The Oct. 19 open honor trial of third-year College student Adam Boyd seems to have intrigued University faculty and students alike.
Though not all parties agree on the issues surrounding the trial, University community members of all walks are interested in some facet of the trial and its repercussions. To close this series on the repercussions of the open honor trial, this article will explore the views of students and faculty around Grounds.
"I think this is a great chance for the University community to see into a process that is normally closed," Honor Chairman Christopher Smith said.
Students and faculty seem to agree with Smith on the topic of the trial itself and its benefit to the community.
"I think it's good for the general community, because we get to see how a secret system works," second-year College student Jeff Lenowitz said. "We know there is an honor system, but we don't always know how it works."
Politics Prof. Larry J. Sabato also supported the open trial.
"There are serious benefits of having an open trial," Sabato said. "New generations are exposed to the honor system and forced to review it and its philosophy."
Indeed, some community members expressed hope that issues might come to light at an open trial that could force review of the University's honor system.
Boyd, the accused student in the matter, explained that part of his rationale for choosing an open trial was to reveal flaws he experienced in the system.
"I felt an injustice was being done," Boyd said. "We have the opportunity to change something that isn't working properly."
Boyd said his trial was investigated in an incompetent manner, and that mistakes would never come to light in the highly secretive kind of procedure that usually characterizes the honor system.
Boyd is not alone in his belief that an open proceeding could benefit the system.
"I'm glad it's open," second-year Architecture student Jamie Sneed said. "Maybe the University will stop and reconsider some of the asinine policies it enforces upon students in secret."
Psychology Prof. Jonathan Haidt explained that he favors open trials for other reasons.
"I think convictions and exonerations should be made public," Haidt said. "The honor system has long failed to take advantage of issues of shame and reputation in making itself a deterrent."
Members of the University community hold diverse views on the state of the honor system. Though Boyd's trial will not address outwardly all of the issues at stake, it promises to provide an opportunity for renewed discourse at the University.
Throughout the history of the honor system, the open trial has provided a catalyst for discussion and revision of the practice that makes up the backbone of the University.
Law Prof. Kenneth Abraham explained that public trials in the United States serve an important purpose.
"That's why we have public trials," Abraham said. "When people see what happens when you commit an offense, they don't do it."
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