The Honor Committee passed a "transformation" proposal Dec. 3 to improve the committee's investigation process. Effective immediately, the proposal changes the formal Investigation Panel and allows reporters to be interviewed.
Vice Chair for Trials Jay Trickett said the change is intended to streamline the investigative process to make the process easier for all the non-Honor participants. Through this process, less responsibility is placed on the reporter, according to Trickett.
"My biggest motivation is making it easier to report cases," he said. "In the old system, a lot of weight was put on the reporter's role, and my goal is to treat them more like an ordinary witness."
Once interviews are conducted, they will be recorded in an investigative log, enabling the accused student to view the reports in writing, according to Andrew Siegel, vice chair of investigations.
The investigation panel will no longer include the presence of the accused and the reporter, and the panelists will only review the log.
When the proposal was first presented, some concerns were raised over how the proposal would affect the roles of the accused student and the reporter.
"Some people were a little nervous because it seems intuitive that if you lessen the burden on the reporters, you increase the burden on the students, but really the only burden is placed on the Honor Committee," said Josh Hess, an honor counsel involved in drafting the proposal. "We are going to have to make sure all of our investigations are very thorough."
Other objections were raised about how the interview process might limit communication between the accused student and the reporter, Trickett said.
"One question people had was whether or not students would feel that they had the same opportunity to present their side of the story, because, at a hearing, you can flesh out anything that needs to be fleshed out," Siegel said.
In response to these concerns, the proposal was changed to allow the accused student and the reporter a chance to rebut what the other party reports to the impartial investigators, Siegel said.
Despite initial skepticism, all committee members in attendance voted in favor of the proposal.
"I think people did realize that this is a win-win situation for both students and reporters, and it will hopefully eliminate some of the stress for them," Siegel said.
According to Trickett, the proposal was developed by senior counsel Dan Hecht, Hess and himself.
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