Megaphone (Georgetown, Tex.), Vol. 92, No. 13, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 4, 1997 Page: 8 of 10
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Leners
MfSfiSSBSTE
The truth about Southwestern’s Honor System
Dear Editor,
The article concern-
ing the honor system of
Southwestern (in last week’s
Megaphone) was a good ar-
ticulation of some of the
grievances that are held by a
particular student here. And
as in any fair community, one
should be able to openly ex-
press his protests concerning
something that governs him.
However, in order to formu-
late one’s arguments against
something lairly, the plaintiff
should get the facts straight
about the system from which
he rebels. This situation was
not clearly evident in the ar-
ticle concerning the honor
code because several aspects
of the honor system (which
were either omitted or mis-
interpreted) were not accu-
rately included.
First-year students
are not forced to sign the
pledge. The signing of the
pledge is a privilege that each
student receives upon enter-
ing Southwestern. When a
student is accepted to this
institution, he/she signs that
he/she will uphold this stan-
dard of integrity, thus ensur-
ing that honor remains as an
integral part of our campus
community. If someone does
not comply with this honor,
then maybe Southwestern is
not the school for him. To
make an analogy to this as-
pect of campus community,
consider the plus/minus sys-
tem. If a student found out
that a certain institution to
which he was accepted prac-
tices the plus/minus system,
then it is his decision to at-
tend this school or not. The
same applies to an honor sys-
tem. It is communicated to
all incoming students prior to
their arrival at Southwestern
that this type of honor sys-
tem is in place here and all
attending students must fol-
low it.
The procedures of
the Honor System do in fact
exist, and they are in the form
of the Student Judiciary Con-
stitution and by-laws. This is
a complement to the Honor
Word gets praise;
v;:, ' - " ”>.v. j
Greeks compared
Dear Editor,
Kelly Word is awe-
some! I feel like every week
ya'll are printing another
story of how well she played
or how she’s won another
award. The athletic depart-
ment often seems a world
away, but her achievements
transcend that gap. I think
she deserves a round of ap-
plause from every student
on campus who can appre-
ciate hard work and deter-
mination. She is better at
volleyball than most of us
will ever be at anything.
I’ve wanted to say tl
*~ng time.
Further, your neglect in
mentioning your failures (a
laudable quality in any man
or woman) leaves you ap-
pearing naive. When asked
about pledge-ship I suggest
to first year students that
they wait a semester to
watch how much their
friends change as they go
Greek and then decide if
they want those same
changes to happen to them-
selves.
1 hope that one day
the Greeks see that when In-
dependents make ‘
at has
tely is all
between
ependc
rushed
sides of
ndents are
o can
because
emotii
M
t 001
System Constitution, which is
in the process of ber g af-
firmed. These documents
outline the strict process that
each hearing goes through
and the responsibilities/pow-
ers of the Judiciary. The SJ
Constitution also explains the
checks in balance that are in
place to ensure fairness.
These checks include: 1) a
necessary two-thirds majority
vote to establish guilt 2) the
right of the accused and ac-
cuser to dismiss members
who they feel cannot hear the
case objectively, L,nd 3) the
rights to an advisor, wit-
nesses, presentation of evi-
dence, appeal, and confiden-
tiality.
After consideration of these
aspects of the honor system,
I do not think that the sys-
tem is nearly as outlandish as
the aforementioned article
depicted. What is outland-
ish is the bravado that the
author of the article exhibited
without the background in-
formation to support the
stance
The members of the
Judiciary are charged with
finding the accused guilty or
not guilty based on the pre-
ponderance of evidence. This
aspect of the hearing is in
place because it is in fact a
hearing and not a trial. While
a person is innocent until
proven guilty, this guilt is not
determined without a reason-
able doubt. Many accusa-
tions are gray and unprec-
edented. Therefore the Judi-
ciary has to go on what was
presented to it and what is in
accordance to the most re-
cent interpretation of aca-
demic honesty. This task is
difficult at times, hei c the
judiciary is well-trainea to
ask several questions to all
parties involved in order to
get to the matter at hand.
The Student Judi-
ciary is not afraid of the pub-
lic opinion regarding hearing
decisions. However, the con-
fidentiality is not in place for
the Judiciary’s protection
anyway. The secrecy is used
to protect the parties in-
volved (the accused and ac-
cuser). Additionally, there is
a report published annually
that outlines the number of
hearings heard and their out-
comes. This report is the
public notice that the author
of the other article on this
topic desired.
The entire honor sys-
tem, including both the
Honor System Constitution
and the Student Judiciary
Constitution, is being re-
formed. However, to scruti-
nize the system without
proper facts is wrong. Misin-
formation to the masses is
quite regressive to the efforts
that are being made by the
faculty and student body who
are participating in this re-
forming endeavor. Please
consider these grievances
before ridiculing something
as intricate and delicate as an
honor system.
Thank you,
The 1997-98 Student Judi-
ciary
Stolen tape causes Owen-Bell letter
Dear Editor,
This is the second let-
ter which I have found my-
self inspired to write to the
Megaphone.
In September, you
most kindly published my
first which was a heartfelt
acceptance of the generous
praise you offerd the presen-
tation which Bruce Morrison
and I had done called “The
Best of British.” Although I
felt it necessary to admonish
your columnist for semi mis-
leading reporting, you pub-
lished the letter in the spirit
in which it was intended. I
would now seek to use your
journal once more, but this
time for a sincere plea for
help or information!
I write to you with
some degree of outrage at
news I have recently received
about recent thefts within his
department, one of which was
a video recording of a perfor-
mance of The Two Noble
Kinsmen, which I directed at
Southwestern University in
October.
My return to your
campus after a seven year
absence not only re-ignited
the warm friendship I had
with Dick Hossalla after our
curious and amusing coinci-
dental meeting, but allowed
me to re-acquaint myself with
so many other faculty friends
and to work with one of the
most talented theatre compa-
nies with which I have had
the honour to work. Sadly, I
could not stay for the full
length of the run of the pro-
duction. I was therefore,
thrilled to learn that the play
had been recorded for poster-
ity.
Your readers, as well
as those who worked, on or
saw the production, will be as
disappointed, if not as angry,
as I am to learn that the tape
has either been mislaid or
more likely stolen! Truly, it
has left me quite heartbro-
ken. Apart from the fact that
it was a document of work to
justify my eight week leave of
absence from my institution,
Middlesex University, it is
also a total betrayal to all
those who gave the work such
utter commitment and perse-
verance! I would also liked
those who took part to have
had a memory of their work,
and for the students who
worked with me in a produc-
tion I did here in May it has
come as an enormous disap-
pointment.
I appeal to absolutley
anyone who may have infor-
mation of the tapes’ where-
abouts to come forward! I’m
certain Dr. Hossalla will be
the sole of discretion and for-
giveness, and I would cer-
tainly consider some kind of
financial reward. Or, does the
line from Hamlet stick firmly
in the gut; “thus conscience
does make cowards of us all!”
Yours sincerely,
David Owen-Bell
Dear
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Megaphone (Georgetown, Tex.), Vol. 92, No. 13, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 4, 1997, newspaper, December 4, 1997; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth634859/m1/8/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Southwestern University.