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Before this year, our Honor Code dictated the school’s policy for alcohol and drug violations as well as academic honesty, property violations and other infringements.
In the fall of 2009, a committee came together with hopes to change this tradition. A new code, called the Student Code of Conduct, is now in place. This new legislation lays out a separate path for drug and alcohol violations; namely, that first time offenses go straight to Dean Sarah Cardwell, and repeat infringements are under the jurisdiction of a new entity called the Student Conduct Board, which is staffed by members of the Honor Council.
There are multiple reasons behind this change, the most significant of which was a worry that weekend partying, often involving underage drinking, was degrading the status of the Honor Code because of the frequency of violations.
This issue was discussed at length in comments on a Voice article written by Jazmine Hughes ’12 last spring. Some students expressed worry that the college simply wanted to be able to say that we abide by the honor code truthfully, while not actually enforcing drinking law violations on campus.
Recent graduate Andrew Crimer ’11, though, disagrees. “To distinguish between the Honor Code and school rules is a tacit acknowledgement that we all live under rules which are not necessarily reflective of our personal or shared beliefs,” he commented. “It’s the difference between a speed limit and the First Amendment.” He attributes much of his opinion on the matter to a talk given by Professor Simon Feldman, in which Feldman discussed the difference between an outside law and an agreed-upon honor code between a group of people, such as the college community.
Honor Council member Gabby Arenge ’14 believes that the change is for the better, and that it makes the new and improved code “more honorable.” Arenge stresses that the college is not in any way condoning underage drinking, but that this change is simply a verbal technicality that changes the way infringements are handled.
Additionally, Honor Council chair Alicia Cauteruccio ’12 hopes that the removal of alcohol and drug violations from the weekly case load will give members more time to focus on more “serious” infractions.
“Before this year we were one of five colleges that had an all-inclusive honor code,” says Honor Council member Evert Fowle ’14. “But even now, we’re among only about fifteen colleges that have any sort of student honor code…which is still pretty special.”
Aside from the change in content, the former J-Board has also undergone some structural changes, including a new, more comprehensible name: Honor Council.
Other changes include a larger board – four representatives from each grade instead of two – and a rotating schedule, so there will only be six members at each hearing, plus the chair. According to Arenge, there had previously been whispers of a “concentration of power.” She points out that the new set-up allows for a larger pool of personalities and opinions.
Cauteruccio emphasizes the fact that this new system will not cause inconsistencies. “We’ve been really careful to mix new and old members in each rotation,” she says, and the council always explain the precedent on similar cases before discussion begins.
“For a while, people were talking about having a rotation between the whole school…like jury duty,” Arenge noted. “But it just wouldn’t be functional. It takes a while to get the hang of it…we’re still working on that with the new members.”
Cauteruccio and Arenge both agree that it is too soon to tell if the changes are for the better, but they have not dropped their positive outlook. Cauteruccio believes that “once we get our traction, everything will work out for the best.” •
