Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, March 4, 1994 TAG: 9403040114
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: KIRSTEN WILLIAMS LANDMARK NEWS SERVICE
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE LENGTH: Short
University of Virginia students turned back, by more than a 2-to-1 margin, a proposal to loosen the "one strike and you're out" honor system.
If students are convicted by their peers of cheating, lying or stealing, they are automatically expelled. If approved, a schoolwide referendum would have given student jurors a choice of two penalties: expulsion or a one-year suspension.
They voted 4,399 to 1,794 to stick with the "single sanction," as it is known at UVa. The referendum was held Monday and Tuesday, and results were announced Thursday morning.
Why did they so overwhelmingly reject a change that could have benefited them?
"Students believe in holding themselves to a higher ideal," sophomore Rob Bunn said. "So much of what the University of Virginia has is tied to the honor code."
Although students voiced support for the current system, some professors still wonder about its effectiveness.
"The single sanction is just too black and white," said Louis Bloomfield, a physics professor. "Most faculty members are frustrated with it,because it is so hard to get a conviction."
The proponents of the change say they don't plan to resubmit the proposal.
by CNB