Private College Student Contract - Conflicting/Mutually Exclusive Policies - Breach?

I attend a private college in MA and am required to sign a Room and Board contract as a condition of my matriculation at the college. That contract contains a provision that students must "observe all rules and regulations contained in the [student handbook] and any other published rules, policies, or procedures that have been promulgated by the College."

Under the authority granted to the school by that contract, I was recently sanctioned (fine, campus service, restriction from campus, etc.) for breaking one of those policies. However, this is because I was following the letter of multiple other published policies. It would appear these policies are conflicting and mutually exclusive - yet I'm contractually obligated to do both. Is it breach of contract to punish me for this / to prevent me from fulfilling my obligations under the contract?

I am not questioning the school's ability to hold disciplinary hearings and sanction students for breaking the rules; rather, I am questioning their ability to take from me my time, money and labor - via sanctions - because they put me in the position to have to choose one contractually-obligated policy over another. According to published guidelines and common practice, breaking either policy would have resulted in a monetary fine at the very least (clearly, in my case, it resulted in much more).

Well what actually happened--hard to read between the lines here.

You can always challenge it in actual court if you believe the school has acted incorrectly.

Originally Posted by Unregistered Well what actually happened--hard to read between the lines here.

Fair point.

The last day of finals week last semester, my suitemates and I were cleaning out our common area. As was my longstanding practice, this included collecting any discarded beer cans to be recycled/redeemed. I arrived back to my suite from visiting another dorm, and had been engaged in this for about 5 minutes when the Resident Assistant on duty entered our suite. In my hand was a beer can, and on the floor were other cans I had yet to pick up. I was written up and charged for this.

On one side, there are policies that prohibit students under the age of 21 from handling or being in the presence of any type of alcohol container. Violations include "College policy: Failure to comply with any College policy," "Presence of Alcohol: Being a student under the age of 21, not engaged in an employment or other permissive activity, in the presence of an open alcohol container," and "Possession of Alcohol: Possession, use, or distribution of alcohol by a student, under the age of 21." Though I am no longer under 21, I was at the time I was charged.

On the other side, there are policies that require students to clean up, recycle, etc. These policies include "All 5-cent deposit cans and bottles thrown out or lying on the ground are to be picked up and placed in recycling containers or plastic bags," "Residents are responsible for the cleanliness of their respective rooms, which are subject to inspection for health and safety reasons," and "The accumulation of debris, dirty laundry, cans and bottles is prohibited." Also, various official publications say the following: "Clean your room. Vacuum and throw away trash to avoid a $40 cleaning charge." and "Recycling is a great way to help the environment, and Facilities Management is greatly interested in assisting, but we can not do it alone. We must have the cooperation of students, faculty, and staff."

The RA testified that one or two of the cans "felt cold" and that one of the cans was not completely empty (reasonable, as I would assume the beer was purchased with the intent for someone to drink it, and as I had not been present in my suite for long, it could have been recently refrigerated/consumed). Upon appeal, I learned that this is what ended up getting me in trouble as it was, in their judgement, "more likely than not" that I was consuming alcohol. This is despite the testimony of four witnesses, under sworn/signed "honesty statements," that I was not drinking at all and that I was simply cleaning up and recycling. The RA admitted she never saw me drinking, just in possession of the can(s).

My sanctions are: $50 fine, 15 hours community service, an alcohol counseling/assessment, and I am banned from campus for two consecutive weekends.

You can always challenge it in actual court if you believe the school has acted incorrectly.

Even with it being a private college? I think they are in the wrong, but I was under the impression that some kind of breach of contract is the only way I have a case, because it is a private college.