Last Wednesday during form meetings, third, fourth, and fifth formers voted for students to represent their classes on the Judicial Committee (JC). In front of their respective forms, students running for the position gave speeches on why they would be effective JC representatives.
Kate Spencer ’20 and Henry Susser ’20 were selected for the rising fourth form, Sophie Mars ’19 and Sabastian Chacon ’19 for the rising fifth form, and Josephine Mah ’18, Esteban Mogollon ’18, Elliot Sawyer-Kaplan ’18, and Baji Tumendemberel ’18 for the rising sixth form.
The students will start their training this term by attending hearings, and they will officially begin their tenures fall term of the next academic school year.
Currently, the JC committee consists of Chair, Olivia van den Born ’17; Vice chair, Mohammed Memfis ’17; the Dean of Students, Mr. James Stanley; the faculty adviser, Mr. Todd Currie; and six representatives, two from each form. The largely student-led group focuses on upholding the honor code. When a student violates the honor code, they are sent to the JC for a trial. Just like the US court system, the student is allowed to share his or her side of the story. After hearing the student’s perspective and being presented with the facts from the investigating dean, the JC analyzes the situation and decides upon an appropriate response to the behavior. This decision is then recommended to Mr. Stanley, who can choose to accept, reject, or modify the recommendation.
Mr. Currie said, “Balancing your desire to spare a classmate pain with your fidelity to our community values can actually be painful and is certainly difficult to do.”
Memfis also commented on the difficulty of being a JC reprepresentive. He said, “It’s stressful at times because you have to make a decision about your peers that you may not want to, but they are decisions that have to be made.”
During the training program for newly elected members, van den Born will be paying special attention to the four fifth-form elects, as two of them will eventually be chosen by the committee to take on the roles of the Chair and Vice Chair. As the Chair, van den Born ensured that the questioning is productive, unbiased, and facilitates the analysis after the student in question leaves the room.
Memfis’s responsibilities as Vice Chair include sitting in on every meeting with van den Born and comparing the case at hand to similar ones of past hearings in order to make an overall more informed decision.
The elected students will start their training this Friday during conference period. Sophie Mars ’19 said, “Being a Choate student is hard. We all know it. Choate students providing insight about strenuous circumstances during hearings ensures that no detail is disregarded or misinterpreted by a generational divide.”
Spencer said, “I am honored that my classmates elected me, and I will try my best to interpret the honor code in a way that fits our grade’s standards and expectations. Despite its challenges, I hope that serving on the JC will push me to think about not only others’ actions, but also my own.”
Mah added, “I’m honored that my classmates have placed their faith in me, and I’m happy to have the chance to be an advocate and resource for my peers.”
As shown on the school crest, “Fidelitas et Integritas” or “Fidelity and Integrity,” Choate values these qualities at a high standard and has faith in its students to encourage fellow classmates to embody them. Mr. Currie said, “Choate trusts in students to be guardians of the core values of our community.”
