Honor Council renews penalty structure

By Catherine Bratic     10/23/08 7:00pm

After a three-hour debate, the Honor Council approved this year's Consensus Penalty Structure Sunday by a 17-3 vote, with three members abstaining. The penalty structure, which is identical to last year's, drew concerns this year at the Council's open meeting due to the secrecy surrounding its approval, as well as the renewed efforts to repeal a loophole known as Article XII, which allows students to withdraw for two semesters instead of facing punishment for violating the Honor Code. The penalty structure, which is reviewed by the Honor Council each fall, sets the standard for how the council should treat violations of the Honor Code. This year, the penalty structure retains the same punishment guidelines as last year, with the starting punishment being an F in the course and a two-semester suspension. Penalties can be lessened if the Honor Council feels that the student in violation has cooperated fully with the investigation or based on the degree of the violation, and can be increased to an F and three semesters if the student appears to have premeditated the action or purposefully deceived the Honor Council. The final decision of the Honor Council requires a unanimous vote.

The Honor Council has also decided to put Article XII up for student body approval again. Under Article XII, a student in violation of the Honor Code can choose to withdraw from Rice for two semesters without having the violation noted on his or her record. Last March, an attempt to remove this loophole fell short of the 75 percent needed to change the rule, receiving only a 61 percent vote supporting the proposal. Last year, eight students withdrew from Rice under Article XII.

The Sunday meeting allotted 30 minutes for an open forum in which students could debate the plan, but the time was extended to 45 minutes due to a stronger-than-expected response from the student body, Honor Council President Jackie Ammons said.

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Will Rice College senior Will Fischer said the meeting seemed secretive and designed to exclude student involvement.

"It happened on a Sunday morning; it wasn't publicized; and [the Honor Council] only announced it 36 hours beforehand," Fischer said.

Fischer said his concerns lie with the secrecy surrounding the Honor Council's decisions. He said he fully supports the freedoms allowed to students under Article XII.

Ammons, a Brown College junior, said the Honor Council is doing its best to involve students in the process.

"We really want student to be informed on how the Honor Council works and also get excited about the upcoming changes in the spring elections," Ammons said.

The Honor Council will hold a mock trial session Nov. 11 with a question-and-answer section afterwards to elucidate its process to students, Ammons said.

Rachel Carlson contributed to this article.

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