Students Endorse Changes to College Honor Code

Author: Devin Zatorski News Editor

Community Council's proposed changes to the Honor Code passed in a widely publicized student referendum on Monday, Nov. 19, garnering the approval of 61 percent of voters. In an e-mail to the College community last week, Student Government Association (SGA) Elections Council Chair Sara Schuman '02.5 reported that 1,825 of 2,303 eligible students cast ballots, a 79 percent turnout that exceeded the three-quarter requirement stipulated by the College Handbook.

The student-endorsed changes to the Code will now be forwarded to the faculty for final ratification, upon which they will be incorporated into the 2002-2003 Handbook, said Secretary of the College Eric Davis.

Secretary of Faculty Council Grace Spatafora, who is also an associate professor of biology, said Faculty Council "may begin deliberations on the referendum" at their meeting today, although it is not currently on the agenda. At the latest, she said the Council would discuss the referendum results on Wednesday, Dec. 5 so members are "ready to comment" on the revisions at the Dec. 10 full faculty meeting, when the faculty is likely to vote on whether to ratify the changes.

Because Faculty Council issued suggestions to Community Council during the language drafting process, members are familiar with the referendum's content, Spatafora said.

She emphasized, however, that "it is fundamental to the Honor Code that this remain a student initiated effort," adding that the faculty's role is to "help, guide and support."

Revisions that passed in the student referendum include consolidating definitions of academic offenses and student and faculty responsibilities into one section and merging the two disciplinary boards into one Academic Judicial Board that would hear all cases of alleged academic dishonesty, on which students would have a majority. The new language also deletes the word "morally" from the description of a student's obligation to report offenses and clarifies what elements of the Code are subject to amendment by student referendum.

Erica Rosenthal '02, student co-chair of Community Council, said she was "very pleased that a substantial majority of students voted in favor of the referendum." She explained while statistically 61 percent of students voted in favor, this does not capture the extent of student support for the reform. Removing abstentions, leaving just "those who voted yes versus no," boosts the percent of student supporting the changes to 87 percent, she said.

Commenting on the number of abstentions, Rosenthal said, "I am not very surprised that a portion of students felt that it was important to vote but did not have a strong opinion in favor of or against the changes," adding that this is "bound to happen on any issue." She pointed out that of students who "had an inclination to vote yes or no, an overwhelming majority voted yes."

Even though an SGA-sponsored Honor Code Forum before the referendum drew no students aside from SGA members, Rosenthal credited SGA senators' communication with their constituencies and coverage in The Middlebury Campus with keeping students informed.

She said, "Students were able to obtain so much information about the referendum through other avenues that were more accessible." She also fielded e-mail questions from students after sending out announcements about the referendum, allowing her to "discuss specific concerns" with members of the student body.

"Overall, I am very pleased with the amount of participation and discussion generated on campus because of the Honor Code referendum," concluded Rosenthal. "It is very important for students to assert their voice on Honor Code issues [because] these issues certainly have an impact on the academic community."