The Cavalier Daily
Serving the University Community Since 1890

College Honor Reps

Name: Andrew Siegel

School: College

Year: Second

Major(s): Economics and Spanish

Hometown: Washington, DC

Housing: Off Grounds, St. Elmo Hall

Activities: Jefferson Literary and Debating Society, Catholic Student Ministry, Virginia Society

Web site: http://www.people.virginia.edu/~aes2p

What makes you a competent and qualified candidate?

Having served as an Honor Advisor for two years, I have developed a thorough understanding of the Honor System, including its strengths and areas for improvement. In addition, I have the ideas and passion necessary to improve the culture of honor at the University.

In your opinion, what are the most pressing issues facing the University and how would you use your office to deal with them?

The debate over the single sanction has reached a critical point. Whether students would like the Honor Committee to seek alternatives to the current system will guide the Committee next year. The encouragement of initiators to come forward is of paramount importance to preserving the honor system. I would like to make the system less stressful for those initiating cases. The Committee can also improve its relations with the general University population. I will encourage outreach efforts to involve the student body in more frequent discussions of honor.

How will you maintain contact with your constituency and ensure transparency in your actions?

While Honor Committee meetings are open to the public, there is little encouragement for students to attend. Small meetings with various groups would enable students to have a closer relationship with the Committee. The trial process remains mysterious to most students, and the possibility of a mock trial open to the public would provide transparency and understanding.

Why did you decide to run for office?

I want to have the opportunity to put in place some of the ideas that I have to improve the Honor system. There are changes that can be made to improve the system for the students. Preserving the rights of students throughout the trial process is a standing goal of the Committee, but I would like the opportunity to reach out to make honor a bigger part of everyday life here. I believe that doing so would have a positive impact on the University.

Name: Brandon Walsh

School: College

Year: Third

Major(s): Foreign Affairs

Hometown: Richmond, VA

Housing: Off Grounds, Oxford Hills

Activities: Honor Support Officer, Jefferson Literary and Debating Society

What makes you a competent and qualified candidate?

I am a third year Counsel with passion for the honor system and a very specific well-defined reform plan that I feel perfectly capable of implementing.I also have quite a bit of experience with international students, which are the focus of my campaign.

In your opinion, what are the most pressing issues facing the University and how would you use your office to deal with them?

There are many issues that the Honor Committee needs to tackle such as spotlighting, low initiations, and the single sanction debate. However, each committee member can only do so much, which is why I am proposing a very narrow focus for my candidacy and a policy of incrementalism. I wish to work with international students because they are initiated against five times more than domestic students and often "slip through the cracks" during honor education.Honor has failed with educating the faculty about international students and failed with the students themselves. The international student community is very much a part of U.Va. and deserves to be fully integrated into all of the University's institutions, including Honor. Fixing this problem is a reasonable goal and one that can actually be accomplished during my potential term in office. Time and resources permitting, I would also like to secure an extra seat on the Committee for the College, which is underrepresented.

How will you maintain contact with your constituency and ensure transparency in your actions?

I plan to meet regularly with the Dean of International Students and hope to create an ad-hoc committee comprised of faculty, international students, and honor representatives committed to fixing the problems surrounding international students and honor.

Why did you decide to run for office?

I decided to run for office after working on multiple trials concerning international students and seeing the need for a much stronger outreach effort to both them and the faculty who are leveling so many initiations against them.

Name: Brock Saunders

School: College

Year: Third

Major(s): Politics and History

Hometown: Richmond, VA

Housing: Off Grounds, 29 University Circle

Activities: Honor, Center for Politics, IFC, Order of Omega

What makes you a competent and qualified candidate?

I've spent two years as counsel in the honor support pool and recently was selected to serve as Chair of the Honor Forum Committee.Honor has been a passion of mine since I entered the University and I hope to lead the student body in this arena.

In your opinion, what are the most pressing issues facing the University and how would you use your office to deal with them?

In terms of the honor system, it is the single sanction and the issue of spotlighting. I support the single-sanction, but I also believe that by questioning the system we can make it stronger.I value the work that the Sanction Reform Committee has done and if elected, I would plan to reconvene this group and foster similar discussion.Spotlighting exists, plain and simple.If elected, I would be proactive in recruiting a more diverse and representative honor support pool in order to bring back disenchanted groups into the system. I would also drastically increase the education efforts. Too often students are left in the dark about what constitutes an honor offense and when a student's academic career is on the line, they deserve to be fully informed.

How will you maintain contact with your constituency and ensure transparency in your actions?

Accountability is often an issue rarely talked about post-election.I would hold weekly office hours where students can come ask questions and hopefully alleviate some of their concerns about the honor system. I would also like to expand the "Honor Box" which appears in the Cavalier Daily on Tuesdays to include interviews and question and answers with Committee members in order to keep the student body fully educated.

Why did you decide to run for office?

This is one of the most critical times in the history of our honor system.The system is being questioned and this questioning can produce positive changes if the elected leaders are strong.

Name: Lauren Ross

School: College

Year: Third

Major(s): Political and Social Thought

Hometown: Norfolk, VA

Housing: On Grounds, Dunnington

Activities: Honor: Investigations Coordinator, Advisor, Faculty Liaison; Boosters; Resident Staff; Miller Center volunteer

Office: Honor Committee

Web site: www.laurenandstewart.com

What makes you a competent and qualified candidate?

I have served as an Honor Advisor since my first year, and I was selected as an Investigations Coordinator at the end of my second year.I have consistently worked on many cases, and this year, I was directly involved in changing honor policy and in honor's efforts to strengthen faculty relations.

In your opinion, what are the most pressing issues facing the University and how would you use your office to deal with them?

Next year, we must work to improve Honor's relationship with the student body, so that everyone feels included in a system they can support and respect.Stewart and I plan to make Honor more visible by having "Honor Reps" for organizations. We will reach out to first years by strengthening the Dorm Liaison program. The program needs stricter guidelines and accountability measures. Honor also must improve its relationship with minority students and athletes. We will make special efforts to reach these students and encourage their involvement with Honor. Honor should reflect and represent the entire student body, and Stewart and I will make this one of our top priorities next year.

How will you maintain contact with your constituency and ensure transparency in your actions?

Stewart and I will meet regularly throughout the year with student leaders. We will encourage all students to attend important Honor Committee meetings, and we will hold roundtables to discuss Honor and receive feedback. We email regular Honor updates to the student body as well.

Why did you decide to run for office?

Stewart Ackerly and I decided to run together because of our common vision for Honor next year. We recognize Honor needs to make serious changes, and we both have the qualifications, specific goals and passion to accomplish this next year.

Name: Matt Nicholson

School: College

Year: Third

Major(s): Honors Politics

Hometown: Tallahassee, FL

Housing: Off Grounds, 13th Street

Activities: Honor, Madison House, IFC

What makes you a competent and qualified candidate?

For 3 years, I have passionately served as an Honor Counsel.I have investigated cases, defended students at trial, and made educational presentations to first years.I've also served on a Sanction Reform Committee and the Diversity Advisory Board.

In your opinion, what are the most pressing issues facing the University and how would you use your office to deal with them?

Our honor system suffers from a lack of active student and faculty support. A lot of talk this year has erroneously labeled the single sanction as the main culprit, and I want to shift the focus of this debate. We must examine the tremendous burden that we place on those who initiate cases. Most faculty agree that the system is too time consuming and bureaucratic. It's no wonder why we have so few cases reported each year when we force initiators to sit through hours and hours of proceedings. We need to simplify the system for initiators so that more come forward instead of taking cases into their own hands.

How will you maintain contact with your constituency and ensure transparency in your actions?

I support the weekly publication of trial outcomes in the Cavalier Daily. Additionally, we should publish statistics on initiations because studies indicate this to be the main area where discrimination occurs. Thus, we can make the community aware of how big a problem spotlighting truly is.

Why did you decide to run for office?

Serving Honor has been one of my most rewarding and challenging experiences. I have often undertaken the difficult task of defending students that I suspected of being guilty.What has kept me going, however, is my abiding faith in the honor code and the hope of seeing the innocent acquitted. I want to bring my enthusiasm and experience to the committee level next year. It will be my mission to garner more faculty and student support by simplifying our procedures.

Name: Shawn Casey

School: College

Year: Third

Major(s): Religious and Middle Eastern Studies

Hometown: Edgewater, MD

Housing (on or off-Grounds and location): Off Grounds, 14th Street

Activities: Young Women's Leadership Program, First Year Seminar, Arts and Sciences Council, Equipment Loans Manager with Arts and Sciences Center for Instructional Technology

What makes you a competent and qualified candidate?Having served as an advisor for two years, I have experience within the Honor System and understand how it works. Outside of my time as a support officer, I have worked and developed relationships with a variety of people from throughout the University community. I feel like this puts me in a unique position turn the perspectives and needs of the student body into actions that bring the most benefit to both them and the state of Honor at the University.

In your opinion, what are the most pressing issues facing the University and how would you use your office to deal with them?

I'm most concerned with the lack unity, or cohesiveness, that I feel within the student body at large.I think that Honor (as a principle, not a legislative body) has the greatest potential to link students together under a common cause.This requires continuing the work of this year's committee as well as bringing forth new initiatives to increase the presence of Honor in the daily lives of students.

How will you maintain contact with your constituency and ensure transparency in your actions?

I would first encourage anyone to contact me with their concerns or perspectives on any honor-related issues.I think that technology makes it easier than ever for representatives and constituents to remain accessible to each other.I'd like to use my UVA homepage to establish a space where I could post my thoughts and ideas on the work of the committee and receive feedback and suggestions from other students.

Why did you decide to run for office?

I felt I had the greatest ability to give a voice to large number of students who often feel like they aren't usually heard.I feel that too often the opinions of a minority of people here overpower those of the community at large.I think that's disappointing and I'd like it to change.

Name: Steven Krueger

School: College

Year: Third

Major(s): Government and History

Hometown: Sarasota, FL

Housing: Off Grounds, Cabell Avenue

Activities: Honor, IFCJC, Sigma Chi fraternity

What makes you a competent and qualified candidate?

After acting as a counsel during my second year, I have intensified my involvement this year, being promoted to a Senior Support Officer.In this role, I have gained an intricate knowledge of both the constitution and the by-laws of the Honor Committee, as well as become well-informed of the internal and external issues facing the Committee. I have no doubt that I am amply qualified to make a valuable member of the Committee.

In your opinion, what are the most pressing issues facing the University and how would you use your office to deal with them?

There are a few issues that I feel the Honor Committee needs to consider most intensely.First, we need to improve faculty relationships and quell any negative faculty perceptions of the Committee and the process in general. Secondly, combating student apathy through specific means of providing positive student benefits will be a continuous personal goal throughout my term, if elected. Lastly, it should be a goal of the Committee to more fully engage the student body. Through improved recruitment efforts and increased visibility of the Honor Committee, I feel this goal can ultimately be accomplished.

How will you maintain contact with your constituency and ensure transparency in your actions?

Continuation of the weekly "Honor Box" on the front page of the Cavalier Daily will be an important measure to ensure student's awareness of both Committee issues and honor cases, while maintaining the legally protected confidentiality of all parties involved.

Why did you decide to run for office?

The Honor Committee finds itself under heavy strain over the past year. Increased focus on the single sanction debate has prohibited the Committee from addressing other issues that are crucial to survival of our Honor system. In running for office, I hope to maintain the integrity of the Committee as well as broaden the scope its actions, so as to address the multiple burdens that are currently weighing on the system.

Name: Stewart Ackerly

School: College

Year: Third

Major(s): History and Foreign Affairs

Hometown: Richmond, VA

Housing: Off Grounds, Lewis Mountain Road

Activities: Senior Advisor, Honor Faculty Liaison, Jefferson Society, St. Elmo Hall, Varsity Track and Field (first and second years)

Web site: www.laurenandstewart.com

What makes you a competent and qualified candidate?

I have served as an honor advisor since my first year, and I have been a senior advisor since my second year.Besides working on numerous cases and having a clear understanding of how the Honor System works, I have been extremely involved in policy decision making and improving Honor-faculty relations as a faculty liaison.

In your opinion, what are the most pressing issues facing the University and how would you use your office to deal with them?

The most pressing issue facing Honor next year is to increase student ownership of and responsibility for the Honor System.To accomplish this, Lauren and I will launch several initiatives aimed at bringing honor back to the student body.Our initiatives include assigning "Honor Reps" to athletic teams and organizations, institutionalizing the Dorm Liaisons program to improve honor education, and reaching out to minorities and athletes to increase their involvement in the honor system.All our efforts will be designed to strengthen the community of trust and to create an environment of respect and honor at the University.

How will you maintain contact with your constituency and ensure transparency in your actions?

Lauren and I will meet with groups and student leaders on a regular basis to receive feedback and discuss honor.We will encourage student leaders to attend important Honor Committee meetings, as well as send out regular e-mails to the student body to inform them of what the Honor Committee is doing.

Why did you decide to run for office?

Lauren, Ross and I are running together because we have worked together in Honor since our first year and because we have a common vision for the honor system next year. We believe that serious changes are needed to the honor system, and we have the experience and specific ideas that will make honor something every student respects, values, and supports.

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