It's always bothered me how (even state-funded) universities tend to act as autonomous legal bodies. It's especially disheartening to see them trample on the bill of rights (e.g. most universities will have a "policy" that you basically can't say anything bad about them). If you do break some arbitrary rule, you can expect an arbitrary punishment for it. When it comes down to it, they can make you do whatever they want you to until you are no longer a student.
Some years ago I reported a domestic battery in progress to the Brown University police. They turned up and refused to arrest the perp even though state law obliges them to do so. As witness I made a statement to the police and dean's office. I was then intimidated by a dean for my "black and white thinking" and he demanded that I mind my own business.
About a year or two later he failed upward to Dartmouth where he is still employed.
