An amendment to the university’s student code of conduct has been proposed by Student Government Association Services Vice President Alex Reynolds in response to acts of animal cruelty that were posted by a University of Louisville student on Saturday. The University posted a statement to Twitter on Sunday, indicating that they are aware of the situation and that, “We take reports of occurrences like this very seriously. After hearing about this off-campus incident, the university immediately relayed all relevant information to the appropriate authorities for further investigation.”
The incident in question involved a student who is enrolled in the University of Louisville’s J. B. Speed School of Engineering who posted a series of graphic videos of himself torturing and killing small chicks. The videos were quickly noticed by other students who alerted the university administration, as well as University of Louisville and Louisville Metro Police Departments.
In an email to student government officials shared with the Louisville Political Review, SVP Reynolds stated his concern with the current lack of language regarding the impermissibility of animal cruelty in the code of conduct as well his intention to propose language explicitly prohibiting such actions. “While there are broad policies against breaking the law, in which animal cruelty would certainly fall under, there are no clear policies on animal cruelty being a prohibited form of conduct. I believe we need to condemn this incident and advocate for a revision to the student code of conduct to incorporate a prohibition on animal abuse and cruelty.”
The amendment would add a subsection to section 11 “Prohibited Conduct” of the Code of Student Conduct. The subsection in its current draft would be entitled “ss. Animal Abuse or Cruelty” and would prohibit “Intentionally subjecting an animal or animals to cruel or injurious mistreatment, mutilation, beating, torture, poisoning, cruel neglect, or any other inhumane harm or killing of animals.” The resolution also “invites the Staff and Faculty Senates to sign on to and pass this resolution or a similar version in their respective legislative bodies.”
The Student Government Services committee will meet on Thursday to review the amendment which SVP Reynolds intends to submit for passage at the student government banquet next Tuesday (4/15).
Louisville Political Review 