Members of Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) convened Wednesday for their first meeting of the year, where they discussed Judicial Board (J-Board) policy and renewed funding for several annual BSG initiatives.
J-Board Chair RJ Shea '12 and Laura Lee, the assistant dean of student affairs, discussed the most recent annual J-Board report.
Last year, 15 cases were brought before the J-Board, equally split between social and academic violations of the honor code. In all, there were eight academic and seven social code violations, with punishments ranging from a mere reprimand to a two-year suspension. One of the individuals charged with an academic honor violation was found not responsible.
"We always try to rely on precedent when we can," said Shea. "However, in certain cases, there are situations when precedent has to be set."
President Derek Brooks '12 then asked whether the J-Board has seen any long-term trends in the cases brought before it. Lee responded that during the six years she has been the Board's adviser, she had not seen any trends in the cases aside from the fact that there seemed to be an increase in the number of academic honor violations involving the Internet, and that the most cases typically appear around finals period.
Vice President of Facilities Chase Taylor '12 then brought up three proposals to the assembly, one of which was immediately voted upon and unanimously accepted. The assembly agreed to allocate $9,700 for the Bowdoin Shuttle and night taxi service for the year. BSG also moved to support the continuance of USA Today's Readership program and the purchasing of movie tickets, though due to BSG's two-week rule for certain proposals, the assembly will vote again on these proposals next Wednesday.
The meeting ended with class at-large representatives briefing BSG on the projects they are working on for their respective class councils. These include a karaoke night and pie tasting for the Class of 2013, a Freshmen Fondue Night to promote BSG elections for the Class of 2014, and the distribution of senior sweatshirts.