The Honor Committee saw a drop in both investigations and trials over the last year, according to statistics released by the Committee Sunday night.
The Committee experienced a noticeable decline in the number of students convicted of honor offenses. There were only six convictions last year, compared to 19 in 1998-1999.
Sixty-nine students were investigated for honor charges last year, but only 47 were investigated for the 1999-2000 year. Nineteen students were charged with formal honor accusations this year, down from 36 accused in 1998-1999.
Students are accused of honor offenses only if their cases have been approved by an Investigation Panel, a three-Committee member panel that assesses the evidence in each case.
The report shows that this year's racial statistics are consistent with last year's, with the proportion of white and black students brought up on charges holding steady from last year.
Twenty-four white students were investigated this year, compared to 38 last year. In comparison, the number for black students investigated fell from 15 last year to 10 this year. Asian student investigations fell less dramatically, from 14 last year to 11 this year. One Latino student was investigated this year - the same number as last year.
The proportion of students tried out of those investigated is consistent with the figures from last year. In convictions, however, white students have the highest conviction rate.
Terra Weirich, former vice chairwoman for trials for 1999-2000, said the statistics can be misleading, especially the racial and gender breakdown.
"The numbers are so small that one case can make the statistics look really bad," Weirich said.
Again this year, men underwent more investigations than women. Twenty-seven men were investigated for the 1999-2000 academic year. Last year, 49 men were investigated, compared to 20 women.
This year, 10 men and six women were tried. Five men and one woman were acquitted, while five men and five women were convicted.
Committee members refrained from drawing conclusions from the statistics and warned that numeric fluctuations do not indicate lasting change.
"It's impossible to draw any conclusions from one year's statistics. It's perfectly normal for numbers to fluctuate," said Peter Leary, 1999-2000 vice chairman for education. Leary also said the Committee hopes to make better use of yearly reports now that a full-time staff member has been brought in to coordinate statistics.
"I think [the addition of a new staff member] will help in the long run to keep the community educated about what's really going on," agreed Committee Chairman Thomas Hall.
1999-2000 Committee Chairman Hunter Ferguson refrained from drawing any conclusions from the report.
But Ferguson said he was grateful for the speed with which support officers have cleared last year's cases.
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