News in brief: Honor Council makes changes to Blue Book
Honor Council makes changes to Blue Book
The Blue Book Revisions Committee has been created in order to clarify and update the Honor Council's Blue Book and by-laws.Committee Chair Kaleb Underwood said he approached former Honor Council Chair Lindsay Kirton about forming the committee after reading through the Rice University Honor Code guide, known simply as the "Blue Book."
"Looking through the Blue Book, I noticed some outdated language," Underwood, the Honor Council's External Vice Chair, said. "It got me looking - it was updated fairly recently, but I thought it would be really great to be able to do some of this clarification and make the council better understood."
About 20 sections of the Blue Book and by-laws were edited in the process. The changes include the removal of a reference to the now-defunct Student Association Elections Rally, the addition of a website which displays previous verdicts and the clarification of hearing procedures.
However, one change was not intended to clarify meaning or update language: To ensure all council members stay active, a new article states that if members fail to serve on at least three panels each semester, they can be suspended or retired, though this policy is not automatically enacted. Underwood, a Jones College sophomore, said each member serves on an average of 12 panels each semester.
"We wanted to add [the article] to show that service is very serious, and to promote cohesiveness and consistency," Underwood said.
Underwood said the committee will continue meeting next year to consider possible changes, including changes to the constitution as it concerns the Honor Council. Any change involving students or the honor system would be brought to student attention and eventually a student vote.
"I don't know if huge changes are on the horizon, but anything big would involve a student vote," Underwood said.
Underwood said he also wanted to review the supplementary documents and the overview of the Blue Book for necessary revisions.
The revisions the committee has made so far must be approved by Dean of Student Judicial Affairs Don Ostdiek before they are included in the next incarnation of the Blue Book. Underwood said he will be meeting with Ostdiek in the coming week.
Underwood said he would like to see a permanent institution of some sort to review the Blue Book every two to three years.
-Seth Brown
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