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evidence of violation not brought out in the hearing itself. Council members may properly consider as evidence of violation that the party charged has refused to cooperate in a proper institutional investigation if there is any other evidence to support the charge. Whenever the charge is not admitted, no violation is found unless two-thirds of the Council hearing the matter concurs in finding it.
Open or private hearing
The accused shall have the prerogative of choosing that the hearing be open or closed. This choice shall be submitted in writing no less than 48 hours prior to the hearing and shall be considered binding. In the absence of a written request, the hearing shall be closed. The Secretary of the Honor Council shall give public notice of an open hearing. The verdict and sanctions shall be made available to the public within 48 hours of the decision, but not before the accused has been notified of the same. Deliberations of the Honor Council remain strictly confidential. In an open hearing, the Chair reserves the right to dismiss persons whose disorderly conduct is disruptive to the hearing.
Right to question adverse witnesses
Both the Solicitors and the person charged, and/or the Defense Advisors, shall have the right, within bounds of general relevance, to question adverse witnesses who testify at the hearing. The accused shall not be required to testify against himself or herself, but the Dean or the Honor Council may require other students to testify. The Council may question all witnesses.
Personal support for accused student
An accused student may request additional persons (e.g., family member, minister, lawyer) be allowed to sit in a nearby waiting room during the proceedings of the Honor Council. To facilitate personal support and counsel to the accused, the chair may provide appropriate recesses from time to time. However, such persons shall not be permitted to sit in the hearing room during a closed hearing. Additional students may be permitted in the hearing room during the hearing at the discretion of the Chair; these additional students may not speak during the proceedings.
Provision of record for review
The Secretary of the Council shall prepare a written digest of the proceedings at all hearings, without regard to whether evidence is received on the question of violation, and without any request being made by the accused. The digest of the hearing shall include defense statements of mitigating circumstances. On written request by the person charged to the Secretary of the Council at least one day prior to the hearing, a verbatim record, as by tape recording, shall also be provided.
Pledge of confidentiality and honesty
All students participating in a disciplinary hearing shall pledge (which pledge shall be confirmed in writing) to maintain in confidence all matters presented or discussed at the hearing. All witnesses in a disciplinary hearing shall pledge (which shall be confirmed in writing) to present honest testimony. If the Chair of the Honor Council or the Chair of the Sexual Misconduct Board has reason to believe that a student lies during the hearing, the student may be formally accused of lying.
Imposition of sanctions.
a) Standards
Unless specifically limited by some provision of this document, the Council may consider as possible sanctions in any case where a violation is found or admitted all those sanctions enumerated in Part II, Section A, without regard to the particular violation involved. It should, however, attempt to fairly fit the sanction to the violation seen in total context. Thus, a fairly severe sanction might appropriately be imposed for a relatively minor violation which has been persistently repeated despite formal warning, while a relatively minor sanction might appropriately be imposed for a serious violation where substantial extenuation is shown.
The sanctions of suspension for a definite time and indefinite suspension, involving loss or interruption of educational opportunity, are appropriate only when the violator’s continued membership in the College community is judged to fundamentally be at variance with:
• The integrity of its educational mission.
• Pose a specific threat to his or her own emotional health.
• The minimal internal order of the community.
b) Number of Honor Council required to impose particular sanctions
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