The Honor Committee hosted a panel of faculty members last night to discuss issues of honor, single sanction and the importance of upholding student self-governance at the University.
The panel -- consisting of professors Larry J. Sabato, P. Paxton Marshall, and Lucien L. Bass, Director of Admissions John A. Blackburn, and Honor Chair Meghan Sullivan -- offered a variety of strong opinions on single sanction, low levels of student case initiations and the faculty relationship to the honor system.
Opening the discussion, Marshall, a member of the Honor Committee's Faculty Advisory Committee, expressed his objections to single sanction and the effect he believes it has on the student body.
"Single sanction is not expelling the incorrigible students among us, but generally the weaker and less developed students," Marshall said. "Students should have a chance to make a mistake and learn from that mistake."
Marshall also noted the large disparity in case initiations against international and minority students.
Statistics indicate that black students are three times more likely to be brought up on honor charges than white students. Cases initiated against foreign students proportionately outnumber those brought against American students five to one. International and African-American students make up five and nine percent of the student body respectively.
"To be expelling these students disproportionately is dishonorable," Marshall said.
Blackburn agreed with Marshall that single sanction does create problems.
"If I was to create an honor system, I probably wouldn't include the single sanction," Blackburn said.
Sabato and Bass offered an opposing view.
"The Honor System is the backbone of your whole life here at U.Va. and follows you for the rest of your life," said Bass, who also serves on the Honor Committee's Faculty Advisory Committee. "Doing away with the single sanction will collapse the system."
Sabato reasserted Bass's views on single sanction and suggested that the honor system should be strengthened.
"We should reinstate the Non-Toleration Clause and make the system tougher," Sabato said. "You're right on the verge of losing [the Honor System], and you know it."
Regarding racial "spotlighting" in case initiations, Sabato and Bass argued that single sanction was not to blame.
"Disparity in treatment is not a single sanction issue," Bass said. "I think it could be part of the overall issue the University is facing right now with diversity."
All of the panelists agreed that students who have committed hate crimes and sexual offenses should be treated just as severely as those convicted of an honor violation.
Speaking last, Sullivan stressed the uniqueness of the University's student-run Honor System.
"At nearly every other school in the country, faculty decide all aspects of honor issues," Sullivan said. "Here, the students have the power."
Sullivan also expressed her concern about the low number of student-initiated Honor cases. Fifteen years ago, all Honor cases were initiated by students. As of last year, that number had fallen to 14 percent.
"Students seem unwilling to initiate honor cases," Sullivan said.
Despite their differences, all panelists endorsed the University's strong system of student self-governance.
"It's a student system, and we should support the decisions students make," Sabato said. "I will support what you decide"
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