Students voiced their concerns Tuesday at a forum hosted by the Offices of the Dean of Students with proposed changes to state laws addressing student conduct.

One of the policies in question, UWS 17 in the Wisconsin Administrative Code, allows the university to discipline a student in nonacademic matters for engaging in behavior such as “dangerous conduct, sexual misconduct, stalking and violation of the law.”

Suchita Shah, a UW-Madison senior, said she thought some of the misconducts, such as “violation of the law,” should not allow the university to discipline a student.

“I don’t want students to think that with these changes we will be looking at every single little thing they do, like jay-walking,” Assistant Dean of Students Ervin Cox said.

According to the proposed changes to UWS 17, the provisions will only apply to student conduct that occurs off-campus when the conduct “adversely affects a substantial university interest.”

Associate Dean of Students Kevin Helmkamp said a student violates substantial university interest if “[that] student’s misconduct or criminal activity off campus reflects poorly on academic integrity.”

Helmkamp said too many offenses jeopardize the reputation and integrity of various UW-Madison schools, and students should care about how the actions of their classmates are dealt with by the universities.

However, both Helmkamp and Cox stressed strict rules could deter from students’ educational experiences.

Cox said the term “substantial university interest” should be flexible so students could argue in their hearing that a charge is not in the university’s interests.

If the university went after every individual drinking case, a student could make a case that it is not really substantial, Cox said.

“Now, if they get drunk and beat up a citizen of Madison, it’s a whole different kind of matter,” he said. Helmkamp said some parents complain the rules are too vague.

“Everyone wants you to get tougher right up until they understand the nuances of the decision,” he said, adding parents tend to change their mind once their child is affected.

Helmkamp said the UW System committee reviewing the conduct policies would hear Tuesday’s feedback. The alterations to policies will continue over the summer and into next fall.

“The earliest implementation of changes in [UWS] 17 and 18 will likely be 2009,” Helmkamp said.