Another year, another riot policy. System Chancellor Brit Kirwan introduced a new version of a systemwide riot policy that allows for individual universities to create their own customized rules. Are you keeping up?Under the current proposal, power would be thrown to the University Senate to draft legislation on “event-related student misconduct” instead of the Board of Regents. This is the same riot policy that was initially slated to be finished by the Duke game (in two weeks) and the same senate that is often incapable of making progress in a respectable amount of time. This unfortunate combination is magnified by the fact that students need to receive a well drafted document, and soon, if it will ever be of any relevance.For something that university President Dan Mote called at one point the biggest problem facing the university, the lack of urgency leads one to wonder if by the time we have a complete riot policy, riots will have worn themselves out and no longer be such a serious problem and once again, the senate will have wasted time.While it is good that a policy on such a pressing issue for the campus is now in local hands, it is laughable that a group of faculty who have previously had no stake in drafting a riot policy will now be held responsible for creating a realistic policy in time to mean anything at all. The senate is also notorious for lackluster student involvement, and a riot policy is something that should certainly have heavy student input.It should be noted that the latest policy proposal allows the university to punish students under the Student Code of Conduct no matter how court proceedings develop – a revelation that comes after much discussion about whether students who plead guilty but are not convicted in a court of law should be subject to expulsion.Many other details remain ambiguous. It is unclear how broad this policy has stretched – the current proposed language covers all “institution-sponsored events” leaving the doors open for all kinds of misbehavior to be considered under such a sweeping policy.It is ironic that the senate has assumed responsibility on such an important and time-sensitive issue. Judging from its history, it is unlikely that the senate will succeed in crafting a clear and timely document. They’ll essentially be starting from scratch on a problem that has festered on the campus for years. Without devising a plan to expedite the process and ensure that students are heavily involved, the University Senate may be charged with a task they’re not especially qualified for and students would be the ones to pay the price.