LSSU Advisor Statement

All parties are entitled to an advisor of their choosing to guide and accompany them throughout the assessment and/or investigation process. The advisor may be a friend, mentor, family member, attorney, or any other supporter a party chooses to advise them who is both eligible and available. A party may elect to change advisors during the process and are not locked into using the same advisor throughout.

The parties are entitled to be accompanied by their advisor in all meetings and interviews at which the party is entitled to be present, including intake and interviews. Advisors may help their advisees prepare for each meeting and are expected to advise ethically, with integrity and in good faith. The university does not guarantee equal advisory rights, meaning that if one party selects an advisor who is an attorney, but the other does not, the university is not obligated to provide one.

All advisors are subject to the same campus rules, whether they are attorneys or not. Advisors may not present on behalf of their advisees in a meeting or interview and should request or wait for a break in the proceeding if they wish to interact with campus officials. Advisors may confer quietly with their advisees as necessary, as long as they do not disrupt the process. Advisors are expected to refrain from interference with the university investigation and resolution. Any advisor who steps out of their role in any meeting or interview will be warned once and only once. If the advisor continues to disrupt or otherwise fails to respect the limits of the advisor role, the advisor will be asked to leave the meeting.

The University expects an advisor to adjust their schedule to allow them to attend scheduled interviews and meetings. The University does not typically change scheduled meetings to accommodate an advisor’s inability to attend. The University will, when possible, make provisions to allow an advisor to attend a meeting by telephone, video, and/or virtual meeting technologies.