e always been a staunch defender of rights and liberties under a certain set of rules. If I know what those rules are, then I can defend them.

So then the next year I became even more involved. The Student Advocates program is a little bit ephemeral. It kind of goes in and out of style depending on who鈥檚 in it, or who鈥檚 running it, or the structure that the current VP for academic affairs decides.

One of the things that we鈥檙e working on right now is formalizing the structure, makeup, rules, and procedures that Student Advocates go through to become official Student Advocates and then have the ability and expertise to be both a confidential resource as well as a tool for students to navigate the sometimes confusing conduct system in the most effective way.

FIRE: How many advocates do you have right now?

SL: 5 or 6. But were in the process of hiring.

FIRE: What鈥檚 your caseload like? Do you see certain kinds of cases more than others?

SL: Caseload varies by time of semester. At the beginning of every semester we always get an increase in cases because everybody鈥檚 excited to come back to the dorms and party with their friends; the RA鈥檚 knock on their door and now they鈥檙e in trouble.

Binghamton also has Parade Day, the first Saturday of every March. It鈥檚 been noted in magazines as one of the 鈥淪t. Patrick鈥檚 Day Celebrations You Have to Go to Before You Die.鈥 Large groups of students end up having parties and people get in trouble.

Then we get a smattering throughout the rest of the year.

FIRE: How do students find you?

SL: FIRE find out about us in a couple different ways, either by word of mouth or through our agreement with the conduct system where, when students get an email concerning their case, they put our flier at the end of the email.

We also ask all the student congress representatives to let students know we鈥檙e a resource.

We are also going to try to start sending out weekly or bi-weekly emails to students from the Student Association to all undergraduates asking if they鈥檝e gotten in trouble.

FIRE: Do students often know their rights?

SL: Usually we鈥檙e more than helpful in terms of informing students of what their rights are. Many students have no idea what their rights are.

I have the utmost respect for the university and the university conduct system, but the university sometimes does not do an adequate job of informing students of their rights off the bat. Although it is the students鈥 responsibility to know their own rights, oftentimes they don鈥檛. They don鈥檛 really know what鈥檚 going to happen at all within the conduct system. Some students are very freaked out, some students are not as freaked out. It varies.

FIRE: What鈥檚 your group鈥檚 relationship like with Binghamton University administrators?

SL: As somebody who does respect and has a friendly relationship with administrators, I do have some criticisms. Residential life directors who live in the dorms are occasionally the people who end up hearing the cases for lower-level offenses like drinking in dorms or smoking marijuana, with less severe sanctions.

But I find that they occasionally like to skip the lowest suggested sanction, like a disciplinary warning, and often go to the middle sanction and say 鈥淥K, you鈥檙e on disciplinary probation.鈥

I鈥檝e seen that a couple times and it changes every year because those employees of the university also change out. There鈥檚 a big turnover rate because they鈥檙e often graduate students.

FIRE: So it鈥檚 arbitrary then? It鈥檚 based on whatever that person is thinking at that time?

SL: Yes. It is pretty arbitrary in the lower cases, and I have to say it is slightly unfriendly.

And unfortunately, as Student Advocates we aren鈥檛 allowed to address the conduct official directly in these meetings. We can only advise the students, so it鈥檚 a really interesting dynamic. We have to remain silent until we hear something that might concern us and then we have to tap the student on the shoulder and whisper in their ear and possibly ask to have a private conversation in the hall. And then go back in and hopefully the student can articulate what we know to the conduct official.

FIRE: What has this experience taught you about navigating this process? What kind of advice would you have about how to behave on campus, knowing your rights, etcetera.

SL: My first piece of advice is don鈥檛 do anything that would get you in trouble. Follow the rules.

But then, to be practical, know your rights. For example, I would say that if somebody knocks on your door, you absolutely do not have to open it. At least at Binghamton University, being a state university, if a police officer or even an RA knocks, you do not have to open without a warrant. That鈥檚 one of the easiest ways to not get in trouble.

I hate to say it, but it鈥檚 not surprising that many students want to experience the freedom that comes with college. And everybody makes mistakes. But if you鈥檙e going to make a mistake, make the smartest mistakes you can.

FIRE: Tell us more about how you鈥檙e formalizing the procedures for future generations of Student Advocates.

SL: We鈥檙e writing a formal and structured description of what the SA program actually is, what it does, its limits and what its purpose is. We鈥檙e basically creating a training manual for all advocates and the director on what the program is, how it should be run, and creating a uniform system for case management. A lot of efficiency and streamlining.

And we are trying to get that into the governing documents of the Student Association because right now we鈥檙e a bit of an amorphous organization that exists by name only.  

And I鈥檓 also working on doing more outreach and creating a scheduling app where if a student does get an email from the conduct system, they can click a link for our program, see when we鈥檒l be in the office, and create an appointment and have that locked in.

One thing that鈥檚 important to note is, I always felt like when I first joined, that it was almost like a -type organization where we just tried to get everyone off the easiest no matter what. The student who was in charge at the time wanted to be a criminal defense lawyer, so that made sense.

When I came in, I tried to change the emphasis to protecting students and informing them of their rights within the conduct system.

FIRE: What鈥檚 been the biggest challenge?

SL: I end up getting the harder cases. Assault, sexual assault, or other violent or severe violations. I鈥檝e had to deal with students that have committed violent felonies, students who have been accused of and admitted to committing sexual assault, making threats. I鈥檝e seen almost everything that you would think that a public defender might see, and that鈥檚 really difficult.

Often, in these cases, you see a lot of people really hurt by others鈥 actions and it鈥檚 really hard to decide, 鈥淒o I want to take this case?鈥 鈥淒oes it seem like this person is really guilty of what they鈥檝e been accused of?鈥 鈥淥r are they being unfairly characterized?鈥 You have to take a hard look at the evidence and a look inside yourself.

My personal belief is that, as representatives of the Student Association, we are here to inform and protect the rights of all students and if, for example, a student has admitted to committing a violation that infringes on the rights of another student, we advocates should be able to recuse ourselves. I鈥檓 actually trying to get this in the handbook.

The biggest challenge is seeing a student expelled for a violation they promised to me they did not commit. FIREjust see their whole world kind of fall apart when they鈥檝e been told that a sanction has been levied upon them. It鈥檚 really depressing, actually. Really heartbreaking. To see somebody鈥檚 whole idea of what their future was going to be become fractured because of something that they claim they did not do, or because there鈥檚 a gray area in some cases, and it鈥檚 all up to how the conduct board decides. That鈥檚 hard.

FIRE: And you鈥檇 still like to go to law school after all this?

SL: I鈥檇 like to be a civil rights lawyer, so I hope whatever I鈥檓 arguing in the future is a little less ambiguous and a little more structured. But I do want to go to law school. This is a little bit self-aggrandizing, but I know that I would work my hardest and do my best to make sure that I was doing something ethical and right on the side of justice. If I didn鈥檛 do that, I don鈥檛 know who else would, so I鈥檇 rather be in that position.

FIRE: What鈥檚 been the most fulfilling part?

SL: The most fulfilling part is that I often get to see a student breathe a sigh of relief. I get to see that they know somebody鈥檚 on their side. Somebody鈥檚 there to help them and teach them and be there for them.

In the conduct system, it can often feel as if there isn鈥檛 someone there for you. I know how I would feel if I had been written up for something, and I like to see that other students don鈥檛 have to worry as much.

Also, personally, I like having the ability to make the program more efficient and streamlined so everything runs like clockwork. I鈥檓 the kind of person who loves cleaning my entire apartment and looking around and seeing that everything is organized, so I鈥檓 trying to bring that mentality to the advocates program.

The most fulfilling part is actually seeing it begin to take shape.


Check back here tomorrow for our final interview with a student defender. And don鈥檛 forget to visit to learn more about how you can get involved.

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