There was a sharp drop-off in serious conduct violations brought before the Committee on Standards, according to a report released yesterday.
Last year, the committee heard the cases of eight students accused of violating the College's Code of Conduct. The committee heard 17 cases the previous year and 10 cases in 1992-1993.
Seven cases of violations of the Academic Honor Principle were judged, half of last year's number, Dean of the College Lee Pelton said.
Pelton is the chair of the COS, a committee made up of students faculty members and presidential appointees that hears and adjudicates cases of students accused of violating the College's rules. The committee also imposes sanctions on guilty students.
"There's no trend here in terms of suspensions ... And there's no trend in terms of the number of cases COS has seen," Pelton said.
"Each year's different and it seems to be an average year," he said.
Last year eight students admitted to misconduct and opted to be judged by a dean rather than the COS.
Of the eight students investigated for violations of the Code of Conduct, seven were found guilty. Charges ranged from sexual assault to the firing of a BB gun in a residence hall room.
The most serious sanction was a seven-term suspension given to a student who was "intoxicated and made verbal threats to Safety and Security and Hanover Police officers ... Student had history of repeated alcohol use and a prior suspension," the report stated.
Another student was suspended for four terms for sexual abuse when he allegedly had sexual intercourse with an intoxicated women without her consent.
Six students were disciplined for violating the honor principle.
According to the report, the number of investigations may have been reduced by a change in the Code of Conduct.
"The most notable change in the disciplinary system during the past year was the implementation of the new Standards of Conduct. These eight broad standards replaced the previous 34 specific Code of Conduct regulations, although the same behaviors are still addressed," the report stated.
A different report released by the Sexual Abuse Awareness Program showed little yearly fluctuation in the number of sexual assaults reported to the SAAP coordinator.
Last year women reported 21 cases of sexual assault, six cases of attempted sexual assault and 17 cases of unwanted sexual contact.
These are roughly the same as statistics from previous years.
