I've gone to OSCCR six times, this will help you.

Hello r/NEU code of conduct breakers,

There are a lot of posts here concerning OSCCR, hearings, how to get out of trouble, etc. I have been sent to OSCCR six times over my eight-ish semesters here, for either alcohol, weed, or parties(on and off campus) - or some combo of the three. Weather you are prepping for an OSCCR hearing, have been to a few and want to check my work, or are just curious, READ ON!

The Preface OSCCR is multi-faceted. Depending on where the incident took place, and which violations took place, you will be subjected to one of the three following meetings. Administrative Hearing with a Resident Director (taking place in a dorm inside the RD office). Administrative Hearing with OSCCR Staff Member (taking place in the OSCCR office in 204 Ell Hall). Student Conduct Board meeting (not sure where these happen, I’ve only had Administrative Hearings). All three of these meetings are official OSCCR meetings, even the RD hearing.

The Letter When you get an email, sent to your @husky.neu.edu address, with the subject “Important Message from the Office of Student Conduct and Conflict Resolution Case XXXXXX” you are getting sent to OSCCR! How exciting. The letter lays out the time/date/location of the meeting, along with what you are “allegedly” being charged with, and when the alleged incident took place. This letter will also tell you which one of the three aforementioned meetings you will have. If you are on co-op, the letter will ask you to contact the letter’s author within 72 hours to set up a time. They will do Skype or Phone meetings, though I would recommend in person for the full OSCCR experience.

Back in 2014 the letter listed Levels (I to IV) to show how serious the offense was, this has sense been stopped.

If you were caught with a group, immediately start a group chat and ask if they also got the letter (spoiler alert: they did), and for which charges. You then need to check the meeting times - whoever has the first meeting will be an invaluable resource to the rest of the crew.

Start getting your story straight, weather just you or a group. Think really specifically about what happened during the incident, and what authority figures you interacted with. If you were blackout drunk, I get it I’ve been there; But do know if you interacted with an RA or NUPD they will record almost everything you drunkenly rambled. Hopefully a more sober friend can help you recall what was said, as your ramblings will be in the official “report” the Hearing Administrator or SCB has in front of them.

The letter states you can "you may reach out to a hearing advisor prior to the hearing. A list of trained hearing advisors can be found at http://www.northeastern.edu/osccr/hearing-advisors/.” Personally, I never bothered with this. Just ensure you know what happened during the incident, or have an alibi (more on that in next section).

Also, don’t try to email or call OSCCR to plead your case before the meeting - it makes you look desperate. If you are genuinely confused about the incident, email the letter’s author and ask which report # it is in reference to. I once got busted for throwing a party off campus, and BPD was the complainant on the letter. I proactively reached out to get the police report #, went to BPD HQ, and made a public records request for the report. I got it, and it really helped the group going into the meeting.

OPTIONAL: I’ve always googled the letter’s author to get a feel for them. Go through their Linkedin, or twitter, and try to size them up.

The Hearing - Rising Action

Okay, the day has arrived! No, not the day for your TJX presentation or co-op interview, rather the day for your OSCCR Hearing! I am unsure how the Student Conduct Board operates, so this is really only helpful for Administrative Hearings (with an RD or OSCCR Director).

You walk into 204 Ell Hall (or RD office) and it is more sterile than a hospital. You sit down in the waiting area, and the secretary comes over and asks who you are there to see and for your ID. No, this is not the time to say “Am I being accused of a crime, if not I am NOT giving you my ID.” Just give them your ID. There are propaganda brochures about alcohol and being a good neighbor all around. I find this to be nice reading while in the waiting room. Also, if there is another “criminal” waiting with you - ALWAYS TALK TO THEM. Come on, this is your big day, don’t be shy!

The letter’s author walks out and says “Hey u/LessBed, how are you! Just this way” and brings you into their office. They will start with asking you how classes/co-op is going, if you are having a nice week, maybe what you had for lunch. This is an OSCCR tactic to make you feel comfortable with them, in an effort to calm you down but moreover to butter you up to admit to the charges. This small talk goes on a surprisingly long time, like 10-15 minutes, seriously! Be polite during this, but don’t loose your edge Rocky. Stay strong. You are there to prove your innocence.

After the bullshit small talk is over the OSCCR person will say “okay let’s get down to business, what happened on XX date" (the same date from the letter). When this happens do the following

Take FOUR DEEP BREATHS

Take a sip of water

Be professional, not emotional

Say “I’m sorry ______, would you mind reading me the report first?”

They won’t like that comment, as their modus operandi is to make you talk first and then blindside (or corroborate) you with the report they have in front of them. You really need to be firm, and demand they read the report first. Now, if you’re part of a group being charged and someone went before you, you already know what the report says. Though, I would still encourage you to have them read the report first, as there may be some characteristic unique to just you. Now they will read a line or two of the report, to prime you to speak. Again, calmly but firmly state “would you mind reading all of the report.”

The Hearing - Climax

Okay, you got it out of them! They read you the report before you spoke about the incident! Now it is time to react. It is tough to give advice here, as every case is unique. My best piece of advice comes from the man that got Trump elected, American Political Consultant Roger J. Stone Jr.. “Admit nothing. Deny everything…"

OSCCR is not the judicial system, you are not innocent until proven guilty, their own website (FAQ section) states

Hearing Administrators and/or the SCB weigh all of the information presented, using a “preponderance of information” or “more likely than not” standard to determine if the student is responsible or not responsible for violating the Code of Student Conduct.

Essentially, when you walk in there you are guilty. Most likely, you walk out still guilty. Might as well DENY DENY DENY and try to become innocent. Your odds are not great, but using my DENY tactic I have gotten a not responsible finding for three of my meetings. You can say you were leaving, asleep, not drinking, only there because one of your friends was super depressed because their goldfish just died and just trying to support them by going with them to the noisy West Village B party (I have used this), or - if the report doesn't mention you violating something by name - JUST FLAT OUT DENY IT ALL. Don't reason, JUST DENY EVERYTHING AND ADMIT NOTHING.

After the report has been read, and you tried to DENY EVERYTHING, the OSCCR person will ask you if you want to accept responsibility for the charges. It is your choice, and you+your group may think that is the right thing to do (especially if you are clearly guilty.) That being said, I would really advise against accepting responsibility, because if you accept responsibility for any of the charges (they read them off one by one) the OSCCR person will negate anything you previously said and just give you the sanctions. Do not accept responsibility.

Because OSCCR is an “educational experience” the person will try to teach you how to stay out of trouble. Something ridiculous like “If you are having friends to your dorm room, try to limit it to just three people, and limit noise” I usually tune out at this point, think about what I am going to eat after the meeting, and nod my head & smile.

The Hearing - Denouement

You made it to the end! Congratulations! The OSCCR person will wrap up and again try to make you feel comfortable. Something like “do you have any plans for the weekend. Have you checked out the cool Canada Geese birds in the public parks! Geese are so fun! What is your favorite animal?!” Fucking ridiculous. Just nod again, shake their hand, and thank them for their time.

The Aftermath

They will say you get a decision letter in the next few days, or a week max. It always takes longer than they say it will, I think this is on purpose to try and keep you from doing anything dumb while you are on edge. Eventually the letter will come, the same way the first one did. When you open the letter the first page talks about “How great it was meeting with you” & “how we discussed (insert educational part that you were tuned out for) & “I wish you well on your (insert something specific you talked about during the introduction part of the meeting where they want you to feel comfortable). I’m at the point where I skip all this and go to the bolded infractions, and see if it says “Responsible” or “Not Responsible.”

VERY IMPORTANT - If you admitted responsibility it will say responsible! Just skip all this and see your sanctions, listed below the bolded violations.

The Sanctions

If you were found responsible, for anything more serious than noise, you have sanctions! Keeping with the educational part of OSCCR, guess what...You get to attend a class! Also probably pay a fine, write an essay, and are probably on probation or deferred suspension. When you go to the class make friends with the fellow alcoholics, drug users, or wild partiers - it’s always good to leave having made a friend.

If you are graduating within four weeks of the decision letter - You can roll the dice and not do any of the sanctions, it won’t have any bearing on you graduating (they will say it will, but it won’t.)

The Bottom Line

OSCCR SUCKS. It really does. It is a taxing, and arduous process. I’d imagine most people reading this are going for some iteration of alcohol, weed, or a loud party. If it is your first time, do not worry, going on probation for a semester does not matter. Do try to not get caught again. I’ve been unlucky, living with a rambunctious group for three years - and usually taking the blame. That being said, I probably did deserve to go to OSCCR at least 60% of the time. What is most important is not letting OSCCR hurt the group you are being sent with. When everybody has had their meeting, go out to Cheesecake Factory and get loaded off of huge servings of food, cake, and overpriced fruity cocktails.

I hope this helped, and I wish everyone the best with their OSCCR experiences.

edit: words