Guest Post: David Truetzel, Honor Committee Chair-elect, on what you should know about honor

Seeing as it is Honor Awareness Week, Executive Editor Annette Robertson has asked me to write a blog post about a couple of things I think students should know about honor. I am more than happy to oblige. I’d like to focus on two aspects of the honor system specifically: the role of the Committee and the single sanction.
If it’s been a while since you’ve heard about Honor the organization, here’s a brief refresher about its structure. The Honor Committee is made up of elected representatives from each school. There are 27 representatives in total – 2 from each school (now including the Batten School) and 5 from the College. This body is responsible for the administration of the system and enacting legislation. By administration, I mean things like keeping paperwork straight and serving as Investigative Panelists and Trial Chairs. Since educating, investigating reports and going to trial require a lot of work, the Committee recruits a group of about 150 Support Officers (Counsel, Advisors, or Educators) from the student body to help it out.
With the structure in mind, I’ll now address one common misperception. Many students believe that Committee members decide the outcome of trials. However, this is true only when an accused student chooses to have a jury with Committee members on it. The majority of accused students select a jury panel made up entirely of randomly selected students who are not involved in Honor. So, for the majority of trials, the decision of guilty or not guilty is in the hands of students just like you. Students must understand this aspect of the system because it is an important area where students not involved in Honor can have a big impact. It also speaks to the fairness that we in Honor seek to provide every student. So the next time you get a jury summons, make sure you respond to it and play your role in the aystem!
I’d also like to write about an alternative interpretation of the single sanction. If you can, think back to when you applied to the University. On the application, each student signed his or her name saying that they had read and acknowledged the honor code. Think of this process as entering into a contract. The terms of this contract essentially state that a student’s admission and continued enrollment in the University of Virginia are contingent on his or her behaving honorably – that is, not lying, cheating, or stealing. If you think about the honor system in this way, the single sanction is not so much a punishment as it is the natural outcome of the contract when its terms are violated. This isn’t to say that students must agree with the single sanction to come here or that the single sanction is the best possible option. It is to say, however, that like any contract students should be aware of the terms they have signed onto.
I hope that this post has been edifying and thought provoking. If you have more questions please visit our website at www.virginia.edu/honor or feel free to contact me or anyone else you might know in honor. Finally, please consider attending the Honor Diversity Forum tonight (Wednesday) in Minor 125 at 7:00 PM to talk about Honor and diversity issues and the Honor Benefits Benefit tomorrow from 5:00-8:00 PM in Garden IX.

-David Truetzel, Chair-elect