The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 45, No. 2 - 19

Evolution of Alternative Dispute Resolution Practices

processes that fall into the two general categories of restorative justice and mediation.

vided guiding questions for RJ processes (as
cited in Mauriello & Pierson, 2018), including

ADR: Restorative Justice

* Who has been harmed?

Restorative Justice (RJ) is utilized in the criminal justice system as a technique to enable communities to recover and thrive after criminal
violations (Goldblum, 2009; Karp, 2015). In the
restorative justice framework, criminal violations are considered crimes against people, not
just violations of state or federal law, and restorative processes aim at repairing the harm that
an offender's behavior has brought to the community, family, or others (Goldblum, 2009).
Critically, for restorative justice to be a realistic
option, the person or people responsible must
admit guilt, and the other parties involved
must be willing to discuss the incident together
(Goldblum, 2009; Karp, 2015). If offenders do
not believe that they are responsible for the behavior and/or for causing harm, another form
of adjudication is better suited (Goldblum,
2009; Karp, 2015).

* What are their needs?

Howard Zehr, a criminologist and one of
the founders of modern restorative justice, pro-

In the restorative justice framework,
criminal violations are considered
crimes against people, not just
violations of state or federal law,
and restorative processes aim
at repairing the harm that an
offender's behavior has brought to
the community, family, or others.

* Whose obligations are these?
* Who has a stake in the situation?
* What are the causes?
* What is the appropriate process to involve
stakeholders in an effort to put things right
and address underlying causes? (p. 225)
Karp (2015) adapted these questions for
student and residential settings: "What impact
has this [behavior] had on you and on others?
What do you think needs to happen to make
things right?" and "What can you do that can
demonstrate you can be a positive member of
our community?" (p. 24).
A typical RJ process begins with all potential involved parties meeting with a trained facilitator, one at a time. In these meetings, the
facilitator explains the RJ process and gauges
whether or not this case, and these participants. are appropriate and ready for a restorative process. If and when the facilitator feels
comfortable to move forward, the actual restorative discussion begins. The victim(s), the
offender(s), and all other involved parties join
the facilitator in a facilitated dialogue where everyone answers questions one at a time, often
passing around a designated token referred to
as a talking piece to ensure that participants
do not talk over each other (Karp, 2015). At
the end of the facilitated discussion(s), participants together develop an action plan by which
the harm can be repaired. Sanctions consistent
with restorative justice include restitution,
community service, counseling, participating in mentoring or educational workshops,
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The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 45, No. 2

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 45, No. 2