This semester, the Honor Committee's new blog, coupled with the Committee's 2004 study on honor case initiations and conviction analyses, has brought important issues affecting the University's honor system to the forefront of both students' computer screens and concerns. According to the blog, disproportional reporting of minority students committing honor offenses continues to be an important issue for the Honor Committee and other groups on Grounds such as the Minority Rights Coalition.
"At this school, cheating is pervasive across all populations, but I feel minorities are targeted disproportionately," MRC Co-Chair Patrick Lee said, noting that the issue was not addressed fully until the Honor Committee compiled this study on honor case initiations, which consisted of potential honor violation reports and conviction analyses in 2004.
The study showed that from 1998-2003 non-majority groups at the University such as blacks, Asians, international students, athletes and males were disproportionately reported for honor offenses compared to majority students at the ratio of 3.38:1, 4.27:1, 4.99:1, 4.34:1 and 1.89:1 students, respectively. The study did find, however, that any variation between minority and majority student convictions is statistically nonsignificant, according to the Committee Web site.
Nicole Eramo, former special assistant to the Honor Committee and current assistant dean of students, recalled this issue of reporting came to the forefront after Physics Prof. Louis Bloomfield was informed of widespread cheating on the final assignment in his Physics 105 course, How Things Work, in 2001.
The assignment was similar throughout semesters and Bloomfield created a computer program to compare papers across classes, Eramo said. The program found 158 matches, which Bloomfield then reported to the Honor Committee.
According to Eramo, members of the Committee later suggested that the demographics of the Bloomfield cases be compared to those of all honor cases not only to see if cheating in general was underreported, but also to see if student minorities were overreported. Both trends were found, and that information was included in the 2004 report, she said.
The cause of the reported distortions remain up for debate, but many focus on 'spotlighting' -- the overreporting of minority groups -- or 'dimming' -- the underreporting of majority groups -- in honor case initiations, said Josh Hess, Committee vice chair for community relations.
"I would say the difference is spotlighting is perceived as more sinister and dimming less [sinister]," he said. "When people think of spotlighting, the theory behind it is that people who report offenses are either targeting those [minority groups], or those students stand out."
Dimming, by contrast, centers around systemic underreporting -- majority students aren't reported as frequently and, thus, no one is targeted, Hess said.
He also added that although it is a complex issue, the term 'spotlighting' is sometimes used to refer to the overall issue.
Lee acknowledged that cheating is underreported at the University but noted that he believes minority students seen cheating "stick out."
"If there is a minority student cheating, [that student] stands out more because of a homogeneous school," he said.
According to Hess, although the cause of the disproportional reporting may be a mixture of both theories or even based on an unexplored explanation, the evidence seems to point toward dimming as the main issue.
He added that if specific groups were being targeted, making spotlighting the greater issue, he would expect there to be more innocent minorities brought up on charges and, therefore, the percentage of total minorities convicted would be lower in a fair system.
"Since there is no difference in the percentages [between minority- and majority-group convictions] it seems guilty majority students are not [charged] as much," Hess said.
Committee Chair Ben Cooper agreed with Hess that dimming may be the more prevalent issue and noted the source of dimming was not Honor-based.
"I think there is a perception, that [the Committee] is spotlighting students, and what we found is it is not our process, rather it is the reporting process where this occurs," he explained.
Hess added that the data from the Bloomfield cases shows the honor system is set up in a way to prevent bias and, therefore, the disproportional reporting is more likely due to dimming.
MRC Co-Chair Wyatt Fore, however, said the honor system and the University still must be held accountable.
"The fact that people are being disproportionately falsely accused of crimes ... is really reflective of how our University and [the Committee] deals with minorities," he said.
Lee, an opponent of the single sanction, feels that creating a multi-sanction system would be a strong step on the way to addressing the issue of dimming.
"Honestly the most logical way is to get rid of the single sanction ... minor offenses that no one wants to see brought up will be," he said. "I do not think there is anything the school and [the Committee] can do to stop people from cheating, they just can make it easier for people to bring up charges for cheating."
Hess agreed going toward a multi-tier sanction system might increase reporting but noted that such a system could lead to more biased convictions.
"The lack of subjectivity that comes with single sanction might be a factor preventing bias in-house and if you change to a multi-sanction system, you might see more of the real world bias creep into decisions," he said.
Cooper added that removing the single sanction will not solve the root cause of the problem.
"The reality is if you look at issues like spotlighting, they are issues prevalent in America, and subconscious prejudice is probably throughout the country," he said.
The issue is not just honor-based, Fore said, but at the University there are not enough recourses and attention invested in the problem.
"No one is combatting this culture besides the MRC; at least there is some effort to combat this gross injustice in national and state level," he said.
In the past the MRC has voiced concerns at Committee meetings and cosponsored events with the Committee but it is difficult for the MRC to fully address the issue because of a lack of funding and significant tasks, according to Fore.
Members of the Committee, however, feel a considerable effort has been made to address spotlighting and dimming. Cooper said most of the Committee's education programs target this issue.
Vice Chair of Education Allie Moore said the current Committee has remained focused on educating students about spotlighting and reporting offenses, citing events such as the First-Year Honor Orientation, current outreach efforts within the athletic community and an education program for international students.
"Communication is the biggest step, and once we can listen to each other Honor can help find solutions," she said.
Hess also stressed the importance of community education, especially due to the presumption that offenses are possibly handled outside the honor system.
"Informing people that informal case resolution is creating this distortion will increase reporting. What we have been trying to do is increase the tangible benefit for students and faculty and make the process less burdensome for people who report cases," he said.
Fore agreed with the importance of education but said the Committee's attempts were not effective due to "a status quo culture".
"It is difficult, you never see any substitutive talk about anything and all efforts are superficial," he said. "Primarily, I think it is part of the culture of 'honor' to celebrate 'honor' rather than seeing it as a constantly evolving system."
Carlos Oronce, Asian Student Union president and MRC member, voiced similar concerns.
"It is a limited amount of change ... and not attacking the root of the problem, which is the unquestioning belief of honor," he said.
Hess, however, noted that Committee members hold a wide range of opinions and that disagreement on issues within the Committee is quite common.
"I don't see myself as being one who has sought a position on the Committee as being status quo and I think it is unfair to say members in the Committee are categorically opposed to change," he said.
Noting the newly elected Committee members, Cooper said Honor and all the organizations at the University should remain focused on education to reduce distortions in reporting.
Lee added that the MRC also remains committed to working toward the resolutions of the spotlighting/dimming issue.
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