2008 Woodie Awards
Don't sign rights away with new waiver
Issue date: 8/30/07 Section: Opinion
With the first week of classes out of the way, students have had the opportunity to see their instructors, look over their syllabi and see what the workload is going to look like for the semester. One of the things that I have found most interesting is the surprise of receiving several "Release, Waiver of Liability, Assumption of Risk, & Covenant Not to Sue Agreement" for "Participants in SIUE Sponsored Academic Field Trips."
Who knows how many other students have had the pleasure of getting one of these brightly colored - makes giving up your rights seem more fun - waivers yet. Maybe instructors are holding out until students become more entrenched in classes to ensure compliance. It is also interesting, that given this is my third year at SIUE, this is the first I have seen of these waivers. The professor did make a small point of saying that SIUE recently instituted the waiver policy for all course-related activities. Yet, there are several things that concern me about this waiver.
First of all, the activities that these waivers were assigned for are not really even "field trips" as most people would understand them. They are extracurricular activities that have been assigned to help us understand, research and apply the course material. If this application is part of the prescribed coursework, then SIUE is responsible for what happens during such time and should not be embarrassing themselves by "passing the buck" to students.
With SIUE's seemingly evident disregard for its inherent responsibility in the activities it requires to complete a course, one must wonder what is next. Are they going to waive students' rights to expect a safe campus and waive students' rights to expect a safe parking environment? In fact, students probably already waived most of those things away when they agreed to attend SIUE.
Upon reading the waiver that was given out, it is offensive that SIUE needs to resort to such legalese. Given such a distasteful document, what options do students have if they choose not to sign their life and limbs away for SIUE's benefit? There are no known alternatives offered to students who choose not to sign the waiver.
In conclusion, I hope students exercise their rights and take a closer look at the documents - and associated waivers - that SIUE implies that they need to sign. Perhaps a waiver should be drafted to squander student fees on non-academic scholarships.
Lucas Hauck
Junior
Who knows how many other students have had the pleasure of getting one of these brightly colored - makes giving up your rights seem more fun - waivers yet. Maybe instructors are holding out until students become more entrenched in classes to ensure compliance. It is also interesting, that given this is my third year at SIUE, this is the first I have seen of these waivers. The professor did make a small point of saying that SIUE recently instituted the waiver policy for all course-related activities. Yet, there are several things that concern me about this waiver.
First of all, the activities that these waivers were assigned for are not really even "field trips" as most people would understand them. They are extracurricular activities that have been assigned to help us understand, research and apply the course material. If this application is part of the prescribed coursework, then SIUE is responsible for what happens during such time and should not be embarrassing themselves by "passing the buck" to students.
With SIUE's seemingly evident disregard for its inherent responsibility in the activities it requires to complete a course, one must wonder what is next. Are they going to waive students' rights to expect a safe campus and waive students' rights to expect a safe parking environment? In fact, students probably already waived most of those things away when they agreed to attend SIUE.
Upon reading the waiver that was given out, it is offensive that SIUE needs to resort to such legalese. Given such a distasteful document, what options do students have if they choose not to sign their life and limbs away for SIUE's benefit? There are no known alternatives offered to students who choose not to sign the waiver.
In conclusion, I hope students exercise their rights and take a closer look at the documents - and associated waivers - that SIUE implies that they need to sign. Perhaps a waiver should be drafted to squander student fees on non-academic scholarships.
Lucas Hauck
Junior
Viewing Comments 1 - 4 of 8
Zack Ziaja
posted 8/30/07 @ 11:52 AM CST
This is not a new phenomenon. The university made its RAs sign liability waivers last year on a required trip to do social work in the East St. Louis Housing Projects. (Continued…)
Old Grad
posted 8/30/07 @ 3:21 PM CST
Grow up, Lucas and Zack. The reason SIUE has to resort to such legalese is because as an institution it needs to protect itself from people like you who apparently feel there must always be someone to sue when bad things happen. (Continued…)
Zack Ziaja
posted 9/04/07 @ 12:48 PM CST
Well, as a grad of SIUE I would have at least expected a reading comprehension level of a third grader. God, I know, I have to lower my standards. So in order to help you grasp the concept of the piece above I will highlight certain parts for you in all caps. (Continued…)
Ziaja
Zack Ziaja
posted 9/05/07 @ 7:34 PM CST
Again old Grad, your ignorance of the situation permeates through your sarcasm ridden retort. Your right, I signed the waiver because that job was how I was able to afford college. (Continued…)
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