Student Body President Jess Errico has issued an executive order stating that members of the Facebook group ‘Wolfpack Students’ will now have to adhere to a three-strike discipline policy.
The order, which was issued Friday, states that any member of Wolfpack Students who accumulates three strikes will be removed from the Facebook group until the following year. A strike is defined as any offense against Facebook policy, NC State policy, Title IX or a post that creates a ‘hostile environment hazard.
Errico, a fifth-year studying mechanical and aerospace engineering, said that the executive order sets guidelines for the group, which is managed by Student Government.
“In essence, it provides a policy that students can look to and follow and the appropriate level of response from student government should any member of the Wolfpack Students community violate a policy,” Errico said.
According to Errico, students who receive a strike will be notified by email or Facebook message. She also said that the Executive Order helps to ensure a student’s right to free speech, while still maintaining a safe online community.
“Since it’s a page that is created and exists in a tangent sphere of Student Government influence, it’s important to us as representatives of the entire Wolfpack that we simultaneously protect the right to free speech while also ensuring that it’s not something that creates an unsafe or unwelcomed environment for other members of the Wolfpack,” Errico said.
The executive order states that the group will be monitored by the Wolfpack Students Advisory Board, which will be chaired by the Student Government executive assistant Isabelle Babson, a fourth-year studying psychology.
“It’s composed of at least one member of Student Government and at least one student at-large chosen by the executive assistant through an application process,” Errico said. “Of course, it’s not limited to that, but that’s simply a place of her to start with the membership of the advisory board.”
The guidelines that will govern Wolfpack Students will officially be decided by the advisory board once it is established. The current interim guidelines will be in place until Sept. 19.
An executive order with a similar discipline policy pertaining to Wolfpack Students was issued last year by then-Student Body President Jackie Gonzalez.*
Errico also said the guidelines will provide a reference for students in what they can and cannot posted to the Facebook page.
“It gives students a sense of security in that [Student Government is] not arbitrarily deciding what is and is not allowable while also protecting what it means to be part of the Pack and ensuring that we do not become a platform for hate speech or violation of Facebook’s policies or violation for the Code of Student Conduct,” Errico said.
Students who would like to be involved in the Wolfpack Students Advisory Board can contact sgexecassist@ncsu.edu. The full executive order can be accessed here.
*Editor’s Note: This article was updated to include a link to reporting on an executive order issued by former Student Body President Jackie Gonzalez.
