ADAM BAKER/Arizona Daily Wildcat Associate Professor Jeff Warburton holds a copy of the "Arizona Idols" video at the faculty senate meeting yesterday.

A policy on threatening behavior was approved yesterday at the Faculty Senate meeting, less than one month before the anniversary of the nursing school shootings.

The policy was passed as memorial plans are taking shape for the three nursing professors who died on Oct. 28, 2002, at the hands of Robert S. Flores Jr., a student who had made threatening statements.

"Just in time, if I may say so," said Jennifer Jenkins, the senator who proposed the policy.

Saundra Taylor, senior vice president for campus life, also urged the senate to pass the policy.

"We are very, very close," said Taylor. "I am very mindful of the anniversary of the slayings. I would like to endorse it before that date."

The policy will serve as a code for those who are threatened, or observe threats, when reporting the occurrence.

It states that anyone witnessing threats, no matter whom they are directed toward, should leave the area, call the police, and file a report with the Dean of Students office.

If the person reporting the threat is a staff member, the department head must also be notified of the threat.

Students who have made threats could face suspension or expulsion, depending on the severity of the threat, or if it is a repeat offense.

Jeff Warburton, chair of the student affairs policy committee, said the purpose of the threatening behavior policy is to document the threats so that it will be clear if a student needs help.

Alice Schlegel, anthropology professor, has been at the UA for 23 years and though she thinks the threatening behavior policy is a good idea, its conception surprised her.

"I was appalled to think that this was even necessary, but I guess it is," Schlegel said.

"It's wise for us to know when a potential threat exists and how to handle it. It doesn't hurt to have it in place," she added.

The new threat policy will work in conjunction with the proposed disruptive behavior policy, which calls for documentation of disruptive students with the Dean of Students office.

"It's excellent and necessary because we need to help identify students who have made threats and get them help," Warburton said.

The disruptive behavior policy follows an effort made this summer to minimize disruptions before they start.

All incoming students saw an eight-minute video, entitled "Arizona Idols", this summer detailing some of the disruptions students and teachers complain about.

The video was also shown at the senate meeting.

Donald Davis, professor of hydrology and water, suggested that students who threaten teachers should be dropped from the class. He said he has been threatened in the past.

"From the prospective of a person who has received a threat, this does nothing but apply a code of conduct to the person who received the threat," Davis said. "I don't think that a person who has received a threat should be made to have contact with the person who made the threat," Davis said.

Other business at the meeting included Provost George Davis' plan for reorganization of the vice provost's office.

His plans include hiring a permanent vice provost for academic affairs, as well as a permanent vice provost for instruction. Interim employees currently hold both positions.

UA President Peter Likins also mentioned the

proposal to move the Flandrau Science Center from the UA campus to the Rio Nuevo area downtown.

"This would be a very dramatic and visible effort for us to reach out into the community," Likins said.

÷ Devin Simmons contributed to this report.