The Honor Committee's new administration officially took charge Monday morning as the clock struck midnight. Law student Charlie Harris was inducted as the Committee's new chair with hopes of building upon the work of former Committee Chair David Truetzel and the outgoing executive committee.
"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it," philosopher George Santayana wrote. If Harris wishes to build his legacy as a successful Committee chair, he should be sure to consider both the successes and shortcomings of the last administration. A number of issues that persisted during Truetzel's tenure will linger for Harris and his executive committee to confront during the coming year.
The Committee's agenda during the past year primarily dealt with operational changes and bylaw amendments rather than bolder, more fundamental reforms to the honor system. The Committee's approach to redefining plagiarism exemplified this kind of mindset. The definition addendum states that plagiarism has been committed if the reader can "match your words and phrasing with those of your source," and quotations were not used. Even if the source was cited, this would be a direct violation of the honor code.
Truetzel's Committee also dealt with the ongoing problems associated with the 2008 Semester at Sea case. Although the Committee now allows for students convicted of an honor offense onboard the Semester at Sea ship to request additional proceedings with the Committee on Grounds, other questions remain. Applying the honor code to an outside community that is only partially comprised of University students will continue to remain a daunting task. Logistical challenges caused by the possible two-trial structure of future Semester at Sea cases also could arise.
Perhaps the Committee's most visible success came with passage of the public summaries referendum, which received overwhelming student approval. This measure will provide the student body with more background information about each adjudicated honor case and outline arguments on both sides of the case. Rather than solely publishing the outcomes of trials, the case summaries would make honor proceedings more transparent for students. Although the summaries will not include the names of accused or convicted students, the Committee must continue to treat the privacy concern with great care - if students are able to figure out who has been involved with an honor offense, the sanctity of the system will be undermined.
The public summaries also may help shed light on the Committee's precise interpretations of the intent and triviality clauses, both of which suffer from a degree of ambiguity in how they are currently written in the bylaws. The intent criterion for guilt, for example, is considered to be met if "the actor knew, or should have known that the act in question was or could have been considered lying, cheating or stealing." Because all students sign the honor pledge before matriculation, by default, every student should know what actions constitute an honor offense. Situations certainly come up, however, where violations are less straightforward, such as with paraphrasing and quoting during an open notes exam.
Harris and the rest of the Committee have their work cut out for them. No term is without its own distinctive challenges, but each Committee must strike a balance between adjusting the internal functions of the honor system and engaging the community on the honor code's more fundamental questions.
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