Page 170 - Phoenix1999-2000

Thursday, May 4, 2000 - Page 2 NEWS Dinner honors Trustee Martin Hill and John Emens, celebrates the Defining Moment success Class of WMC 1966 STACI GEORGE the campaign was due in a large part to the In 1995, Memorial Hall was renovated Co-News Edttor help of Robert Chambers, who was not and renamed Hill HalL Do you know what Western Maryland present at the dinner. After being presented with the award, Hill Railroad, the Defining Moment Campaign, It was he who envisioned the campaign took over the microphone and began his ac- Hill Hall, sparkling cider, and Glar have in and put it into action, she said. ceptance speech by stating, "I didn't know common? II was the next speaker, James I. Melhorn, this would feel like the Academy Awards. As reported in the last issue of the Phoe- chairman ofthe Board of Trustees. who pre- [pause for air and a big smile as he looks nix, the Defining Moment Campaign dinner sented Hill with the medallion. around the room] I feel like I've just won celebration was held in Englar Dining Hall Hill was the provider of the campaign's Best Director. There will be no contest with on Friday, April 14 to welcome trustees, ad- largest gift ($1.5 million) presented by a liv- the lights of LA as we walk across The Hill ministration, faculty members, spouses, se- ing individual, and the third-ever recipient later." lected students, and special guests whose of the prestigious John Smith Memorial Me- Following Hill's speech, a parade of stu- commitment to the college helped to reach dallion. dent volunteers gave the dinner guests and Kelly the campaign's $40 million goal. John Smith was the first chairman of the students who came to celebrate an illumi- Hill. But that wasn't the only reason to cel- Board of Trustees, as well as one of ihe three nated tour of the campus and those build- wife of ebrate that night as Martin K. P. Hill, Chair founders ofWMC. ings improved because of the campaign .. .Martin of the Defining Moment campaign, was pre- Additionally, he was a contributor to The tour concluded at Ward Arch at 9:30 ' Hill sented with the John Smith Memorial Me- higher education "in a major way to its pm, and was followed by a toast of sparkling dallion for his continuing support of the col- strengths as a primary part of the American cider and the illumination of the arch. lege. experience," according to a public informa- These included the new science building, After dinner, Acting President and Pro- tion press release. Hill Hall, Peterson Hall, Levine Hall, and "J think the college has outdone itself by vostJoan D. Coley walked up to the podium Hill's association with WMC dates' back Hoover Library. the dinner tonight-only surpassed by the and welcomed everyone to the special occa- to the early nineties. A Baltimore lighting company, Sky tech, campaign. The success of the campaign In 1990, Hill's daughter transferred to' was responsible for the laser and computer- is special to us." ~o~:"" 'f • ,'" ,', , ' , Com iledb Staci Geor e'~ " , ',SneaJsocommentedthatt~e success of WMC'and g;raduat.~d i'n, I993. iz~d li'ghii.hg's~ow. . . Public presence in question regarding Honor and Cor:duct Board hearings continued from page 1 However, President Clinton signed the states that the normal sequence of events Board, according to Sayre. it seriously" if he or she had gone through Accuracy in Campus Crime Reporting Act listed within its guidelines are not required The student applicants can receive rec- the trouble of filing the report. (ACCRA) that became effective Oct. I, to take place. ommendation from the current Board in the Mclean feels that perhaps if the impor- 1998, Which, among 'other things, included Furthermore, no distinction is made be- fall and are then elected by the Student Gov- tant cases were made public more people the lifting ofFERPA restrictions on campus tween academic (plagiarism) and conduct ernmentAssembly.The faculty members are would take the Board's decisions to heart. court proceedings, and a broadened and en- (vandalism, violent acts) cases. nominated by the Faculty Council and are "It sometimes seem like were a kangaroo hanced annual report on campus crime sta- Leahy feels strongly that the hearings then elected by the facuity at large for the court," said the senior, recalling a case that tistics. oI:'shoul~J:lemade public, perhaps to act as a " po.§.j"tl~n\ . _,.. " ..... ,.,j.', "'I~ ~•,~!ld,tol be pu§he:? b~S~ ~~Q~ .sey~~ ,timfS ~t, According to O¢ ~1J;jarp ~aw!>fil!gh, ~4t:rwp'p.rtctott!efS;'i.fnpt.IJing else" except in 'Wl' any grven hearing, explains -5ayr~" the re~uest of the' accused .: , ,I; • ,,:.1, I., Chair of the Campus Crime Task Force, "fi- cases where the identity of the victim needs 'there ke two s'tudentsa-rid two' faculty mem-' .rI, .. b~-the'btlibr hand; Mclean said 'making' nal draft regulations were issued by the US. to be protected (e.g. date rape). bers present. Kane presides over the conduct the hearings public could be "problematic" Department of Education on Nov. I, 1999." English professor Dr, Becky Carpenter cases and Sayre the academic ones in order for Board members. "It's one thing to deal Lawbaugh is quick to say he believes that agrees with Leahy that "we have these weird to make sure the proper procedures are fol- with the accused alone. It makes it more dif- there are only three places in the world where interpretations of civil liberties" and that lowed. ficult for the accused to possibly confess if private hearings are held: Cuba, China, and public hearings could have a preventative He said they usually do not vote unless his friends are there," he explained. on college campuses. affect. there is a tie but that happens very rarely Also, he said due to the way the Board is Sayre does not cite exactly which laws When it comes to hearings being public since the group comes to a consensus most formed on such short notice, he doubts many protect Honor and Conduct hearings from be- Carpenter says, "Obviously it's better to pre- of the time. , ., other students would attend because there ing made public. ., vent offenses in the first place than doll out Perhaps it is these types of situations that would not be enough publicity time. On the other hand, Mark G,003man,a rep- ,"pci:ni:S~,m'e"nraftert,he fac£. If even 10 percent "Goodman is. leery of when he said, "There'~ _ In addition, Mc1e~n thinks th.e .Boar~ res-eni~tiv'e of (he SiLdent Pre~~ Law Center" of the peoplethat do thatjcommit offenses] ,~. s~)mubh'pb'tentfal fof, abuse 'When you have, "~would beco'me ahbther battlegrouna he- in Arlington, Virginia, cites the sixth think twice ... I'm all about thai!" Carpenter a secret system like this" becau~e e~en . t,v:een the.college and the Greeks" ,and that amendment's guarantees that "the accused added. though everyone assumes no harm IS being he does not know if that fight needs to in- shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public volve the Honor and Conduct Board. ~ii:tl;i!y :~e~~~at~~a~:~: ~~~l\~~~eb::~ "We have these weird interpretations of-civil tob~6~a;e~~:i~:~~~:~~~e~;i~:t~~~~::~ committed." liberties." -Dr. Becky Carpenter involyed,.espe_cjapy iq~eynderlyingreason Associate professor of political science for the offense.is.their jovwvementwith al- and international studies Dr. Christianna She said the issue of making the Board's done. it is impossible to know_forsure if oth- cohol or a group of bad friends. Nichols-Leahy said that in her experiences hearings public has never arisen before, most ers ar~' not allowed to witness it. .' "We want them'to finish tneir' degree, but in dealing with the Honor ~q Conduct Board likely'because "the Board never meets as a Webster said, "Anyone without integrity 'i[they're a danger to the cominunitY we want that the part above pertaining to witnesses group," but she adds that there is no' reason can pervert the system." Explaining how the to get them off camllUs," explained Mclean. does not seem to be of particular interest to why they could not. Slie points 'out that in Board works, Sayre said it tries to rotate the He thinks the Soard is' doing' the best it the Board. the "wider world" people endure public tri- student and faculty as much as possible, but can with what it has to work with right now, For instance, she has been called in as a als all the time. the final decision over wh~ will sit for the but that if students wimt it;ari initiative for character witness for the accused in several' ,"I'm aiways shocked at the things we're hearing usually revolves around making the open hearings should come from SGA. ' cases but has not been allowed to comment allowed to know or that parents aren't al- schedules of everyone fit, sald Sayre. • Sayre does not ever foresee the hearings on the case. She said Assistant Dean of Stu- lowed to know who are paying for their Although there is no rule in its guidelines becoming public. "f think,itonly prop~r that dent Affairs Scott Kane refused to let her children's' education," said Carpenter. on the number of times a phson is a!1owed stildents' intenictionS'with'the college should speak when she asked permission. When it comes to' releasing information to sit ,on the Board, Carpenter said a case was tie prIvate," he said. " Moreover, she said the way in which the to the public at large Webster said, "1 don't once postponed because the accused dis- If, however, there is a threat to the cam- Honor and Conduct Board rules are written release my records because there's no com- agreed with her being there because of her pus community, Sayre said the college will seem to "require students to give up their pelling law to make me do so." presence in a previous case involving the publish a notice as soon as possible, perhaps constitutional rights." Regarding the severity of the punish- accused. even publishing the student's name if it is For example, on page nine of the Honor ments, Carpenter said in her personal opin- Alex Mclean, a student member of the 'needed to 'protect others. Code handbook section E states, "Formal ion some of the penalties established by the Beard, said there are other discrepa'ncies Webstet explains that private colleges rules of evidence will not be applicable to Board should bave been harsher, but she still within the system as well. His examples in- like WMC work very hard to make their pri- disciplinary hearings, and any evidence or thinks the system works well overall. Car- elude problems with evidence or Campus vate distinction clear and that it is fair if testimony which the Board believes to be penter likes the fact that students are there Safety not taking the case seriously enough. WMC is allowed t6 limit some rights because relevant to a fair determination of the charges for the hearings, "playing an active gover- He said in some instances the witnesses do of the (unwritten) contract students make specified in the notice may be admitted. Pre- nance role." not even attend. with the school by attending. hearing procedural questions must be raised There are a total of 10 students and lOin response to this claim Webster said he A copy of the Honor Code booklet may at the initial hearing or be waived." It also faculty members on the Honor and Conduct "can't imagine that an officer wouldn't take be found in the Student Affairs office.