The day Stephanie Garrison expected to find out if she had been granted an appeal by the Honor Committee she donated her hair to Locks of Love.
"I thought this would physically be a weight off my shoulders," Garrison said.
Instead, Garrison was told the Committee needed two more days to decide.
"I would not wish this on anyone," Stephanie Garrison said of the honor proceedings she has been a part of since fall 2005.
Garrison was originally found guilty by the University Judiciary Committee of violating Standards of Conduct following an underage drinking incident in March 2005.
She was assigned to complete "Choices," a five-hour alcohol education class, to complete several hours of SafeRide duty and to have a consultation with the Counseling and Psychological Services office. Garrison said she completed VASAP, a 12-hour alcohol education class, in the summer, thinking it was "'Choices' on steroids."
There was also an error in scheduling her SafeRide hours, and she was assigned shifts that occurred after her sanction form was due. Garrison submitted a signed sanction form to UJC before the hours were completed. The UJC Executive Committee then turned the case over to the Honor Committee.
Garrison was found guilty of lying by a panel of nine students Jan. 22. She submitted an appeal and was granted relief May 5 in the form of a new trial. That trial is scheduled to take place Sunday at 11 a.m.
The Honor Committee has declined to comment specifically on the case, citing the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.
According to Honor Committee Chair Alison Tramba, students who decide to have an open trial retain the right to close it until the day before the trial.
"It is rare that students release so much information before the trial date," Tramba said of the Garrison case.
Garrison said she withdrew from many of her activities during her fourth year as the process continued.
"I definitely withdrew, because I felt betrayed by the thing I loved the most," Garrison added.
As a member of the University Guide Service, Garrison said she gave only one admissions tour after her honor charges were initiated.
"A parent asked me about honor ... I told him my story," Garrison said.
Prior to the honor proceedings, Garrison was also a Resident Advisor and worked extensively in the admissions office as a Virginia Ambassador.
Garrison said her grades also suffered due to the case.
"I had planned on doing a thesis ... it's funny how things work out," she added.
"This is the biggest thing I could ever go through," Garrison said of her honor proceedings. "It's the worst possible thing, because now the burden is on you to prove your innocence."
Garrison was told in an e-mail from Vice Chair for Community Relations A-J Aronstein that the Committee put a hold on her diploma with the Registrar's Office.
Aronstein added if Garrison was found not guilty her degree would be conferred "as soon as possible."
Garrison said she talked to several administrators regarding her diploma, and they all told her they had no authority over the honor system.
"I have 120-something credits at the University of Virginia, but no diploma is on my wall," Garrison said.
College Dean Edward Ayers told Garrison in an e-mail she would receive a blank diploma and be eligible to walk the Lawn and have her name called at the department ceremony.
"From all appearances it will seem as if you are graduating," Ayers wrote. "I have no authority to change this procedure, I'm afraid."
Dean of Students Penny Rue also said she had no authority over the Committee's decision.
"The truth is it's a student-run system, and that's what it is," Rue said.
Garrison is currently employed as an account executive at Cvent in Washington, D.C., but she hasn't told her employer about the ongoing proceedings.
"I wasn't hired on the contingent that I have a college degree," Garrison said. "Even if I lost my degree, I would hope my employer would not fire me."
Garrison's father, James Garrison, said he fully supports the concept of honor systems but was concerned about how it has been applied at the University.
"The problem with the University of Virginia is there is no oversight," Garrison's father said, "a mature person with life experiences to inject themselves and say 'Hey, wait a minute, you're off course here.'"
James Garrison added he has met with Patricia Lampkin, vice president for student affairs, who also said the administration has no control over the process.
James Garrison acknowledges his daughter clearly made mistakes, "but at the end of the day, what she did isn't serious enough to merit the single sanction. Thomas Jefferson is rolling over in his grave right now because there is no way [he] intended for someone who made a mistake in the process to receive the single sanction."
If a student is found guilty of an honor offense, the penalty is permanent dismissal from the University.
Lampkin said dismissed students are encouraged to contact her. She then helps them explore options for transferring and will write a letter on the student's behalf.
The Garrisons have sought professional legal counsel. A team of lawyers who have had past involvement in honor code cases became involved after Stephanie Garrison's original trial. Stephanie Garrison said the team has taken on the case pro bono, "in the event this does not go right and I have to file in federal court."
Stephanie Garrison said she remains pro-single sanction only if "there is no question in anyone's mind what is and isn't an honor violation."
"There is so much unknown," she added. "There is a veil of mystery. We're taking the system we have, and we're letting it run its entire painful course. The reason why this trial is open is to show people what happened and what can happen in the current system ... Why would I have stayed if I didn't believe in honor?"
Garrison's father was more blunt about his feelings about the University's honor system. He said he would not let his younger daughter attend the University. "Not if they paid her a million dollars a year to go there," he said.
Read The Cavalier Daily Monday for full coverage of Garrison's trial.
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