StuCo approves Ethics Board nominees

Student Council (StuCo) members approved the appointments of 14 Ethics Board candidates at their meeting this week.

The Committee on Leadership Appointments (COLA) received 48 applications for Ethics Board members this year, according to Vice President of Administration Priti Dalal.

After COLA reviewed applications and conducted interviews, the nominees were brought before StuCo to present their ideas and answer questions.

Jeremiah Casey, a sophomore psychology major and candidate for Ethics Board Chair, said, "an honor code doesn't have a place here yet," and told StuCo members that education about ethics should start with pamphlets and orientation packets distributed to students.

Sophomore international studies major Rani Sen, candidate for Presiding Official of the Ethics Board, told StuCo members that her goal was to publicize ethics policies and encourage students to work together.

"When you increase academic integrity, it builds community," Sen said.

Debasree Banerjee, a freshman in the School of Arts and Sciences and candidate for Ethics Board Panel Member, said the focus should be on student-faculty interactions, and that the ethics procedure should be represented not as a punitive system but as a positive one.

Sophomore class representative Charles Reyner expressed concern regarding the relatively high number of underclassmen candidates. Only two candidates were juniors, while 12 were either sophomores or freshmen.

Patience Boudreaux, junior class representative, said the Committee on Leadership Appointments (COLA) had chosen the best candidates from the applicant pool.

According to Boudreaux, a significant factor in choosing candidates was time commitment; the applicants chosen had both ability and adequate time to devote to the board.

Dalal said three-quarters of the original applicant pool was composed of freshmen and sophomores.

StuCo approved all candidates by a majority vote. Other candidates for Panel Members included juniors Peter Tanpitukpongse and Daisy Beatty; sophomores Patrick Marti, Mira Cho, Wen Shi, Christopher Watson, Mary Keough, Kyle Wu and Asheesh Patel; and freshmen Matt Woodbury and Leigh Anne Lieberman.

Dalal expressed confidence in this year's candidates, reminding StuCo members that Ethics Board members are expected to promote ethics through all mediums, not just in Ethics Board trials.

"There was only one Ethics Board trial this year," said Dalal. "I don't know if it means there are fewer [incidences] of cheating, but it's a good sign."

StuCo also approved the group constitution for The Diplomat, the international affairs journal for the Johns Hopkins community.

Co-Editor-in-Chief Radha Chirumamilla said the journal, which is published every semester, features both a magazine section, containing articles and editorials written by staff and a journal section, featuring three larger pieces by Hopkins students.

"The [international studies] major itself is huge," Chirumamilla said. "There is a substantial amount of work out there."

Chirumamilla and her Co-Editor-in-Chief, Seher Khawaja, worked with the Student Activities Commission (SAC) in drafting their constitution.

StuCo gave the constitution unanimous approval.

David Crandall, a junior class representative, presented a funding request for the Class of 2004 Park-to-Park Race. According to Crandall, the class required $462 to cover police presence for the race, a fee he expected to pay after the event took place.

Since the class cannot receive a permit until the fee is paid, they petitioned StuCo for the needed funds.

President Manish Gala suggested that StuCo grant $231 of the request and offer the remaining funds in the form of a loan, since the junior class still had funds remaining in their account.

Other StuCo members agreed, and the request was approved.

Gala reminded StuCo members that Board of Elections (BoE) Chairs will be appointed at next week's meeting. Gala told members to carefully scrutinize the appointments and ask questions.

Gala ended the meeting by telling members to encourage attendance at the remaining two meetings of the year.