College junior Beth Hirschfelder has been interested in judicial issues at the University ever since she arrived in the fall of 1991. Her concerns range from addressing issues of cheating to reforming the judicial system to include more student input. "A University is founded on two principles: the search for knowledge and the dissemination of knowledge," she said. "These principles are based on basic standards of truth and integrity which can be undermined" by a faulty judicial system. Now, thanks to the Student Task Force on Academic Integrity, of which she is a member, she may soon get her wish. The task force has compiled a list of seven recommendations, including a mandate for full reform of the judicial charter to allow for increased student involvement. The recommendations have already been approved by both the Faculty Senate and the Undergraduate Assembly and, according to task force member Kirsten Bartok, will probably be endorsed by University Council at its next meeting. "There's a general feeling that the judicial codes need to be changed to give students more of a sense of ownership in the system," Hirschfelder said. According to the Judicial Inquiry Office's charter, a change in judicial codes can only be effected by a review committee set up by Provost Marvin Lazerson's office. Bartok, a UA member, said she believes the recommendations will inform the Provost's office of the University community's will for change and possibly result in reform. "A student-run judicial system is already in place at Wesleyan University and the University of Virginia," she said. "We believe it could work here too." Bartok believes students are now ready to seal their own judicial fates. Although cheating is "no more a problem [here] than at other non-honor code universities," she said, it nevertheless needs to be addressed at the University.
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