University of Virginia Library

Public Honor Hearings
Offered Again

Although not readily apparent to the student body, this year's Honor
Committee has been making a detailed examination of the present state of
the University's Honor System since early fall. Such an examination has
directed itself to two general areas: first, a consideration of the procedural
aspects of the Honor System, and second, a consideration of the
substantive aspects, or the very philosophy upon which the system rests.

As a result of the preliminary stages of this examination, the Honor
Committee has now instituted certain changes in the procedural features of
the Honor System. The first of these is actually a reversion to a previous
procedural provision of the Honor System, as public trials will now be
permitted, but only at the request of the accused student.

Public hearings were held as late as 1906, at which time accused
students could choose trial either before their class alone or the entire
University. Such public trials seem to have been discontinued after 1909,
the year in which the first written code of rules of procedure was
composed. The reason for denying public trials was to protect the accused
student, especially since proceedings often dealt with private and
confidential matters.

The present Honor Committee believes that the interests of all parties
to a trial are more surely protected by a private trial. If, however, an
accused student requests that his trial be public, he will now have that
right. Such request if made, shall be made at least 3 days prior to the date
of trial. The arrangements for such a public trial are as follows:

(a) The trial will be held in normal Honor Committee chambers.

(b) Attendance will be limited to 20 observers (due to room size).

(c) Notice of the request will be published two days prior to trial in The
Cavalier Daily (without name of accused.)

(d) Persons wishing to attend will apply to the student government
secretary for passes; these will be distributed except as provided below
on a first-come, first-serve basis at the time announced in the public
notice.

(e) A limited number of passes will be reserved for the press and
distribution by the parties involved (3 per side, 2 for press).

(f) Excluding passes distributed to the parties, distribution will be
limited to members of the University community.

(g) In order to insure a balanced perspective of the proceedings, all
observers will be expected to remain throughout the trial; no one will
be permitted to enter after the trial begins.

(h) Strict decorum will be required of all observers - their participation
in the trial is prohibited - and violation of decorum will warrant
immediate ejection. No photography will be permitted.

(i) Deliberations of the Honor Committee, will, as heretofore, be in
private.

Sensing the need for an objective examination of the Honor System,
this year's Honor Committee has been in the midst of such an evaluation
since mid-October. Since the strength of the Honor System rests, according
to a spokesman for the Committee, "upon the steadfast support of the
student body," the Committee has decided, it is most important to
determine any lack of support in particular areas in order to forestall or
remedy a weakening of the entire system.

The Committee began its investigation by conducting a poll based upon
a one percent random sample of University students supplied by the Office
of Institutional Analysis, and relied heavily on Francis G. Lankford, Jr.,
director of that office, to insure the desired scientific accuracy. The poll
was designed to produce a compromise between quantitative and
qualitative results.