While it may seem difficult to make changes to an honor system steeped in tradition, Honor Committee and faculty members say they are working to address faculty concerns and ultimately strengthen the community of trust.
The Faculty Senate passed a proposition statement yesterday in support of increased dialogue with the Honor Committee in the coming years. Specifically, faculty and the Honor Committee will examine the single sanction, the non-toleration clause and the role of faculty members in the honor system.
"We were charged with a fact-finding mission," Academic Affairs Co-Chair Pamela Kulbok said. "The total Academic Affairs Committee spoke with several students who are very knowledgeable about honor and the student-run honor system here at U.Va."
The Academic Affairs Committee gathered information for its proposition statement from Physics Prof. Lou Bloomfield, the Honor Committee and the Faculty Advisory Committee. Many faculty members provided additional input.
Academic Affairs Committee members Ken Schwartz, Marian Moore and Steve Gladis drafted the proposition.
"We were struck by the spirit of constructive dialogue and the many positive steps that have been taken these past several years," Schwartz said.
The possibility of reinstating the non-toleration clause was a matter of contention among the faculty members present.
"In this context, the restoration of the non-toleration clause is a key issue that has not received the attention it deserves," Schwartz said. "The removal of the non-toleration clause by students in the early 1970s may have had strong justification during the Vietnam War. Those reasons no longer exist."
The single sanction emerged as another divisive issue.
"The ongoing dialogue about the merits of single sanction versus other forms of resolution for honor cases are both healthy and necessary," Schwartz said. "Some faculty colleagues have asserted very convincingly that 'all roads lead to the single sanction' as the source of many problems with the honor system today in our contemporary lives."
The Academic Affairs Committee also recommended some form of support for faculty initiators, which would include additional training, administrative support and legal counsel to assist faculty members who initiate cases or serve as primary witnesses, Schwartz said.
Kulbok said the drafting of the proposition statement spurred increased dialogue among faculty, students and the Faculty Advisory Committee.
"We know it is a student-run system, and we the faculty cannot make the changes," Kulbok said. "We're hoping that by continuing the dialogue and putting forward some of our perspectives that we think and feel are troublesome in the present system that it will move us forward."
Outgoing FAC Chair Sean Driscoll said his committee has worked as a founding board for faculty concerns and has endeavored to sustain dialogue between the Honor Committee and the faculty.
"Throughout the year we've been keeping faculty in more of a loop, especially those who initiate cases," Driscoll said.
He added important strides have been taken in addressing faculty concerns. In order to acknowledge the time commitment involved in participating in honor trials, the Honor Committee and the deans of each school now put a letter of appreciation in the files of faculty members who initiate cases.
The FAC also has addressed faculty concerns about the adversarial nature of honor trials, low student initiation rates and the issue of spotlighting in the system.
Faculty Senate Chair Robert E. Davis said he participated in the drafting of the proposition statement.
"We have no authority other than to make recommendations," Davis said. "We're simply trying to make suggestions from the faculty's perspective that might result in improvements in the current system."
Davis expressed optimism about the future of the honor system.
"The whole program has evolved, and it will evolve in the future," Davis said. "I have every reason to believe the system is flexible enough to allow change over time."
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