Students who are caught by SMU Police with alcohol or intoxicated for the first time will now undergo an “informal resolution” rather than recieving an alcohol violation.

Dean of Student Life and Associate Vice President for Student Affairs Lisa Webb announced the change during Tuesday’s Student Senate meeting.

This means that first-time offenders won’t see a conduct file opened on them in the Dean of Student Life office.

Instead, students will meet with a hearing officer from Residence Life and Student Housing (RLSH) or the Dean of Student Life Office.

“The officer will talk to you about the decision you made and why you made that decision, and really just check in to see how you’re doing at SMU,” Webb said.

The change only affects first-time offenses where no other factors are involved. Other factors include possessing a fake ID, disrespecting the officer, or committing an assault.

The school will still contact the student’s parents. The hearing officer will follow up with the student in the following weeks. Webb said the process is modeled after a similar one at Duke University.

“Our hope is that this will give the opportunity for freshmen to connect with someone on campus in a positive way,” Webb said. “So in other words, they’re not coming in for a hearing … where they’re there to be judged; they’re actually coming in for a positive conversation.”

Webb said that there have been at least 10 informal resolutions already this year.

One student, she described, later contacted the hearing officer about a different matter and asked to talk.

“That’s what we want to happen,” she said.

Assistant Dean of Student Life and Director of Student Conduct and Community Standards Evelyn Ashley announced at the Senate meeting that the Student Code of Conduct now specifically prohibits synthesized marijuana—also known as K-2 or spice.

“They are very dangerous because the way that they are made is not. There’s no standard way to make them, therefore there’s no standard outcome when they are smoked,” she said. “So the effect is very different depending on who [you] are and the type [of marijuana] that you have.”

K-2 is already illegal in Dallas.

SMU also outlawed possession of drug paraphernalia. Previously, the paraphernalia had to have drug residue in it to warrant an offense.

“Now we just don’t want you to have it,” Ashley said. “There’s a reason for you having it, and it’s usually not for decoration.”