Introduction

Piglet, Pooh and Professor Owl approached the Honor Council chair about questionable events which took place during a review session for an upcoming exam. Although all three parties felt that they had repaired the breach of trust, Honor Council reached consensus that there was a suspicion of violation and that a trial was necessary.

Fact Finding

After brief introductions and reviews of procedure, Piglet, Pooh and Prof. Owl arrived and fact finding began. Piglet began by recounting the events that happened during an extra review session in Prof Owl's office. Several students were present at the review session. Piglet noticed that a copy of the upcoming exam was laying face up on the table. During the session, Piglet saw that Pooh was copying down the questions from the exam into his notebook. He passed Pooh a note saying that Pooh should stop and throw the his notes away. He offered Pooh his notes from the session. Pooh wrote back to Piglet that he would destroy the copy. When they left the session, Pooh threw out his notes, they discussed the matter, and Piglet decided to approach Prof. Owl the next morning.

Prof. Owl then gave her account of what had transpired. She had no idea how the copy of the exam, which was supposed to be in a folder, wound up on the table in her office. She was more concerned about this being a bigger violation. Prof. Owl did not feel that Pooh had acted intentionally and felt herself responsible for providing such a temptation. She spoke to Pooh and a new exam was made up for him. She felt the matter had been settled honorably among them and a trial was not necessary.

Pooh added that he was stressed at the time because of another exam and wasn't thinking clearly. Upon further reflection, he was not intending to use the copy of the exam and wrote back to Piglet during the session that he was going to throw it away. He accepted responsibility for his actions and also felt the matter had been settled but was willing to do whatever the jury felt was most appropriate.

Jurors then had an opportunity to ask clarifying questions. They wanted to know how much of the exam was copied and Pooh said that he copied all of the front page, but he did not recall any of the questions because the exam was facing away front him and he was too busy copying it to pay attention to the questions. When asked if anyone else in the room had noticed the exam, we were told that a student sitting on the floor had seen the exam and turned away from it. When asked if Pooh would have contacted Prof. Owl if Piglet had not confronted him, Pooh said that he wasn't sure but probably would not have because he did not remember what was on the exam.

Deliberations

After a short period of deliberation, the jury reached consensus that a violation had occurred because Pooh had consciously copied down an exam.

Statement of violation:

Pooh violated the Honor Code by copying down the first page of his exam during a study session with his professor.

Jurors invited Piglet, Pooh, and Prof. Owl back and read them the statement of violation. The Chair then asked for suggestions of resolutions to address ERA (Education, Repairing the breach of trust, and Accountability). Prof. Owl pled for clemency because the matter had been handled so promptly and she held herself equally if not more responsible. Pooh suggested that he could write a letter to the community. Pooh, Piglet, and Prof. Owl left for the night, and the jury brainstormed on possible resolutions and recessed for the evening.

The following morning, the jury reconvened and reached consensus on the following resolutions:

1. Pooh will write a letter to the community regarding his violation of the honor code and its effect on fellow community members.

2. Pooh will work on a project related to the upcoming centennial celebration of the Honor Code.

At this point, the jury broke for the 24-48 hour period of rest and reflection.

Deliberation II:

The 24-28 hour period was broken by several jurors who were not satisfied with the above resolutions, and the jury reconvened to re-open deliberations. Several jurors felt that the resolutions had been too harsh considering that the matter had been resolved by the three parties involved and that Pooh had taken a new exam without the advantage of cheating. A couple of other jurors felt that the resolutions had been too lenient considering Pooh's "blatant violation" of the Honor Code, and the fact that he said that he may not have approached Prof. Owl if he had not been confronted. The jury then proceeded to study the Honor Code and come up with resolutions that addressed both Accountability and Education as well as Repairing the breach of trust. After much deliberation, the jury reached consensus on the following resolutions:

Resolutions

1. Pooh will take the next in-class exam un-proctored in Professor Owl's office. After completing the exam Pooh will hand-write and sign the following pledge:

"I hereby accept full responsibility for my conduct on this exam under the Haverford Honor Code as expected of me by my fellow members of the community."

2. After taking the exam Pooh will write a letter regarding his violation of the Honor Code which the jury asks that he send to those he feels were most affected by his violation (i.e. Piglet, Prof. Owl, and/or the community).

Regarding the first resolution, jurors felt that it would be both a reaffirmation of Pooh's commitment to the Honor Code and a symbolic statement of the trust placed in him by the community. The second resolution gave Pooh an opportunity to think about his violation. The option of to whom to address the letter was given so that Pooh may write a sincere letter that he is comfortable with. However, certain jurors felt that it should be sent to the community in order to repair that breach of trust. The jury also felt that the letter would provide closure for all concerned.

One juror felt that Pooh should have failed the exam and chose to stand outside of consensus. Other jurors felt that the resolutions were harsh given the violation, but were able to come to consensus. In addition, certain members of the jury strongly suggested that Pooh work on the centennial celebration of the Honor Code as a way of furthering his education of our Honor Code and what it means to the Haverford college community.

Presentation of Resolutions:

After another 24-48 hour reflection period, the jury reconvened and reached final consensus with one juror standing outside. The jury then presented the resolutions to Pooh, Piglet, and Prof. Owl. Jurors praised Piglet and Pooh for responsible and timely handling of this situation. All three accepted the resolutions, although Professor Owl still felt they were harsh considering the difficult circumstances Pooh was in. After a moment of silence, the trial officially ended.

Discussion Questions:

1. Do you agree with the jury's decision and/or resolutions?

2. Were the jury's resolutions too harsh?

3. Other comments?

Note: If you have further comments or questions about this abstract, Honor Council offers the opportunity for you to discuss this abstract with an actual juror from the trial. Please contact the Honor Council Chair for more information. If you have general comments about this or any other abstract, please contact your Honor Council Representative.