The Committee for Community Conduct (C3) is a disciplinary committee led by students and assisted by faculty. However, next year, the group will be replaced by the Honors Council.

Since late fall, Dean of Students Stacy Tepp and many faculty members have planned to change C3 and SPA’s disciplinary code. They looked at independent schools across the country, considering their honor codes and disciplinary actions that could be applied to SPA.

If a student were to have a conflict, such as committing acts of academic dishonesty, C3 would take part in deciding the consequences. “It’s not just about discipline; it’s about trust and community. So, calling it a discipline committee doesn’t feel right,” Tepp said.

Changing the name from C3 to “Honors Council” aims to reflect the group’s values. The hope for the Honors Council is that they go beyond recommending discipline and can also recommend education or restorative conversations.

C3 sophomore representatives Luwam Mebrahtu and Charlotte Talbot are pleased with this change. They both felt C3 should have been more involved with the student body this past year. Mebrahtu and Talbot hope that the formation of the Honors Council will close that gap. “C3 didn’t really do much beforehand, but now [with the Honors Council], we will have things we can do where we can handle things more within the student body,” Mebrahtu said.

“I like [the switch to Honors Council]…but it’ll definitely be a long process trying to figure out the new logistics and everything else,” Talbot, who plans to join the Honors Council, said.

Like C3, the Honors Council will involve student voices. However, the process for students to join the Honors Council is still in the works. Tepp described that there could be a selection and election process. First, there could be an application process “because we want to make sure that students who are interested in this role…know what they’re walking into,” Tepp said.

They will go on to elections based on who is selected from the pool of applicants. The students will be provided with some training about handling possible “vulnerable situations” and practicing confidentiality to ensure student conflicts are handled privately. “I think student input is always interesting we…don’t know how you perceive something affecting the community…Those are things we don’t always know as adults,” Tepp said. “So, I think having that student voice and representation is really crucial.”

Mebrahtu agreed. “The Honors Council is actually going to be doing things [next] year…helping out the student body put in opinions,” Mebrahtu said.

She emphasized that having a student committee is important when discussing discipline so that receiving consequences is comfortable. “It’s more student-to-student,” Mebrahtu said.

The Honors Council will be formed next fall, beginning the 2024-25 school year.