GSC debates modifications to Honor Code, requires transportation help for campus employees

The Graduate Pupil Council (GSC) met with members of the Committee of 12 (C12) to debate the committee’s not too long ago unveiled Honor Code proposals, together with the restructuring of the judicial course of and additional analysis into examination proctoring, through the council’s Tuesday assembly. Members of the GSC additionally known as for elevated help from the College administration relating to the transportation wants expressed by campus service employees, graduate college students and scholar populations.

Honor Code proposals

The C12 was charged with proposing modifications to the Honor Code, Judicial Constitution and Course of and interpretations of the Elementary Normal in 2022. A scholar stakeholder assembly was held with members from each the Undergraduate Senate (UGS) and Graduate Pupil Council (GSC) final week following the discharge of the committee’s proposals, which embody restructuring the judicial course of and conducting analysis into the opportunity of proctoring examinations.

C12 scholar co-chair Jamie Nice, a sixth-year Ph.D. scholar in trendy thought and literature, introduced the committee’s suggestions to the group on the assembly final week. Nice mentioned scholar considerations and offered clarifications to the proposals through the GSC assembly.

The committee’s suggestions embody the institution of a tiered course of for figuring out penalties related to Honor Code and Elementary Normal violations. The degrees of assessment embody Different Evaluation, which might result in an Alternate Decision course of (ARP), Mid-Stage Evaluation and Excessive-Stage Evaluation — for the least to most severe violations, respectively.

Lawrence Berg, a fourth-year Ph.D. scholar in chemistry and GSC Consultant to the School Senate who attended the C12 scholar stakeholder assembly final week, mentioned that he was involved about whether or not the proposal’s ARP would encourage a scholar accused of violating the Honor Code or Elementary Normal to “[justify] dishonest on an project” by claiming that it’s “essential for their very own survival.”

Nice, nonetheless, mentioned that the concept of implementing a course of with tiered penalties was to keep away from “scaring the bejesus out of the 18-year-old” frosh.

“I feel that there needs to be somewhat little bit of grace, to some extent, for studying,” Nice mentioned.

Earlier reporting from The Day by day revealed that, among the many undergraduate inhabitants, some college students help the potential introduction of proctoring examinations whereas others oppose it. No matter their stance on proctoring, nonetheless, many college students mentioned that the College ought to present help to assist college students study from their errors.

GSC co-chair and third-year aeronautics and astronautics Ph.D. scholar Jason Anderson inspired GSC Councilors to help the C12’s suggestions, saying that passing the suggestions could be extra helpful than protecting the present Honor Code and Judicial Course of. The Honor Code and Judicial Constitution and Course of have been each final up to date earlier than the 12 months 2000. Nevertheless, in response to Anderson, the quite a few technological developments which have occurred prior to now couple of many years, as an illustration, the dissemination of generative AI expertise, requires modifications to such paperwork to be able to replicate the wants and realities of present-day college students.

Transportation wants 

The GSC additionally debated a decision supporting extra public transit on and past campus. Transportation has been a frequent space of advocacy and dialogue for the GSC. In response to Berg, the decision displays the wants of campus employees, along with the previously-discussed transportation wants of graduate college students. After continued scholar advocacy led by GSC representatives, the College has introduced the momentary and partial return of the Marguerite Buying Specific, which connects Stanford’s campus with close by buying facilities.

Undergraduate members of the Stanford Simply Transitions Coverage Lab carried out a survey to gauge the wants of Stanford service employees, discovering that employees are in important want of improved transportation to and from campus. Potential enhancements would come with increasing the vanpool routes supplied to service employees along with instating a brand new Marguerite line to achieve East Palo Alto. The expanded transit would attain service employees and graduate college students at present housed in areas farther from campus.

A number of councilors mentioned that they hope College administration will handle the necessity for expanded transit, as advocated for by employees, graduate and undergraduate populations.

“In these conversations, we’ve realized that there was fairly a little bit of overlap between the issues that the SEIU employees wished and what graduate college students have been wanting,” Berg mentioned. Berg added that the survey outcomes revealed that “service employees obtain even much less help than we do as graduate college students.”

Stanford service employees are represented by the native chapter of the Service Staff Worldwide Union (SEIU 2007). In the meantime, final week, graduate student-workers at Stanford formally launched a unionization marketing campaign for the Stanford Graduate Staff Union (SGWU), yielding greater than 2500 signed playing cards.

The GSC additionally voiced their help for postdoc advocacy by unanimously passing a decision written by the Stanford College Postdoctoral Affiliation (SURPAS) outlining steps to amplify postdocs’ advocacy viewers and efforts.