Opinion

Current Honor Committee practices: Disregarding principles, policy, and precedent

The Honor Constitution states that a violation is “any attempt to gain an unfair advantage in regard to an examination.” How do you attempt without intent? How can a fair judicial system dismiss a student’s mental health when it affects their culpability? 

Letter to the Editor: Response to WWS graduate students

Since becoming dean in 2012, I have worked to improve how the school approaches issues of inclusion and representation. I am committed to continuing this work with our students to identify areas where the school can improve and implement needed reforms.

Editorial: Vote YES on Honor Code Reform

Two years after the last referendum on the Honor Committee failed to reach threshold limitations, it is time for a concrete change in policy.  Each of the four referenda on the ballot this election cycle proposes an important change to the Constitution of the Honor System. While the language could be more specific, the proposals represent an honest effort to reform a dangerously flawed honor system, and we urge students to vote for them.

Letter to the Editor: My rape isn't a joke

Increased access to mental health care – which would help assault survivors and many more – is apparently just an “idea,” not an “ideal,” according to USG presidential candidate Ryan Ozminkowski.

Letter to the Editor: Response to Spalding

Thanks to Emily Spalding for her profile on me; I do appreciate being able to talk about music at Princeton. One important thing to add, lest I offend some friends who don’t deserve it — most of my interactions with pro orchestra were indeed dreary affairs, as I said, but one important exception is the New Jersey Symphony, who play frequent concerts on campus, and several of whose members now serve as Princeton performance faculty.

A note from former Honor Committee chairs

The Code was created 124 years ago by students for students, to hold each other accountable in the exam room. As former Chairs of the Committee, we hope we can provide context behind how the Code has evolved so you can reform it responsibly and ensure it lives another 124 years.

A call for increased diversity and inclusion at WWS

We write as a group of Woodrow Wilson School graduate students to call attention to the urgent need for further progress in creating a safe, supportive, and fair environment for marginalized students.

Honor Committee Reform No. 1: Making cheating easier for Princetonians everywhere

Anybody smart enough to be admitted to Princeton should have realized what really ought to have been an obvious fact about cheating at the University: people don’t refrain from cheating because of their impeccable moral compasses, they do so because they’re scared of the consequences that will follow if they do cheat. 

In defense of the cake-baker

The topic of compelled speech recently made headlines as Jack Phillips, the Colorado cakeshop owner who refused to make a same-sex wedding cake, went before the Supreme Court. Amidst comparisons to racism and Jim Crow, serious mischaracterizations of Phillips’ position have spread.

Editorial: Vote Yee for USG President

This Board welcomes the opportunity to continue in the tradition of formally endorsing a candidate for President of Undergraduate Student Government. In the Winter 2017 election cycle, the three candidates for President are: Matt Miller ’19, Ryan Ozminkowski ’19, and Rachel Yee ’19. After careful consideration of each candidate's platform, the Board endorses Rachel Yee for USG President. 

Why we need to reform the Honor Constitution: a former Honor Committee member explains

As a referendum sponsor who served on the Honor Committee for two years, I write with the hope that my fellow Princetonians will exercise their right to amend the Honor Constitution and seize the opportunity to create a fairer system by voting “yes” on the four referenda up for voting between Tuesday, Dec. 12, and Thursday, Dec. 14.  These referenda reflect many frequent student concerns in addition to issues stemming from dynamics that I bore witness to while a member of the Honor Committee.  

USG Senator Morales Nuñez: Time to reform the Honor System

I joined the Undergraduate Student Government as a class senator because I saw a gap in student representation on the Senate. As a first-generation, low-income woman of color, I was not familiar with anyone on the USG Senate who also identified with all three of these backgrounds. I viewed this as an opportunity to bring to the table the visions people of these communities on campus have for Princeton’s present and future.

Why we can’t wait: Diversity and inclusion at the Wilson School

“It is a peculiar sensation, this double-consciousness…. [O]ne ever feels his twoness — an American, a [Black person]; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder.” — W.E.B. Du Bois

The need for Honor Code reform: A former member’s perspective

Academic integrity is one of the core values of the University community. For many of us, it influenced our decision in choosing Princeton over other schools. Maintaining the highest standard of academic integrity is indeed a cardinal responsibility of all Princeton students. 

Letter to the Editor: Oppose the Honor Committee referenda

This week, the student body will be asked to vote on four referendum questions that would make significant changes to Princeton’s student-run Honor System. As members of Undergraduate Student Government (USG) and a former member of the Honor Committee (HC), we the undersigned believe that these referenda are the result of a highly problematic deliberative process by certain members of USG.

Proportionate penalty: Comments from former Honor Committee members

I was on the Honor Committee from my freshman spring to sophomore fall; I joined with the intention of reforming things and injecting compassion into a system I heard was rather punitive and even vicious. As I came to find, it’s both these things, with the issues stemming from two places.

Why USG fails (and how to fix it)

Despite this year's theatrical elections, I don't think the unfavorable popular perception of USG will change. It's still denigrated as the "government club" and viewed as nothing more than a social group that organizes Lawnparties. This image results from the insularity and poor communication of USG's members. In order for USG to become a relevant governing body to students, its elected officials must become independent leaders and take stands on controversial issues. 

Letter to the Editor: Institutional abuse by the Honor Committee

I took my midterm exam at 7:30 p.m. After finishing my exam, I signed the Honor Code, and wrote “see back” on the margins to orient the grader to the work on the back of one of my exam pages. In the following days, I received a terrifying call that I think this campus is all too familiar with. Of course, I was not informed of my status, but was forced to walk all the way to Nassau St. to the Honor Committee. This is the first reason I support the proposed reforms. 

Cocktail Party

Responsible reform: Comments from Honor Committee leadership

The Undergraduate Students Government Academics Committee Subcommittee on the Honor Constitution has sponsored four referenda on which students will vote from Dec. 12 to Dec. 14. We write, as the Chair and the Clerk of the Honor Committee, to express our opposition to these four referenda.