The Honor Committee held its final meeting of the semester Sunday, in which members passed a bylaw amendment that adds greater flexibility when scheduling investigative panels and pre-conference hearings. The Committee also assigned specific goals for its different subcommittees and planned their summer meeting schedule and upcoming events.
The bylaw amendment change was proposed by Alexander Church, vice chair for investigations and third-year Engineering student. It shifts authority, from the vice chair for hearings to the vice chair for investigation, to set the date for an investigative panel — where Committee members review gathered evidence and determine whether formal charges should be brought against a student.
It also stipulates that if the investigation is completed by appointed Honor investigators before the existing date, the vice chair for investigations can advance the date of the investigative panel in consultation with the vice chair for hearings.
If the decision is made to change the date of the investigative panel, the vice chair for hearings can subsequently move the date of the pre-hearing conference, where the accused student and reporter of the Honor offense meet with their respective counsels to discuss the case and a potential mediation to it. The changes to the bylaws passed unanimously without extensive debate or comment.
The Committee then discussed the pending member applications to and goals for its six different subcommittees — only three of which were discussed in detail during this meeting. The application and membership process varies between subcommittees — some are chaired by Committee members and composed of Support Officers.
This is different from the faculty advisory subcommittee, which is chaired by Jack Wallace, Committee member and second-year College student, and consists of faculty members from across the University. Wallace mentioned that he met with College Dean Christa Acampora to discuss a prospective combined marketing campaign between the Committee and a potential new honors program within the College.
Also discussed during this meeting is the data and research subcommittee which is tasked with collecting input and feedback on the honor system through focus groups, research studies and surveys. Seamus Oliver, Committee member and third-year College student, suggested that this subcommittee should do more to engage in data transparency and potentially produce a detailed report of cases similar to the University Judiciary Committee’s semesterly Statistics Report.
Kayla Kim, Committee member and second-year Data Science student, supported this position and suggested that the subcommittee include infographics on non-sensitive case data. However, the Committee made no decision as to whether it will act upon these suggestions.
Gabrielle Bray, Committee member and Law student, also expressed interest in the subcommittee as a potential resource for analyzing the prevalence and effect of the use of artificial intelligence on Grounds.
According to Thomas Ackleson, Committee chair and third-year Engineering student, artificial intelligence has become embedded into student life, and it is essential for faculty members to address this technology in some way within the classroom.
“I’ve had classes where our professor essentially requires us to use AI, even to take a test,” Ackleson said. “How many [faculty] say explicitly in their syllabus, I do not allow it, versus it's allowed for these things, versus not mentioning it at all…Obviously, I think having some statement about AI in the syllabus is important.”
Ackleson then discussed the Committee’s summer schedule and said that they plan to meet at least twice over zoom. This will be to check in with the different members and review bylaw changes and housekeeping amendments.
Ackleson also mentioned that the Committee has begun planning for Convocation, which will take place August 24. This is the official welcome ceremony for new first-year students where they will be introduced to the honor system and agree to abide by the Honor Code during their time at the University.
“[Convocation] is a very special event for honor and for me … I feel very passionately about this day,” Ackleson said. “It's important [for Committee members] to be there to show people, especially the first-years who are first learning about our system, that the Honor Committee exists and we're people that are here to represent them.”
The Committee will not reconvene for an in-person meeting until the Fall 2025 semester.
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