Class presidents on the Honor Committee

Next week’s referendum, if passed, would remove the automatic appointment of the freshman class president to the 12-student Honor Committee. Currently, the freshman, sophomore and junior class presidents serve as ex officio committee members, and the sophomore and junior class presidents retain automatic appointments for the remainder of their time at Princeton. In a given year, typically four members of the Honor Committee are current or former class presidents, and the remaining eight members are appointed from a broad student applicant pool. These new members are interviewed and selected each spring by a 10- to 15-person committee consisting of the graduating senior members of the Honor Committee, the Committee on Discipline and the Judicial Committee as well as class presidents and additional USG representatives appointed by the USG president. The referendum proposes that a smaller selection committee consisting only of Honor Committee members and the USG president appoint a freshman representative to fill the spot currently held by the class president.

The Honor Committee will not take an official stance either for or against the referendum at hand. Instead, we feel only a responsibility to provide as much information as possible about the pros and cons of the proposed change so that each student voter can make a well-informed decision.

Dan May ’11, who proposed the referendum, clearly articulated the argument in favor of removing freshman class presidents from the committee. Many student voters are unaware that the individual they elect as their freshman class president will serve on the Honor Committee. Additionally, the qualities that students want in a class president might not reflect the qualities they want in an Honor Committee member. May explained that the same logic reasonably could apply to an argument in favor of removing all class presidents from the committee, but that it is better to make this change incrementally rather than dramatically all at once.

On the other hand, there is considerable value in having individuals on the Honor Committee who did not actively seek to be on the committee. Ex officio members can bring a different perspective to committee deliberations than do members who specifically applied to serve on the Honor Committee. Additionally, all class presidents, including the freshman class president upon his or her election, undergo the same training as other members of the committee. A mixed committee comprised of ex officio members and appointed members increases committee diversity and could be more reflective of the diverse opinions of the undergraduate student body.

Perhaps the most compelling reason to have freshman class presidents on the Honor Committee is that class presidents increase the accessibility of the committee to the student body. The Honor Committee member that the average student is most likely to know is his or her class president. This point is particularly relevant for the freshman class president, since the freshmen have had less time than upperclassmen to get to know the students in their year. Because class presidents are more visible and more familiar to their peers, students might feel more comfortable approaching them to voice questions, concerns or ideas about the honor system. From our experience, it is almost always the class presidents on the Honor Committee who receive inquiries and suggestions from their classmates regarding the honor system.

In addition, having class presidents on the committee serves a symbolic purpose. Historically, violations of the honor system have been viewed as violations against the Princeton community, and so class presidents initially were chosen to sit on the Honor Committee because they were considered the community’s most visible leaders. This tradition is an important one in understanding the role and the nature of the committee and the honor system on campus. Just as the Honor Code is a communal responsibility, community leaders have been chosen to enforce it.

An argument can be made both for and against having class presidents, including freshman class presidents, on the Honor Committee. We encourage you to familiarize yourself with the pros and cons, to discuss the issue with your friends and to vote in the way that you think is best. Active participation strengthens not only the honor system but also the Princeton community as a whole.

Alex Rosen ’11 is an economics major from Allentown, Penn., the Honor Committee chair and Class of 2011 president. Pauline Nguyen ’12 is a Classics major from Palo Alto, Calif. and the Honor Committee clerk. They can be reached arr@princeton.edu and pcnguyen@princeton.edu, respectively.