At the College of William and Mary Student Assembly meeting Tuesday, Honor Council Chair John Pothen ’11 announced that the Honor Council would no longer seek funding from the senate.
Several senators expressed disappointment with the present members, saying that by taking this measure, the SA and the student body will not be able to hold the Honor Council accountable for its actions.
Sen. Mike Young ’11 took the floor as Chair of Policy to comment on the recent recommendations made by the Honor Council Elections Task Force, which is made up of eight members drawn from the student body, Honor Council, faculty and administration.
“Sen. [Steven] Nelson ’10 joked last year that the nominating committee was the guardian council — with this measure it actually becomes the guardian council,” he said. “We will no longer have a student-run Honor Council if this is passed. I’m glad that this memo welcomes critiques.”
Sen. Noah Kim ’13 agreed, saying the concern began when there was no Honor Council reform even though a majority of the student body voted in favor of a reform measure. He also attributes disappointment with the Honor Council’s reaction to the Virginia Informer’s criticism and the SA’s decision to withdraw funding.
“I’m deeply concerned by this series of events and I encourage everyone here to not take these individually and to consider the direction we’re going in and what this means for our honor system,” said Kim.
Honor Council CFO Eric Robinson ’11 downplayed these concerns saying that the proposals had yet to be evaluated by the Council and were not law.
At the meeting, the SA also unanimously confirmed Bailey Woolfstead ’12 as the Secretary of Health and Safety, replacing Jessee Vasold ’11.
In addition, the SA passed a resolution to lobby the Virginia General Assembly for increased funding, to leave the in-state to out-of-state student ratio unchanged and keep have off-campus arrests from being automatically shared with the College. The final measure was made in response to the murder of University of Virginia student Yeardley Love.
“What you do off campus is not the College’s business,” Undersecretary of the Road to Richmond Program Thomas Chappell ’11 said.
Chappell also expressed concerns that Williamsburg police officers might arrest students for minor infractions in order to gain the College’s attention.
The SA also voted against a measure to subsidize vaccinations for students going on international service trips.
Due to a lack of response by the Graduate Council within the 30-day period, the Constitutional Clarification Act, sponsored by Sen. Ryan Ruzic J.D. ’11, was added to the Constitution.
The SA also decided to meet in Blow Hall 337 beginning next semester. This semester’s meetings were held in Tyler Hall 201.