Though the Honor Committee rejected the highly controversial informed retraction amendment to its constitution three weeks ago, the student body now will make the final decision regarding its approval.
A petition circulated by College rep. Michele Jones received over 2,000 signatures last week, enough to put it on the ballot for the Feb. 25 -- 27 student body elections.
As of Friday, the petition had received 1,993 signatures, and "more are coming in," Jones said. "It will definitely be on the ballot."
The informed retraction proposal would allow students brought up on honor charges to admit guilt and accept a three semester suspension from the University, as opposed to the mandatory expulsion they currently face under the rules of the single sanction.
The Committee reviewed the informed retraction proposal, drafted by Architecture rep. Brian Winterhalter, extensively before voting on it last month. But the proposal narrowly failed to receive the two-thirds majority vote required to move on to the student body for ratification.
"We realized it wasn't going to solve the problems that exist," said Darden rep. Adam Carter, who voted against the proposal.
However, Jones and other Committee members who supported the informed retraction worked to put the matter before students by way of a petition.
A petition needs signatures of 10 percent of the student body, or roughly 1,880 students.
"I am happy the students will get to have a choice on the proposal," Darden rep. Lamont Soverall said. "The problem is that people love the ideal of the single sanction, but practically it doesn't work."
The Committee will hold three open forums to educate students on the informed retraction. They will be today at 5 p.m. in Monroe 134, tomorrow at 6 p.m. in room 50 of the Darden School and Wednesday at 7 p.m. in Tuttle Coffee House. Members of the Committee will be available to discuss the proposal.
Though the amendment currently is on the ballot, Thomas Bird, a School of Continuing and Professional Studies representative, brought a motion to the Committee's attention during its meeting last night that could affect its status.
Bird told the Committee that 11,000 continuing and professional studies students are not counted in the listed student population because they are part-time students or do not pay the same fees as all other University students. If these students were included in the school's population, 3,000 signatures would be needed to validate the petition.
During the next week, the Committee and Student Council will consider altering the election process to include these students.
The Committee has the power to rule that the informed retraction petition now is invalid. If the Committee decides the continuing and professional studies students should have been counted, the petition would not have garnered the required support of 10 percent of students.
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