A Student Court (Vol. 2, Issue 7)

The understanding that plans are afoot for the establishment of a student court to have complete jurisdiction over matters pertaining to discipline is a source of gratification to us for more than one reason.

There exists a real need for a body of this

sort, and there are great possibilities in store for it, it can perform a vital function in the

college.

Discipline is never really arrived at through imposition or high-handed, arbitrary methods. Repressive measures usually induce in an even greater degree the very evils they attempt to

eradicate.

Real discipline can be reached only through mutual understanding between, infractors and

the judiciary body and through sympathetic consideration by the latter, whatever it be. This is where a student court comes in.

For the only possible method of securing this ideal means of enforcing regulations in a way that ensures student respect is the establishment of an undergraduate board of this sort.

Not the least of its value would lie in the recommendations it could make as to underlying causes for infractions and suggestions for future regulations. This is a very important aspect of the question. One of the most forceful arguments for the establishment of the court is the fact that a board of students could, better than any administrative channel, appreciate the circumstances surrounding individual cases and could thus render verdicts in their true perspective.

In this lies the crux of the matter. Measures should be curative, not essentially punitive.

There is no fear that such a court would be too lenient. It is a matter of fact that similar bodies in the past have adequately proven themselves capable of handling cases with the fullest sense of responsibility.

An opportunity is here that [illegible] a great step forward. Let’s hope it [illegible].