Last time we checked, elected student leaders were meant to represent 100 percent of the student body, not 51 percent. In voting not to reestablish the ad hoc committee on sanction reform, the Honor Committee made what can euphemistically be called "an amateur mistake." Fortunately for the Committee and the University community, this error can be fixed rather easily. After a year of spinning its wheels, the last ad hoc committee not only failed to address the 2005 referendum asking the Honor Committee to seek alternatives to the single sanction, it began to exemplify bureaucratic ineptitude. Still, the best way to fix something isn't simply to get rid of it. In fact, the decision to eliminate the ad hoc undoubtedly will cause more problems than it solves.
According to Honor Committee Chair Ben Cooper, "The past year's sanction committee wasn't really effective." This is true. Despite having a clear mandate from the student body, 59 percent of whom voted for the 2005 referendum, Cooper claimed that the ad hoc committee lacked consensus regarding its purpose. He went on to say that new Committee was unable to articulate a clear set of goals for a potential ad hoc. How difficult could that be? Since Hoos Against the Single Sanction manages to produce new proposals regularly, it seems worrisome that the Honor Committee lacks the efficacy to produce even one.
Even if the Committee could articulate such goals, Cooper said ad hoc committees may not be the right forum for the discussion. If an ad hoc committee on the single sanction is not the right forum to discuss alternatives to the single sanction, we don't know what is. Ad hoc committees offer greater focus and expertise on a given issue and allow non-Committee members to contribute to the debate in a meaningful way.
A perfect example of Honor's blatant disregard for student opinion is the comment of Commerce Rep. Eric Flow when noted that while 49.5 percent voted for this year's referendum to put a multiple sanction proposal on the ballot next year, slightly more than 50 percent voted against it. Cooper agreed that another reason the Committee voted not to reestablish the ad hoc relied on the slim majority (the resolution failed by 64 votes) who voted against this year's referendum. Considering the narrow margin of that vote and the value of continued discussion, the need for an ad hoc committee should be obvious. The Honor Committee represents the entire student body, not just 50.5 percent.
The Honor Committee occupies a privileged position from which it can send honor-related referenda to the ballot with expediency and some expertise. The Committee can place a measure on the ballot merely by a majority vote; anyone outside the Committee must garner nearly 1,000 signatures to do the same. Students should not shoulder this burden when the ad hoc committee on the single sanction was perfectly equipped to produce viable options. They had the capacity, they just lacked the will.
When you fail a test, you study harder next time. You don't drop out of school. (And it's worth asking how much effort you put in to begin with.) Solving the problems surrounding the single sanction ad hoc requires more than getting rid of it. Luckily, the Honor Committee can empanel an ad hoc committee at any time. And in eager anticipation, tomorrow's lead editorial will offer some suggestions for the ad hoc's first meeting, should that ever occur.
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