On Oct. 19, the University community will bear witness to the first open honor trial in two years, an event that promises once again to focus national attention on the honor system and its role at the University.
Third-year College student Adam Boyd, accused of cheating on a quiz during last spring semester, opted for an open trial in which he will plead his innocence as well as air grievances against honor system procedures.
"I am aware of the kind of publicity that this will bring, and I don't want this to reflect poorly upon the University," Boyd said. "However, I want the opportunity to change something that isn't working properly."
Committee Chairman Chris Smith confirmed the open trial, and called it an opportunity for students to see a process usually kept private.
Smith defended honor procedures and encouraged the community to reserve judgement on the matter, though he was unable to comment on case specifics.
"Despite the fact that the student has chosen to wave confidentiality, the honor system will not comment on case specifics as is standing practice," Smith said. "What is being made public is one side of a story, and it is important to keep in mind that in all honor cases, there are two sides that will be fairly discussed at trial."
Boyd was a student in Astronomy Prof. Charles Tolbert's ASTR 124 "Introduction to Stars, Galaxy and Universe" course last spring.
The course permitted students to select one test per semester to be taken a few days after the scheduled date of the test, a provision for students busy with other assignments.
On March 21, Boyd said he chose to exercise this option and push back a quiz, as he had other tests and papers due around the same time.
According to the Investigation Log obtained by The Cavalier Daily, Tolbert made statements to Committee investigators claiming to have counted the number of quizzes handed out in class on March 21 and the number that were returned.
Tolbert said one quiz went unaccounted for, and fearing cheating, he marked the quizzes reserved for the make-up day in order to prevent a student from swapping a previously filled-out quiz with a make-up quiz, as the two quizzes were identical in content.
On March 25, Boyd said he went to the astronomy offices to take the quiz. He said he requested it from the astronomy department secretary, and was given a test from an envelope.
According to the I-Log, Tolbert claimed he had marked nine quizzes left over from class which were hand-stapled, and provided them for the make-up section.
Boyd was the sixth student to sign out a test, and according to Tolbert, would have received one of these marked tests.
Nineteen students took the quiz that day, and after the ninth quiz was handed out, the secretary requested more quizzes that were provided by Tolbert's office and were unmarked and machine-stapled.
Boyd said he took his exam in a room with other students and returned it one-half hour later, hearing nothing unusual about the quiz until he was contacted by the Committee, and informed he had been charged with committing an honor offense.
Boyd said, the quiz he turned in was machine-stapled and unmarked. Tolbert alleges that Boyd, as one of the first nine students to take the quiz, received a marked, hand-stapled copy and that he cheated by switching the make-up test with one obtained in class.
Boyd claims there was a mistake, that he did not cheat and an error caused him to receive an unmarked test. He suggests that this could easily have happened if the additional quizzes were mixed in with a few remaining marked quizzes before he received a copy.
"All this could be centered around where the assistant pulled that test from," Boyd said.
Boyd says his innocence is not the only thing he is out to prove. He claims the honor investigation was not conducted properly, and that investigators failed to contact the department secretary, who handed out the quiz, even after Boyd specifically named her as a witness.
He says the only pieces of evidence presented against him at the Investigative Panel, which brought him to trial, were statements from Tolbert and one student who claimed she saw nothing suspicious.
"I feel there is negligence here to do a thorough job," Boyd said. "It seemed the case was stacked against me."
Smith responded positively to the open trial despite Boyd's allegations of negligence.
"In so many ways, the honor system is a continuing dialogue between students," Smith said. "An open trial is but one forum for this to take place in and I'm happy for the opportunity for the community to be a part of this."
The open honor trial will be held in theCommittee trial room, and will allow students to observe proceedings usually reserved for family and friends.
Boyd said he hopes the trial will provide a forum for the community to scrutinize the honor system.
"When you work all your life to go to U.Va., it's not right that you can be brought up on charges and kicked out without fair procedure," Boyd said. "If the trial wasn't open, who would know what happened to me"
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