Restorative Justice Program
Through a collaborative effort between Conflict Resolution Services and The Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards, the UO has created the Campus Restorative Justice Program (CRJP). Restorative justice is an approach to addressing violations that focuses on the needs of those harmed by violations, offender accountability, repairing harm to the greatest extent possible, and on building community.
CRJP serves primarily as a diversion option for those students who have entered the judicial process as a result of violating the student conduct code. The following must be true in order for CRJP to be considered:
- The offending student accepts responsibility for their involvement in the conduct code violation or other incident and admits wrongdoing
- There is clearly identifiable community impact resulting from the violation
- The offending student and those harmed or impacted by the incident agree to participate
The RJ Circle Process
The CRJP process is called a "community circle" and brings together the offender, harmed and affected parties to talk about the incident and its impacts. Often, supporters of the offender and of the harmed parties are present as well. In preparation for the circle, the CRJP coordinator meets with each circle participant individually to describe the process in detail, to answer questions, and to prepare everyone for the process. The process itself typically lasts about 2 hours and is facilitated by two trained student facilitators. These facilitators are required to complete 30-hours of basic mediation training, in addition to16-hours of campus restorative justice facilitator training. During the circle, the offender accepts responsibility for their actions and talks about how the incident unfolded, the harmed and affected parties describe how they have been affected, and then all participants develop an agreement that reflect s ways that the offender can do their best to repair the harm that has been done.
Types of Cases
The following are examples of possible CRJP cases:
- Damage to property/vandalism
- Theft
- Bias related incidents
- Violations that negatively impact a resident hall community
- Violations that negatively impact individual or community safety
- Academic dishonesty
- Involvement in riots
Benefits of CRJP
CRJP has potential benefits to harmed and affected parties, to offenders, and to the campus community in general.
Harmed & Affected Parties: If you have been negatively impacted by the actions of another, you have the opportunity in a safe environment to describe you experience to the offender, and to have an active voice in deciding how the he or she can repair the harm they have caused. These opportunities can facilitate the experience of healing, learning, and processing an incident.
Offender: As someone who has caused harm to others, the CRJP allows you to acknowledge responsibility for your actions. Often, doing so can be an important step in restoring your reputation in the campus community. You will have the opportunity to participate in creating a plan to repair the harm that you have caused by your actions. Successfully completing such a plan has several benefits, including repairing damaged relationships and clearing judicial affairs charges.
Campus Community: A restorative approach to violations of the student conduct code or other misconduct allows the community to have a voice and to be directly involved in the outcome and the healing process. The resulting experience of community ownership and responsibility is likely to be experienced not only by those who participate directly in a restorative justice process, but by many campus community members who begin to embrace the values that drive this process. Over time, restorative approaches are likely to become more integrated into the campus experience.
Become a CRJP Trained Facilitator
Training for facilitators as will take place every year, generally during the beginning of Winter term.
CRJP facilitators work in pairs to guide the circle participants through all stages of the circle process. In doing so, they help create a safe space for the participants to express themselves and listen to each other.
In order to become a CRJP facilitator, you must:
- Complete a minimum of 30 hours of Basic Mediation Taining
- Submit a written CRJP Facilitator Application
- Complete an interview
- Complete the CRJP facilitator training
How do I find out more about CRJP?
Conflict Resolution Services has a variety of videos on restorative justice that can help you understand the process more fully. Videos can be checked for a week at a time.
For more information about our program, you can contact:
Liora Sponko, Co-Director, lsponko@uoregon.edu, (541) 346-0617
Restorative Justice Program
Through a collaborative effort between Conflict Resolution Services and The Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards, the UO has created the Campus Restorative Justice Program (CRJP). Restorative justice is an approach to addressing violations that focuses on the needs of those harmed by violations, offender accountability, repairing harm to the greatest extent possible, and on building community.
CRJP serves primarily as a diversion option for those students who have entered the judicial process as a result of violating the student conduct code. The following must be true in order for CRJP to be considered:
- The offending student accepts responsibility for their involvement in the conduct code violation or other incident and admits wrongdoing
- There is clearly identifiable community impact resulting from the violation
- The offending student and those harmed or impacted by the incident agree to participate
The RJ Circle Process
The CRJP process is called a "community circle" and brings together the offender, harmed and affected parties to talk about the incident and its impacts. Often, supporters of the offender and of the harmed parties are present as well. In preparation for the circle, the CRJP coordinator meets with each circle participant individually to describe the process in detail, to answer questions, and to prepare everyone for the process. The process itself typically lasts about 2 hours and is facilitated by two trained student facilitators. These facilitators are required to complete 30-hours of basic mediation training, in addition to16-hours of campus restorative justice facilitator training. During the circle, the offender accepts responsibility for their actions and talks about how the incident unfolded, the harmed and affected parties describe how they have been affected, and then all participants develop an agreement that reflect s ways that the offender can do their best to repair the harm that has been done.
Types of Cases
The following are examples of possible CRJP cases:
- Damage to property/vandalism
- Theft
- Bias related incidents
- Violations that negatively impact a resident hall community
- Violations that negatively impact individual or community safety
- Academic dishonesty
- Involvement in riots
Benefits of CRJP
CRJP has potential benefits to harmed and affected parties, to offenders, and to the campus community in general.
Harmed & Affected Parties: If you have been negatively impacted by the actions of another, you have the opportunity in a safe environment to describe you experience to the offender, and to have an active voice in deciding how the he or she can repair the harm they have caused. These opportunities can facilitate the experience of healing, learning, and processing an incident.
Offender: As someone who has caused harm to others, the CRJP allows you to acknowledge responsibility for your actions. Often, doing so can be an important step in restoring your reputation in the campus community. You will have the opportunity to participate in creating a plan to repair the harm that you have caused by your actions. Successfully completing such a plan has several benefits, including repairing damaged relationships and clearing judicial affairs charges.
Campus Community: A restorative approach to violations of the student conduct code or other misconduct allows the community to have a voice and to be directly involved in the outcome and the healing process. The resulting experience of community ownership and responsibility is likely to be experienced not only by those who participate directly in a restorative justice process, but by many campus community members who begin to embrace the values that drive this process. Over time, restorative approaches are likely to become more integrated into the campus experience.
Become a CRJP Trained Facilitator
Training for facilitators as will take place every year, generally during the beginning of Winter term.
CRJP facilitators work in pairs to guide the circle participants through all stages of the circle process. In doing so, they help create a safe space for the participants to express themselves and listen to each other.
In order to become a CRJP facilitator, you must:
- Complete a minimum of 30 hours of Basic Mediation Taining
- Submit a written CRJP Facilitator Application
- Complete an interview
- Complete the CRJP facilitator training
How do I find out more about CRJP?
Conflict Resolution Services has a variety of videos on restorative justice that can help you understand the process more fully. Videos can be checked for a week at a time.
For more information about our program, you can contact:
Liora Sponko, Co-Director, lsponko@uoregon.edu, (541) 346-0617