Having read the news article concerning the case summaries, I am concerned of how this could negatively impact students in the Honor System. This change points to more "transparency" in the System. While more information about the workings of the Honor System is not a bad idea per se, this should not be conflated with "transparency" in the government/political sense as though it were about spending students' money. I attended the Honor Committee's meeting a week and a half ago when this was discussed. Every discussion centered on the identity of a student who had been found guilty and was no longer at the University. Discussion centered around the Committee doing its best to ensure the the person's identity be kept confidential.
I see an even bigger problem. Some students go through the System and are found not guilty at trial. For them, the issue should end. Period. While I have no doubt that those in charge would do their best to hide the identity of the person involved, they would have no way of determining who might be able to put two and two together and figure out the student's name.
Imagine that you or a friend has just gone through the ordeal of an Honor Trial, and upon being found not guilty, prepares to move on in life. An acquaintance, having read the article online or in the CD, makes a few educated guesses and asks the student if he or she was the person mentioned in the release. Aside from possibly being a breach of the Buckley Amendment, imagine how this student, who expected that this episode in his or her life was over, would feel.
Having chaired quite a few trials in my time on the Honor Committee, I dealt with hundreds of students, both those found guilty and those found not guilty. I can't even fathom how much of a negative impact that information such as this could have on a student were someone able to piece things together.
While I am sure Cohen has reasons for his suggested change in the rules, the student bodies' "right to know" can come nowhere near the accused student's right to privacy. I fervently suggest that this amendment be voted down.
Scott Tumperi\nCLAS '87
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