POLL: Should Mason students be allowed legal representation during conduct hearings?

According to Mason’s current student code of conduct, students are not allowed to have a lawyer represent them during hearings with representatives from the Office of Student Conduct. 

A bill in the Virginia General Assembly earlier this semester could have changed that system to make certain student conduct hearings look more like court proceedings. 

According to the bill’s text, the legislation “grants any student enrolled at a public institution of higher education who is accused of a violation of the institution's rules and regulations for the conduct of students that is punishable by a suspension of more than 10 days or expulsion the right to hire counsel.”

Though the bill did not pass, it still raised important questions about the relationship between Mason and students. 

So we asked you: Should Mason students be allowed legal representation during conduct hearings? Here's what you said: