Fagin irked that communittee is not in place

Interim President Claire Fagin said last week that she is disappointed over the lack of progress made in forming a University committee to investigate the student code of conduct and judicial system. Other officials, though, said the Committee for Judicial Reform, created by Interim Provost Marvin Lazerson to look at campus policies and suggest ways to restructure them, is moving along according to schedule. The committee, slated to be made up mostly of undergraduates, will be subdivided into three working groups. One group will deal with the code of general conduct, one with the judicial system and the third with academic integrity. Fagin said she had hoped the committee, which was formulated last month, would have been set up before winter break, so work could begin with the new semester. But College junior Michael Rosenfield, chairperson of nominations for the Nominations and Elections Committee, said there was not enough time to form the committee prior to break. "The reason we didn't do it at the end of last semester is because [the committee] was formulated just before exams, and we knew people wouldn't apply," Rosenfield said. He added that he told Lazerson just before winter break that the NEC traditionally had poor student response when trying to form committees during finals. "A few of us met with the Provost and told him there was just no time [before finals]," Rosenfield said. "We just wanted a well-qualified pool of applicants." He added that Lazerson agreed that the committee should be set up immediately after break. Rosenfield said applications for the committee, which will consist of 12 undergraduates, three graduate students, four faculty members and some administrative staff, will be available tomorrow. All undergraduates are eligible to apply, he added. Interviews for applicants will take place Friday, January 21, Rosenfield said. Fagin said the committee was originally set to release its report in June, but because of pressure from undergraduate leaders who want the report be released while the majority of students are still on campus, the committee should finish its work by the end of April. Fagin said, though, that now she is worried that delays in the selection of committee members may ultimately delay the committee's report. Executive Assistant to the Provost Linda Koons said yesterday that she believes the selection of the committee members is on schedule. Koons said fears that the committee might become politicized may have slowed its formation. The committee may lay the foundations for a student-run judicial system to deal with academic integrity issues, Koons said. She also said that faculty members for the Committee for Judicial Reform are already lined up.