The University Judiciary Committee introduced the new First Year Judiciary Committee at its weekly meeting last Sunday. First-year College student Emily Forrester was elected as FYJC chair and first-year College student Charity Harrell as vice chair.
The new FYJC "is an elite group of leaders excited and dedicated to serving as judges to improve the class of 2013, as well as the University as a whole," Harrell said.
According to the FYJC constitution, FYJC uses the authority delegated to it by the UJC to "uphold and promote those principles of civility and self-discipline that are appropriate to the first-year experience."
The FYJC hears only "complaints of first-year misconduct in the first-year living areas." Otherwise, the FYJC is similar to the rest of UJC in its procedures, in that it hears complaints, holds trials and imposes sanctions on those guilty of violating the Standards of Conduct.
While the FYJC's role is to examine and prosecute first-year students who violate Standards of Conduct in first-year living areas, Bobby McMullen, a first-year College student and new member of the FYJC, said "we're not out to get anybody."
Instead, he said, the FYJC's job is to review policies and help new students adjust to University life.
"We're not police offcers," McMullen said.
In total, the FYJC is composed of 17 first-year students. Vice-Chair for First Years, Will Bane, who served on last year's FYJC's committee, worked to recruit and select the new group.
The organization's newly elected chair, Forrester, said it is beneficial for UJC to have a group of first-year students who deal solely with first-year cases because the FYJC is able to appropriately sympathize with their peers. "We have a closer connection and see the cases in a different perspective [than other UJC members]," she said, noting that FYJC aims to "help our peers and be proactive, instead of just punishing them."
McMullen added that it is important to have a separate first-year group because upperclassmen may "forget what it was like when they were first years," and may not place enough significance on the difficulties associated with the first months of college.
Forrester said while she and the rest of the FYJC have not yet discussed any future plans or changes, they will take on challenges as they arise.
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