IN THE coming spring elections, students will decide whether the Honor Committee Constitution should be amended to ensure that the single sanction can be changed only with the vote of a majority of the student body. This proposal, referred to as the consensus clause, is a sensible and necessary amendment that will confirm the place of integrity in our community and ensure that any fundamental departure from the foundations of our culture enjoys the active support of the student body.
The reasons to vote for the consensus clause are many. First, the current amendment mechanism makes it too easy for a well-intentioned but misguided minority of students to push through radical, destructive change without true popular support. As it stands now, the single sanction can be jettisoned by just ten percent of the student body, as that is the number of students required for change to occur.
The recent near-success of the "forgiveness clause" is an example of a well-intentioned proposal that was not well thought out, and would have been disastrous if implemented. Fortunately, both the Honor Committee and The Cavalier Daily condemned this proposal, but something similar could pop up any time. By setting the bar higher for changes to the Honor Committee's sanctioning power, we can ensure that any change will be deeply considered and well-planned -- not a slapdash attempt at a quick fix.
Second, the consensus clause makes any departure from the single sanction an extraordinary event -- which is what it should be.The single sanction is central to the honor system -- changing this component changes the whole nature of the system and requires a major commitment from the community. If we are going to gamble with the core values of this institution, it is only fitting that a majority of students should actively voice their desire to do so.
Students should not wake up one morning to discover that an organized minority adopted a radical change without their participation
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