Driving on Campus Under the Influence

The following guidance supersedes past guidance of the Stanford Judicial Council and Board on Judicial Affairs concerning driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs:

• If a student is charged with violation of a university policy, such as the University's Controlled Substances and Alcohol policy, then the Judicial Panel must look to the policy, which may or may not reference the law.
• If a student is charged with violation of the Fundamental Standard, then the Judicial Panel must look to the Fundamental Standard itself:
  Students at Stanford are expected to show both within and without the University such respect for order, morality, personal honor and the rights of others as is demanded of good citizens.

Conduct that poses a risk of significant harm to people or property will generally violate this standard. Driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs is an example of such conduct. If the legal standard for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs is met, the risk is particularly clear, but meeting a legal standard is not necessary for finding a violation of the Fundamental Standard. Additionally, if an outside court or District Attorney's Office, for whatever reason, permitted a student to plea bargain down from a charged DUI offense, judicial panels must still decide for themselves what conduct the student engaged in and whether that conduct violates the community's standard for "order, morality, personal honor and the rights of others as is demanded of good citizens."

(Adopted Winter 2010)