Meet Julia Wahl, a pre-law senior in the college majoring in History. In addition to being Co-Chair of Emory’s Honor Council, Julia is also a member of Emory’s Concert Choir, VP of Undergraduate Affairs for Omicron Delta Kappa (ODK) and a member of Gamma Phi Beta. Read on to learn more about Honor Council and how you can get involved!
HCE (Her Campus Emory): What is Emory Honor Council?
Julia Wahl (JW): The Emory Honor Council is a body designed to govern integrity in all academic assignments and matters. It also provides a platform for allegations of academic misconduct to be considered fairly, considering the testimony of both the accused and the accusing. Both students and faculty participate in the College Honor Council, which investigates and adjudicates cases. Cases begin with a team of a student and their faculty investigator being assigned a particular case; that team then meets will all involved parties to collect the relevant evidence. At the end of the investigation the team will discuss whether the case constitutes a violation, and merits a full hearing of the Honor Council. If the case proceeds, then it is heard by a Chair, three student members and a faculty member who consider the testimonies and evidence to determine guilt and a corresponding sanction.
HCE: How did you become involved?
JW: I’ve always been interested in participating in Honor Council! I am pre-law and I thought Honor Council would give me a great background in writing briefs and opinions! Basically, Honor Council works in a similar way to the legal system, and is a great way to test out interest in the legal profession. I applied my junior year and after a written application and case study interview was selected to be a member!
HCE: What is your role as Co-Chair?
JW: As Co-Chair I sit on hearings as a the senior most member of the council. I also meet weekly with the other officers, and the director of the Honor Council Dr. Ciejka, to discuss specific cases and how we can further academic integrity on Emory’s campus.
HCE: What is the biggest challenge as a student on Honor Council?
JW: The most difficult part of being a student on Honor Council is balancing empathy for other students with still holding them accountable to the standards expected of the honor code. It is hard passing judgment on my peers as I never want to seem like the bad guy, however, if we never held students accountable then there would be no basis for standards, and the work of students who do put in the time and effort would be undercut. Its always very awkward and difficult seeing students around campus after a hearing, but they should remember that the honor council is not judging them as a person, but rather just a misstep and mistake!
HCE: What is your favorite thing about being on Honor Council?
JW: I love developing relationships with faculty members. With every hearing there is a faculty adviser who provides insight from the point of view of a professor. In addition, every member of the Honor Council is teamed up with a professor who is a fellow investigator on the case. For example, my faculty advisor is Dr. Mike Crutcher, a professor in the NBB Department. As a history major, I’ve never taken a class in NBB, or know anyone in that department, but my involvement in Honor Council provides contacts with professors such as Dr. Crutcher who I wouldn’t know otherwise.
HCE: What are the most common violations that you deal with?
JW: In past years, the most common has been plagiarism (taking someone else’s work and passing it off as your own). This year, however, is unusual in that the most common offense if seeking unauthorized aid. This is a fairly broad spectrum that includes looking at a fellow student’s paper during an exam, using a cheat sheet, or copying notes from someone who took the class a year prior! If students ever have questions about what constitutes an Honor Code offense they should ALWAYS ask! Its much better to ask a ‘stupid’ question then to have ‘academic misconduct’ on your transcript!
HCE: How can students get involved if they are interested?
JW: Keep an eye out for applications this Spring 2016 for the following year. Juniors and Seniors should definitely apply!