Occidental College Honor Board

1
Occidental College Honor Board
Prepared by Honor Board for
the 16 November 2006 GA Meeting

• What is Honor Board?
• and
• What do we want to do?

2
Outline of Presentation

• Current Formats (Judicial Council, Academic
  Judicial Hearing Panel)
• Proposed Alterations
• Why?
• Bylaws

3
Current Format

• Academic Judicial Hearing Panel offenses related
  to academic integrity, plagiarism, etc. are dealt
  with by the Academic branch
• Judicial Council all other offenses go through
  either (1) a one-on-one Conduct Conference with
  an administrator or (2) a Conduct Hearing with
  the Judicial Council, currently consisting of 1
  administrator, 1 member of faculty, and 2
  students selected from a random pool of 10

4
3 Spheres Format
5
The 3rd Sphere Honor Board

• Proposed format total of 10 jurors
• 1 Specialty Academic Juror
• No Diversity/Social Justice Juror
• Hearings 5 randomly rotating Jurors on each
  hearing along with the non-voting Honor Board
  Chair
• 4/5 Vote for all recommendations to the Associate
  Dean of Students

6
The 3rd Sphere Honor Board

• Honor Board Hearing
• The Honor Board is a means to facilitate
  necessary dialogue between two parties who have
  found informal and formal mediation to be
  unsuccessful or unnecessary. The Honor Board
  shall rule on cases that fall outside the
  jurisdiction of the Judicial Hearing Panel and
  Academic Judicial Hearing Panel and present a
  formal recommendation to the Dean of Students
  regarding how a possible infraction of the Honor
  Code should be handled.
• Article 7, Section 1 of Honor Board Bylaws

7
The 3rd Sphere Honor Board

• Mediation a method of conflict resolution to be
  utilized by the student body as a whole
• No Jurors of Honor Board or any other elected or
  appointed ASOC officers may serve on the
  mediation committee
• Consists of students that have gone through the
  mediation training process and have been
  appointed capable Formal Mediators by the
  Associate Dean of Students.
• The Mediation Committee is a separate body of the
  Honor Board that works in conjunction with the
  Honor Board.
• This is where we really need student input

8
Proposed Judicial Council format

• 1 administrator, 1 faculty, and 2 Honor Board
  Jurors
• Elected Jurors rather than random students
• To be effective Spring semester 2007
• Rationale on SLIDE 10
• First, a big text slide on 9

9
Proposed Academic Judicial Hearing Panel format

• FROM THE STUDENT HANDBOOK
• A.     The Judicial Hearing Panel shall consist
  of the chair of the Academic Standing and Student
  Conduct Committee (herein referred to as
  chair), two members of the faculty, two
  students Honor Board Jurors and one administrator
  from the Office of the Dean of Students (or
  designee). Panel members will be appointed as
  follows
• 1.            The Faculty Council will among
  faculty members who have previously served on a
  Judicial Hearing Panel.
• 2.            Each year the Faculty Council will
  randomly select 10 faculty members to serve as
  panelists. The random selection will proceed
  until 10 persons have agreed to serve.
• appoint the chair for a two-year term, preferably
  selected from
• 3.           Each year 10 students will be
  randomly selected who agree to serve as
  panelists. The 10 elected Honor Board Jurors will
  rotate as the student panelists on the Panel. In
  the event that any member of a Judicial Hearing
  Panel is unable to complete her/his term, an
  alternate will fill the vacant seat for the
  remainder of the term and the Faculty Council
  will select a new alternate.

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Why the Proposed Alterations are Necessary

• Self-Government
• Student Body has the right and responsibility to
  elect representatives
• Honor Board Self-Government
• An Honor Deficit?
• 1. Do we still believe in Honor?
• 2. Do we know about the Honor Code?
• 3. Is the current system working?
• Honor Board Spreading the Principle of Honor
• Start with incoming students
• Facilitate a Conversation within the Oxy
  Community
• HB Jurors Trained on Student Handbook

11
The Bylaws

• Honor Board By-laws Outline
• Article I Name
• The name of this organization shall be the Honor
  Board of the Associated Students of Occidental
  College, hereinafter referred to as the Honor
  Board.
• Article II Purpose
• The Honor Board shall be responsible for
  upholding the Honor Code, which states in Article
  V, Section 3A of the Constitution No student
  shall take unfair advantage of another student or
  another member of the Occidental Community.
• Article III Structure and Responsibility
• Section 1 The Honor Board shall carry out its
  purpose through four methods the Judicial
  Hearing Panel, the Academic Hearing Panel,
  Mediation and Honor Board Hearings.
• Judicial Hearing Council- The judicial hearing
  panel shall rule on any case related to
  infractions of ASOC and conduct code laws. This
  council will consist of one faculty member, one
  administrator and two students.
• Academic Hearing Panel- The Academic Hearing
  panel shall rule on any case related to the
  Academic Policies of Occidental College and
  Academic Honesty as defined in the Student
  Handbook. This panel will consist of two Honor
  Board jurors, serving for one year on the
  Academic Hearing Panel.
• Mediation

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The Bylaws

• Mediation- Mediation is designed to provide a
  means to community understanding without coming
  before Honor Board. Mediation shall consist of
  informal and formal mediation.
• Informal Mediation- Parties involved in the
  supposed violation of the Occidental College
  Honor Code shall meet without administrative or
  ASOC intervention and attempt to come to a
  consensual agreement as to the infraction of the
  Honor Code and how this violation, should it
  occur, be addressed.
• Formal Mediation- Parties involved will address
  the supposed violation of the Honor Code through
  a formal mediation process in which each party
  will have a limited number of representatives,
  and a trained mediator will facilitate dialogue
  and discussion.
• Honor Board Hearings- Should a supposed violation
  of the Honor Code pass through said mediation
  process and fall under neither the jurisdiction
  of the Academic Hearing Panel or the Judicial
  Hearing Panel, then the case shall come before
  the Honor Board as a whole. The Hearing process
  will involve 5 Honor Board jurors who shall come
  to an official Honor Board decision that will be
  reported to the Dean of Students.
• Section 2 Power derived from Elections
• Section 3 Membership
• A. Membership-The Honor Board shall be comprised
  of ten generally elected members of the student
  body. The Honor Board, from these generally
  elected jurors, will designate an Honor Board
  Chair to head Honor Board. The voting for these
  members will occur in the following fashion. If
  the number of vacant seats on Honor Board is odd,
  the simple majority of the open seats will be
  elected in the fall of the academic year. The
  remained of these open seats will be decided in
  the spring. Members of this group shall be
  referred to as Jurors.

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The Bylaws

• B. Eligibility of Membership- Every prospective
  Juror will submit to an academic and disciplinary
  and check conducted by the Honor Board advisor.
• C. Term of Membership
• Jurors shall serve a single two-year academic
  term.
• D. Duties of Membership-
• i. The Honor Board Chair shall
• a. Chair all official meetings.
• b. Serve as the ex-officio Juror of all Honor
  Board Hearings and official meetings
• c. Uphold the mission statement of Occidental
  College and Honor Board by being honorable
• d. Attend all official meetings and training
  sessions
• e. Serve as Honor Board liaison between Associate
  Dean of Students by presenting all official
  recommendations and decisions of Honor Board
• f. Perform other relevant duties as assigned by
  Honor Board
• g. Take charge of setting the agenda for all
  official meetings
• h. Take charge of correspondence with any
  individuals involved in a hearing including
  complainant(s), respondent(s), and witness(es)
• i. Open all Honor Board hearings
• ii. Generally Elected Jurors
• a. Have the power to cast 1 vote
• b. Be eligible to serve on committees
  designated by Honor Board
• c. Uphold the mission statement of Occidental
  College and Honor Board by being honorable
• d. Attend all official Honor Board meetings and
  training sessions

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The Bylaws

• iii. Honor Board
• a. Publicity- The Honor Board should publish a
  summary report, not violating confidentiality,
  regarding any matter affecting the College
  community, excluding unresolved cases and those
  cases still subject to appeal, at the beginning
  of every semester.  The report shall contain a
  statement by the Honor Board of the findings and
  sanctions for the previous semester's cases. 
  With the exception of cases in which all parties
  and witnesses agree to waiver their right to
  confidentiality, the Honor Board shall not
  publish the names of the parties participating in
  the case.  The Chair of the Honor Board shall
  send a copy of the report to the editor of the
  Occidental Weekly and post the report on the ASOC
  website.
• b. The Honor Board shall have the responsibility
  to hear, investigate, and determine the facts
  about every complaint referred to it from the
  Associate Dean of Students and to recommend
  appropriate action to the Dean of Students.
• c. All members of the Honor Board shall meet
  once a year for training with the Advisor.
• E. Attendance
• Every Juror must attend all official meetings as
  specified in the Honor Board House Rules.
  Reprimands for Jurors who do not attend the
  required meetings shall be specified in the Honor
  Board House Rules.
• F. Vacancies
• Resignation- If a Juror decides that she/he
  cannot fulfill the duties of an Honor Board
  Juror, the said Juror will submit a letter of
  resignation to Honor Board and ASOC at large. The
  Juror will be relieved of responsibilities
  pertaining to Honor Board.
• Removal- Jurors may be removed from membership
• If a change in academic or disciplinary status
  causes the Juror to no longer be eligible for
  membership.
• In other instances specified in the Senate House
  Rules.
• In any instance, the Juror in question shall have
  the right to speak in his or her defense prior to
  the removal vote.
• Jurors shall not be removed from membership by
  any vote less than 2/3 of the Honor Board. A
  Juror shall be denied the right to vote in the
  matter of his or her own removal.

15
The Bylaws

• Filling Vacancies- Vacancies on Honor Board shall
  be filled according to the positions
  availability. Interim Jurors shall be decided by
  Honor Board and shall serve for the remainder of
  the academic year. Interim Jurors shall have full
  rights and responsibilities of permanent Honor
  Board Jurors. The following academic year,
  positions will be filled by official Jurors
  through election and selection.
• G. Voting
• Each Juror has an equal vote in
• Hearings- each of the Jurors present at an
  official hearing has one vote.
• Meetings- for all other official decisions
  outlined in the Honor Board House Rules, each
  Juror has one vote. Majority vote shall be
  required for implementation of decision.
• H. Excusal of Jurors
• A. Voluntary Removal of Jurors- If an Honor
  Board member believes that she/he has a conflict
  of interest in relation to the case outcome,
  she/he has the right to be removed from the Honor
  Board hearings. This Juror must submit a written
  removal letter explaining in detail the conflict
  of interest. This letter shall be kept on record
  for Honor Board scrutiny.
• Honor Board Requested Removal of Jurors- If any
  member of Honor Board believes that another
  member of Honor Board has a conflict of interest
  in the outcome of a given case, said Honor Board
  Juror may request to have another member of the
  Honor Board removed. This request must be a
  formal letter of removal to by scrutinized by the
  members of Honor Board. This letter shall be
  discussed, and the respondent may be removed from
  Honor Board hearings by a 2/3 vote.
• Student Requested Removal of Jurors- If a student
  involved in Honor Board proceedings (the
  respondent or complainant) believes that a member
  of Honor Board has a conflict of interest in
  relation to the case outcome, the student shall
  submit a written letter requesting said Jurors
  removal from the proceedings. Honor Board shall
  discuss the letter and choose to remove the said
  member by a majority vote. The Juror in question
  shall abstain from voting, but still shall have
  the right to voluntarily remove themselves.

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The Bylaws

• Article IV Judicial Hearing Council
• Section 1 Purpose- The Judicial Hearing Council
  will address issues of student misconduct as
  defined in the Occidental College student
  handbook.
• Section 2 Operational Procedures
• The operational procedures of the Judicial
  Council are addressed in Section VI, Sections 23-
  26q of the Occidental College Student Handbook.
• Article V Academic Judicial Hearing Panel
• Section 1 Purpose- The Academic Hearing Panel
  will address issues of academic honesty in cases
  including but not limited to plagiarism and
  cheating. These types of academic misconduct are
  subject to disciplinary action. The Academic
  Judicial Hearing is not a court of law,
  characterized by adversarial relationships among
  those involved in the proceedings. Rather, it is
  a fact finding body within an academic community
  that is guided by College regulations and a sense
  of fair play.
•  
• Section 2- Operational Procedures- The Academic
  Judicial Hearing Panel shall consist of the chair
  of the Academic Standing and Student Conduct
  Committee (herein referred to as chair), two
  members of the faculty, two Honor Board Jurors
  and one administrator from the Office of the Dean
  of Students (or designee). Panel members will be
  appointed as follows
• 1.            The Faculty Council will appoint
  the chair for a two-year term, preferably
  selected from among faculty members who have
  previously served on a Judicial Hearing Panel.
• 2.            Each year the Faculty Council will
  randomly select 10 faculty members to serve as
  panelists. The random selection will proceed
  until 10 persons have agreed to serve.
• 3.           Each year 9 Honor Board Jurors will
  be elected from the student body, including two
  specialty jurors (Academic and Diversity/Social
  Justice). The Academic Specialty Juror and one
  other Juror will serve as panelists for one year.
  In the event that any member of a Judicial
  Hearing Panel is unable to complete her/his term,
  an alternate will fill the vacant seat for the
  remainder of the term and the Faculty Council
  will select a new alternate.

17
The Bylaws

• Article VI Mediation
• Section 1 Purpose- Mediation shall serve as a
  method of conflict resolution to be utilized by
  the student body as a whole. This Mediation
  Committee will facilitate formal mediation.
  Informal mediation will occur outside the
  jurisdiction of Honor Board.
• Section 2 Membership and Structure
• a. Membership to the mediation committee will be
  decided as follows
• No Jurors of Honor Board or any other elected or
  appointed ASOC officers may serve on the
  mediation committee
• Consists of students that have gone through the
  mediation training process and have been
  appointed capable Formal Mediators by the
  Associate Dean of Students.
• The Mediation Committee is a separate body of the
  Honor Board that works in conjunction with the
  Honor Board.
• Section 3 Operational Procedures
• a) Mediation sessions shall consist of the
  complainant, the respondent, their respective
  advisors, and a trained student mediator.
• Will be arranged at a date, place and time
  convenient to both the complainant and the
  respondent.
• Formal Mediation minutes will be confidential,
  and will be kept for Honor Board scrutiny in the
  case of a hearing.

18
The Bylaws

• Article VII Honor Board Hearing
• Section 1 Purpose- The Honor Board is a means
  to facilitate necessary dialogue between two
  parties who have found informal and formal
  mediation to be unsuccessful or unnecessary. The
  Honor Board shall rule on cases that fall outside
  the jurisdiction of the Judicial Hearing Panel
  and Academic Judicial Hearing Panel and present a
  formal recommendation to the Dean of Students
  regarding how a possible infraction of the Honor
  Code should be handled.
• Section 2 Operational Procedures
• Initiating a Hearing
• A. A formal written complaint must be submitted
  to the Dean of Students before the case is
  eligible for a hearing. If the Dean of Students
  deems the case appropriate, then a hearing may
  proceed to Honor Board if Formal Mediation has
  failed or the complainant and/or respondent have
  chosen to waive their rights to a Mediation
  process.
• B. The formal complaint must consist of
• a) The grounds on which the complainant(s)
  believes that a violation of the Honor Code has
  been committed.
• b) A brief description of the actions that the
  complainant(s) believes to constitute a violation
• c) The names of the persons believed to have
  committed a violation, if the names of such
  violators are known to the complainant(s)
• d) A list of witnesses with information that is
  pertinent to the case
• e) A statement of why informal mediation was
  unsuccessful or did not occur.

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The Bylaws

• Venue of Jurisdiction-
• ASOC Honor Board shall hear cases involving
• Behavior and actions of elected student
  officials, student service employees and club
  officials.
• Conduct during student Elections
• Violations of the Code of conduct specific
  violations of the Students Code of Conduct may
  fall under the category of an Honor Board hearing
  as determined by the Associate Dean of Students.
  These violations may include
• Intentionally or recklessly endangering,
  threatening, or causing physical harm to any
  person or oneself, or intentionally or recklessly
  causing reasonable apprehension of such harm.
• Harassment. In this Code harassment (a) is the
  use, display, or other demonstration of words,
  gestures, imagery, or physical materials, or the
  engagement in any form of bodily conduct, on the
  basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin,
  alienage, sex, religion, age, sexual orientation,
  or physical or mental disability, that has the
  effect of creating a hostile and intimidating
  environment sufficiently severe or pervasive to
  substantially impair a reasonable persons
  participation in College programs or activities,
  or use of College facilities (b) must target a
  specific person or persons and (c) must be
  addressed directly to that person or persons.
• Intentionally and substantially interfering with
  the freedom of expression of others.
• Intentionally or recklessly destroying or
  damaging College property or the property of
  others.
• Taking unfair advantage of another student.

20
The Bylaws

• Refusal of Cases- With each written complaint not
  heard by Honor Board, Honor Board will provide a
  detailed response pertaining to why Honor Board
  felt the case was unwarranted, and this response
  shall be kept on record for future Honor Board
  scrutiny. Honor Board reserves the right to
  recommend informal or formal mediation.
• Quorum-Quorum of Honor Board shall consist of 5
  Jurors rotating randomly in addition to the Honor
  Board Chair who shall be present at all hearings.
• Voting- In all hearings, decisions on a
  recommendation to the Associate Dean of Students
  must be by a 5/6 vote. The Honor Board Chair
  does not vote.
• Special Honor Board Meetings- Honor Board may
  hold special meetings and committee meetings
  outside of the regularly scheduled weekly time.
  These meetings are not official. No minutes
  shall be taken and no votes are binding.
• Access to Hearings- All Honor Board hearings
  shall be confidential.
• Article VIII Amendments