The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 85, No. 18, Ed. 1 Friday, February 13, 1998 Page: 5 of 24
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THE RICE THRESHER
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fallowing semester to notify those
students accused of violations dur-
ing the previous semester's finals
period. This policy, too, has been
altered; students will now be told of
accusations prior to vacations, even
if the council will not begin to inve<
tigate their cases until school re-
sumes the next semester.
Finally, the council has drafted
two constitutional revisions that we
hope will further contribute to the
timely handling of cases and the
general fairness of the council's pro
cedures. The first states that the
accused "shall have ten (10) class
days from the time s/he is informed
of the accusation to schedule and
attend an investigative meeting."
This revision is intended to prevent
the indefinite postponement of any
case. The second amendment incor-
porates into the constitution the re-
peat-violation policy under which the
council has always functioned, but
which has never been explicitly de-
scribed in the organization's pub-
lished by-laws or procedures. This
amendment states that when a per-
son has previously been found in
violation of the code, "in subsequent
violations the Honor Council may
consider penalties in addition to
those specified by the consensus
penalty structure." These revisions
will be put to a student vote this
spring.
At this point in the semester, the
council faces no backlog of cases, a
clear indication that the changes we
made last fall to our internal policies
were good ones. We recognize, how-
ever, that as guardians of a tradition
that lies at the heart of Rice's unique
academic culture, we have much to
improve in the interest of maintain-
ing the integrity of the Honor Svs
tern. The system, after all, belongs
to all of us: students and faculty
alike. This fact of ownership means
-
..... f — must exercise their
right to understand, attack, alter and
defend the procedures by which our
Honor System functions. Subscribe
to the council's listserv. Attend your
college forum. Contact your repre-
sentative. We want to respond to
your concerns. We understand that
the system is threatened every time
we don't.
Betsy Winakur
Honor Council External Vice
Chairperson
Council announces
consensus penalties
To the editor:
During meetings last semester,
the Honor Council determined the
penalty structure it will use during
the 1997-'98 school year. This year's
structure is similar to the system of
consensus penalties that has been
used for the past two years. Under
the structure, a given violation of
the Honor Code is assigned a con-
sensus penalty based upon the mag-
nitude of the assignment involved.
This consensus penalty is both a
standard and a maximum penalty,
which may be lowered because of
mitigating circumstances, but which
may not be raised. This year's con-
sensus penalties are as follows:
■ Assignments >20 percent of
course grade: F in course and two
semester suspension (regardless of
assignment type).
■ Assignments >10 but < 20
percent: F in course and one se-
mester suspension.
■ Assignments <10 percent.
Fin course.
There are two exceptions to the
above structure. First, a "heinous
violation" of'the code may carry with
it a penalty of indefinite suspension,
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EXEt
EDUCATION
regardless of the assignment's per-
centage of course grade. Examples
of heinous violations include, but
are not limited to: involvement in a
large-scale conspiracy, sabotage of
anoUier student's work or a repeat
violation of the code.
The second exception to the stan-
dard penalty structure is the case of
a student giving unauthorized aid to
another student. If the student giv-
ing aid is also taking the class®in
question, he is subject to the stan-
dard penalty structure. However, if
the student giving aid is not enrolled
in the class in question, penalties
may include suspension and/or a
letter of reprimand.
The council decided further that,
in such cases, the' stmlent giving aid
must be aware that her actions are
improper for those actions to consti-
tute a violation of the code. It is only
a student's responsibility to under-
stand what is allowed under the code
in classes she is taking. Thus, a stu-
dent giving unallowed aid to some-
one outside of his own courses has
not committed a code violation if he,
in good faith, was not aware that
such aid was prohibited under the
other course's code.
As mentioned above, consensus
penalties may be lowered by miti-
gating circumstances. The council
considers the following as mitigat-
ing circumstances during the 1997
'98 academic year:
■ Unintentionality of the violation,
■ A plea of "in violation" by the
accused,
■ A self-accusation made in good
faith,
■ Severe emotional stress (at the
time of the violation) that is directly
linked to the violation and
■ Severity of the violation (within
the given assignment).
Significant among these mitigat-
ing circumstances is that of the "in
violation" plea, which was not con-
sidered a justification for mitigation
prior to last year.
The council also composed a list
of items which will not be consid-
ered mitigating circumstances:
■ New student status.
• Academic stress,
• Non-academic effects of the con-
sensus penalty (i.e. penalty will cause
loss of scholarship or reduce
chances-of medical or. graduate
school acceptance) and
■ Remorse and/'or signs of reha #
bilitation.
Note that issues not mentioned
on either of these lists may be con-
sidered mit igating circumstances at
the discretion of the council mem-
bers present for a particular case,
John Doll
Chair
Rice University Honor Council
Wu and protestors
need not be enemies
To the editor:
I imagine that, at least in a philo-
sophical sense, Harry Wu was glad
to see the protesters who greeted
him outside the Rice Memorial Cen
ter with posters reading. "Stop Ly-
ing" or "We protest Harry Wu.'They
represent, after all, one of the things
Wu is fighting for — the right for
young Chinese nationals to publicly
express their political views. On
other levels, the protest must cer-
tainly have disheartened Wu.
In terms of human rights, the
situation in China has, by all ac-
counts, improved significantly in the
last few decades. Declaring that de-
mocracy is essential to China's
growth can still, however, get you
sent to prison for eighteen years.
And assembling peacefully in de-
fense of that same idea can, if your
demonstration dragson long enough
to threaten party luminaries,«
shot. These are recent phenomena
that have occurred after the "mas-
sive reform process (that began I
around 1980," (Ex-political prisoner
criticizes Chinese prison system."
Jan. 30).
While the number of political pris-
oners in Chinese prisons may have •
decreased in the pasj few decades,
the impact of their suffering has not.
If a child has been abused, a raised
hand is enough to make her flinch;
actual violence is no longer neces-
sary to inspire terror.
So is Wu lying? No. Abuse and
the shadows of abuse still exist in
China. Are his opinions on how to
improve conditions correct? Wu
wants China to be treated with the
same severity as Cuba is and tin-
former Soviet Union and South At
rica Were. Other scholars think that
the recent influx of foreign media
that has accompanied the rush of
foreign capital is more apt to foment
change than China's continued iso-
lation.
Weshould consider placards that
read "We protest economic sane
lions against China." It's not neces-
sary to discredit Wu to disagree with
his conclusions. I recommend his
books. Hitter Winds and Trouble
maker, to those seeking a response
to the charges against Wu in the
fliers circulated last week. Also. Wu
was 20 years old when arrested, not
27 as printed in last week's article
Leslie Hnbm s
Fondren Library
Editor's note: Harry was 2-i
years old when he was arrested in
I960 He was bom on Feb. X. I'>37,
according to Encyclopedia Hritanica
Online
RICI UNIVHSITY'S
Women's Resource Center
The mission of the Rice University Women's Resource Center is to increase
awareness of and sensitivity to issues facing women in order to build a more
supportive, dynamic atmosphere on campus. To provide opportunities
for Rice University community members to educate themselves and
encourage one another, the RWRC coordinates educational and social
activities and programs. In addition, the Women's Resource Center offers
information and support for groups and individuals who hold an interest in
women's issues. By providing a setting for individuals to share ideas, engage
in dialogue, and collaborate on programs, the Center encourages students to
develop their leadership skills and to further their interpersonal, academic,
and professional development.
Special Guest
Dr. Laurie Dill, doctor, feminist, social researcher,
and AIDS & domestic violence activist,
will be on campus Friday Feb. 13.
Brown Bag lunch discussion on "Race, Gender, and Health Care
Sewall Hall 250, Noon-1 pm Friday, Feb. 13
Second Anniversary of the Women's Resource Center
The Center celebrates another successful year of programming,
education and service to the Rice community. We will recognize and
anitounce the 1998 IMPACT Award winners.
Friday, February 13
2-4 p.m.
Kel ley Lounge, Ley Student Center
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Hardi, Joel. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 85, No. 18, Ed. 1 Friday, February 13, 1998, newspaper, February 13, 1998; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth246614/m1/5/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.