THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, September 30, 1996 TAG: 9609300030
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ELIZABETH BLUEMINK, CAMPUS CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE LENGTH: 77 lines
The University of Virginia's student-run Honor Committee has released statistics showing that a disproportionate number of minority students are accused and convicted of honor violations.
Between 1991 and 1995, 24 percent of students investigated for honor violations were African-American students, 13 percent Asian Americans, 2 percent Hispanic Americans and 61 percent whites, the committee found.
Of those convicted during that period, 23 percent were Asian American, 23 percent black, 3 percent Hispanic and 51 percent white.
White students make up 75 percent of the student body, blacks 12 percent, Asian Americans 10 percent and Hispanic Americans less than 1 percent.
The Honor Committee - an elected student group that handles cases of lying, stealing and cheating - did not have similar data on the people who initiate honor complaints. Complaints may be lodged by students, professors and staff members at U.Va., as well as people outside the university.
U.Va.'s vice president for student affairs, William Harmon, said the numbers ``do appear to be cause for concern.''
``The statistics involving Asian-American students are way out of proportion,'' he said, but added, ``We should be concerned with the impact on all minorities, collectively.''
Honor Committee leaders said that except for Asian-American students, the percentage of convictions is not out of line with the percentage of complaints, so the problem may lie outside the honor system.
``We don't feel that there is a racial bias within the system,'' said the vice chairman for trials, Dennis Logue. He said more information needs to be gathered on the ethnicity of those who bring complaints and on whether students in certain classes or fields of study are being disproportionately affected before racial bias can be proven.
The number of minority students who serve as pool officers is ``very low,'' said Chad Langley, a member of the committee's diversity task force. Logue said Friday that the committee had not recruited as many minority students as it had wanted this month, but he declined to give an estimate.
``Recruitment is a good first step,'' said Ebonie Franklin, president of the Black Student Alliance. ``Providing more education about the honor system and its processes would be even better.''
Franklin said many black students are deterred from joining the committee because of perceived bias.
Samantha Cha, president of the Asian Student Union, said she was surprised by the statistics involving Asian-American students. ``I do not have an answer for why the numbers are the way they are, and I have not heard complaints from the Asian student community.''
She said she would like to see more Asian students become involved with the honor committee, as well as other student governance groups.
Harmon agreed: ``People may not support the honor system, but it is a fact of life on Grounds. Minority students need to get involved with the system if they want to see a change.''
Under the honor system, when a student is accused of a violation, two members of the pool of student officers assembled by the Honor Committee investigate the case and two others serve as ``counsel'' to the accused student. The Honor Committee then randomly selects a jury of students to hear the case. If the student is found guilty, he is permanently thrown out of the university.
The Honor Committee itself has been criticized in recent years for an inadequate representation of minority students. The 21-member panel now has two African Americans, one Hispanic American and one Asian American.
Honor officials said the statistics were compiled by the Honor Committee's diversity task force in order to address those concerns. ILLUSTRATION: GRAPHIC
HOW IT WORKS
Under the honor system, when a student is accused of a violation:
Two members of the pool of student officers assembled by the
Honor Committee investigate the case; another serves as ``counsel''
to the accused student.
The Honor Committee randomly selects a jury of students to hear
the case.
If the student is found guilty, that person is permanently thrown
out of the university. by CNB