College Student Bill of Rights

As a college student, I hereby acknowledge that:

My participation in higher - not lower - learning is of my own free will and choosing. Higher education is an opportunity to become someone different. There are ethical, moral, and civil responsibilities inherent in being a college student.

Therefore, I should expect and at times may have to fight to uphold these rights.

As a college student, I have the right to:

Acceptance, celebration, dignity, respect and freedom of expression.
Say "No!" to fear, beer and peer pressure.
Say "I don't understand."
Be "undeclared" and change my major as many times as I want.
Discover who I am when I find out.
Not know where I'm at until I get there.

As a college student, I have the right to:

Love myself when I least deserve it.
Admit "I was wrong" and move on.
Wait until I'm in love and married to make love.
Take care of my mind, spirit and body.
Exercise regularly.
Not drink or drink in moderation.
Quit smoking or never start.

As a college student, I have the right to:

Establish friendships with people different than me.
Be a member of a civil community.
Celebrate diversity.
Dislike my roommates yet respect their rights.
Like my roommates.
Not let my roommates wear my favorite clothes.
Dress for class in a manner reflective of my love for learning.

As a college student, I have the right to:

Love learning.
Arrive early to class and leave late.
Sit in the front row of class.
Never miss a day of class and befriend my professors.
Read every page of the "additional reading list."
Ask questions in class yet never ask, "Is this going to be on the test?"

As a college student, I have the right to:

Have other priorities other than my education (i.e. children...)
Disagree with - yet respect - my elders.
Enjoy my parents/guardians.
Recognize just how smart they've become since I've been in college.
Become smarter, less ignorant and more open minded.
Do the right thing with honesty and integrity.
Not allow someone to copy my work.

As a college student, I have the right to:

Join any student organization.
Know how my tuition is spent.
Get my money's worth.
Use any service I've paid for with my tuition like the health or counseling centers.
Be a small fish in a big pond, a big fish in a small pond or wear a life preserver.
Grow up while bringing back the child in me.
Color out side of the lines.

As a college student, I have the right to:

Value the privilege of higher education.
Know "boredom is not a state of mind, boredom is the state of not using your mind."
Appreciate the cost of higher education knowing the price of ignorance.
Celebrate the freedom that comes with my degree.
Create my future while becoming someone different.
Change.

Therefore, let me go forth with these rights as a student of higher-not lower - learning. Let me discover my potential. Let me find myself in college.