Restorative Justice at Michigan State University

1. Restorative Justice at Michigan State University Presenters Nancy Schertzing Kelly High McCord

2. Goals for the Session • Provide an overview of the MSU Context • Share how we began to use RJ • Highlight our collaboration with students and campus and community partners • Review our strategies for educating the MSU and surrounding communities • Share how we have implemented the use of Restorative Justice principles and tools • Discuss strategies for moving forward

3. Overview of Michigan State University • East Lansing, Michigan • Spartans • Nation’s first land grant institution • founded in 1855 • 7 Degree granting colleges • 16.2 percent students of color, 11.4 percent international • 5,200-acre campus • 47,131 total (36,058 undergrad & 11,073 grad and professional • 20SPART10 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTnZgfpT6M0

4. MSU Core Principles “As we build on our heritage to move from land-grant to world-grant, our actions and plans must stem from . . . our three core, interwoven values: quality, inclusiveness and connectivity.” Lou Anna K. Simon, President Michigan State University • Inclusiveness: a belief in the value of varying perspectives and a promise of mutual respect. . . . A community that offers and respects a broad range of ideas and perspectives. We embrace a full spectrum of experiences, viewpoints and intellectual approaches • Connectivity: align our assets to reinforce and enhance one another . . . working as creatively as possible . . . Organically build connections so that each part of our institution can enhance and benefit from the others.

5. MSU’s Department of Residence Life • Largest residential housing program in the country • Live-on requirement for all first year students • We house approximately 14,800 students in addition to their partners, children and other family members • 9 Central Leadership Positions • 22 Directors • 42 Graduate Assistants • 320 Undergraduate Mentors (RAs)

6. MSU Residence Life Guiding PrinciplesWe believe students learn best when they: • Live in a community that encourages exploration, debate, discussion and dissenting views • Are able to process events that are provocative, disrupting, and/or unsettling • Can establish meaningful connections with peers • Are actively involved in the shaping of their residential community, which includes balancing individual and community needs • Are members of a community that is diverse, open, and accepting • Believe that they are respected and valued as individuals with distinctive skills, abilities, and knowledge • Live in a community that is both physically and emotionally safe • Can study and sleep in their residential environment

7. Restorative Justice Distilled At MSU we have summarized these steps into three basic questions that guide our restorative justice practices AND our conduct discussions. • What happened? • Who was affected and how? • How do we address the harm? Various peacemaking models follow a three step process for addressing harm restoratively. These include: • Getting a complete picture of what the situation is that needs healing; • Identifying who has been affected by the situation and how they’ve been affected so everyone’s needs can be considered in resolving the situation; • Collaborating with all participants to decide what must happen for this situation to be healed as much as possible.

8. Embarking on a Journey • 2006-2007 Academic Year • Managing bias incidents • Balancing the right to free speech • Research to find an approach to manage issues of harm unrelated to policy • Began to educate ourselves • Real Justice Restorative Conferencing Certification for committee members • National Conference for Restorative Justice June 2007 • Professional Development Sessions presented by community partners • Certifying all Central Staff leadership, Hall Directors and Graduate Assistants through IIRP

9. Embarking on a Journey • Dialogue with campus partners • Ombudsman • Safe Place Director • Sexual Assault Program Coordinator • Senior Advisor to the President for Diversity • Service Learning and Civic Engagement • Associate Vice President of Student Affairs • Residential and Hospitality Services • Department of Student Life • Undergraduate University Division

10. Collaborating with Community Partners • Local nonprofit doing restorative justice in area schools invited MSU to join in developing their vision and mission statements. • Director and local school district staffer presented to MSU DRL on restorative justice principles and tools. • Provided training to MSU staff and support as they embraced restorative justice concepts. • MSU undergraduates worked in CMRJI through Service Learning Program. • Accepted CMRJI Coordinator as a graduate assistant when she left to pursue her masters. • Host monthly RJ Community Lunch gatherings for local restorative justice practitioners and interested parties.

11. Collaborating with Campus Partners • Student Life/Judicial Affairs director sits on RJ @MSU Committee. • Grads from School of Criminal Justice serve on committee too. • Representatives from MSU Safe Place & Sexual Assault Programs, Office of Cultural and Academic Transitions and others coming on board in fall. • Communication Arts and Sciences faculty linked us to recent graduate producing two RJ videos for us. • MSU School of Criminal Justice co-hosted symposium with $1,500 contribution. MSU Law School ADR Program hosted pre-symposium reception honoring keynoter, Justice Janine Geske. • RJ@MSU Symposium attendees from at least 15 departments and offices across campus . • MSU ROIAL Players (student group) developed PSA and have committed to producing two more. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjW-i9hI_0c&feature=player_embedded#at=11

12. Educating in Restorative Justice Practices • Presentations to MSU departments and organizations provide overview and challenge. • RJ @ MSU Symposium introduced restorative justice concepts and engaged MSU staff and community members in exploring its use. • Print materials outline how restorative justice applies to college –age lives. • Videos on-line do the same, showing how it has worked at MSU. • Trainings prepare Res. Life staff—from Director to mentors—to use restorative justice practices and tools in their work and lives both now and into the future. • Website https://apps.reslife.msu.edu/sites/rj/ offers basic information (in English and numerous other languages).

13. Implementing RJ at Michigan State • At MSU, we are expanding restorative justice usage and vision beyond simply addressing misconduct. • We are implementing it in residence halls and neighborhoods, embedding tools such as circles and restorative approach to a variety of community-building and minor conflict situations students face every day. • Here is how we define our approach http://vimeo.com/24566473

14. Learning Lessons as We Go • Restorative Justice limitations: • Circles and Conferences (the RJ tools we’ve trained on in DRL) take a lot of time to set up and to run. • Those causing harm must take responsibility and want to make things right. • In Circles and Conferences, at least one of the harmed and harming parties must be willing to meet face-to-face with each other. • The RJ tools we’ve introduced are perceived as reactive instead of pro-active in nature. • DRL has limited our definitions and measurements of RJ to these primary tools.

15. Emphasizing Philosophy over Tools, Yet . . . • All parties of a conflict deserve to be treated with respect. (Zehr) • We are all connected in some way, therefore harm to one constitutes harm to all. (Quantum Physics, Native American Tradition, Buddhist Belief, others) • Circles provide an opportunity to meet and connect as people in a way that other forms of communication do not. (Pranis) • Positive social norms exist, and should be honored. Through constructive shame and support, those who violate those norms can be reintegrated into society (rather than isolated from society) by healing the harm their conduct violation caused. (Braithwaite, Maori, others) “Restorative Justice is respect. Respect for all, even those who are different from us; even those who seem to be our enemies. Respect reminds us of our interconnectedness, but also of our differences. Respect insists we balance concerns for all parties. If we pursue justice as respect, we will do justice restoratively.”—Howard Zehr, The Little Book of Restorative Justice

16. Equipping All to Use Restorative Philosophy Community Development Tools Conduct Tools • Talking Circle • For Fun • For Getting to Know Each Other • For Addressing a Topic as a Community • Check-in Circle • For Taking the Pulse of a Group • For Connecting or Reconnecting Individuals • Feedback Circle • For Hearing Perspectives on a Topic (event/policy/practice/etc.) • Restorative Questioning • Restorative Thinking Form • Media Depicting a Restorative Process Followed by Discussion or Processing • Peace-making Circle • Impact Panel • Conference

17. Valuing Your Feedback Comments, suggestions, thoughts gratefully and graciously accepted!