Dear TU Students:

We are beginning the process of electing twelve student members to the TU (traditional undergraduate) honor council for the 2020-21 academic year. Elections will occur later this semester (in conjunction with some unrelated SGA elections).

The first step in the process is to solicit, from the entire TU student body, nominations for election to the honor council. That is the purpose of this message.

Any TU student can nominate any other TU student for election to the honor council. Self-nominations are permitted. For a nomination to be successful, the following rules will have to be followed in their entirety:

1. The nomination must be by email. All emails must be sent from the student’s Oglethorpe email account; no other email addresses will be acceptable. Every such Oglethorpe email account must correspond to a current TU student.
2. All nominations must be sent to my Oglethorpe email account, [email protected]. Nominations sent to any other email account will be rejected.
3. Nominations must be received by me no later than 5:00 PM on Friday, April 3. Nominations received after that deadline will be rejected.
4. All nominees must be TU students during the current semester. Also, each must currently be classified as having freshman, sophomore or junior standing. Those who are currently classified as seniors are ineligible for nomination unless there is some compelling reason why such students should not expect to graduate prior to May, 2021.
5. Successful nominees must be in good standing (meaning academic good standing, financial good standing and conduct good standing) and cannot have any previous honor code liabilities. Nominees who have demonstrated behavior which seems to be at odds with the precepts and standards of the honor code will likewise be eliminated. Nominees who will be gone for more than short intervals during the coming academic year (for reasons of full-time internships, study abroad, etc.) will be eliminated. Students who are not committed to returning to Oglethorpe for the entirety of the 2020-21 academic year will be eliminated.
6. All nominees who are qualified to serve will be contacted and asked to either accept or reject their nomination. Those who accept the nomination will have to attest to several things, including the fact that they intend to return to Oglethorpe for the entirety of the 2020-21 academic year.
7. Nominees who accept their nominations will have to write an essay (of unspecified length) on why they would like to serve.

You should know that serving on the honor council is difficult work. It is not uncommon for the honor council to meet almost every week, often for an hour-and-a-half or more at a time. Members are expected to be present at every meeting. So this is not a job well-suited to those with extensive extra-curricular time commitments. You should also know that the nature of the job requires that one be able to effectively, honestly, respectfully and objectively sit in judgment of his/her peers in matters of suspected academic dishonesty. Not everyone is capable of such a task. And all honor council work is subject to strict confidentiality requirements. Members must sometimes be able to withstand intense pressure to “get their side of the story out,” even if it means that, in the short run, others criticize the honor council and the honor code for alleged injustices.

But for those who are capable and willing, serving on the honor council can be extraordinarily gratifying work. It is a humbling and awe-inspiring experience to witness the levels of rational thought and analysis which go into every decision. It is a group of which I am very proud to be a part, and I welcome your nomination of suitable candidates for positions on this important body.

Please consider making one or more nominations according to the rules cited above.

Thanks for your time and consideration in this matter.

Dr. Michael Rulison, Professor of Physics
Honor Council Secretary