East Wheelock residents already have their own dean, snack bar and the newest residence halls, but they will be getting something else unique next Fall -- their own judicial system.
The supercluster's Adjudication Board is designed to enforce College policies and educate students about them. It will be made up of two East Wheelock residents from each class. The members will be elected at the beginning of Fall term.
"The success of the program depends on students' reactions," Acting Dean of Residential Life Mary Liscinsky said.
"It could be good, " said future East Wheelock Undergraduate Advisor Ramon Zertuche '01, "or it could be bad."
Zertuche said a hearing before the board might be preferable to facing a dean, since fellow students could be more understanding than administrators.
"It's like -- 'been there, done that,'" he said, referring to students' more sympathetic attitudes toward their peers.
The program also hinges on student participation. Although an advising administrator will observe the judicial hearings, it will be students who hear the case and students who decide what sanctions to recommend, according to the Proposal for a Residential Adjudication Model.
This system will not take the place of Safety and Security, Liscinsky said, but will be different in a number of ways -- the most distinct, in the eyes of some students, will be the board's power to recommend sanctions against a student.
However, Liscinsky said, punishments will be mostly educational, rather than simply disciplinary, although possible sanctions will include more traditional discipline, such as probation and fines.
The board might consider cases involving noise issues, dorm vandalism, violation of the pet policy or roommate issues that affect the East Wheelock community. The board will only rule on incidents involving violations of college policy, Liscinsky said.
Liz Dziadik '99, a future East Wheelock UGA, said she hopes students will be able to take their problems to their UGA before going to the board.
Liscinsky said East Wheelock was the ideal choice for this pilot program, because there is already an administrative presence in the cluster, which has its own dean, Steve Cornish.
Liscinsky said if the program takes hold, she would like to see it introduced into other residence halls.
