On July 17th, University Provost and Chief Academic Officer J. Christopher Clemens and Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Amy Johnson released a statement across the University community announcing that the student conduct process would be shifting into a more administrative process, ending the 100+ year tradition of a student-led disciplinary process. This decision was made without the consultation of current students involved within the Honor System nor the general student body. The revocation of the Honor System's student-led status threatens the rights of students to be self-governing and to hold themselves accountable, and threatens the autonomy of Student Government as a whole. The new, proposed system has two major changes besides it being administrative-led: reports will no longer be charged based on the discretion of the Student Attorney General, and students will no longer have the official right to be represented by a trained student counsel. From the instatement of this new system, reports of academic dishonesty or student misconduct will be handled by the Office of Student Conduct, and students will be expected to defend themselves from an investigative presentation from a member of the Office of Student Conduct. 

The changes this system brings are unclear. It is not yet announced if the Honor System's Instrument for Student Judicial Governance will be revised or completely scrapped, and inner workings of the new system will be decided without explicit student input. Previously, the Honor System was student-led from the Student Attorney General reviewing reports, counsels defending and investigating students, and the members of the honor court hearing said arguments; now, full-time paid members of the Office of Student Conduct will be reviewing reports, investigating students, and allowing faculty members to hear their cases. Student self-governance has been an imperative part of Carolina for centuries and this revocation is unprecedented and disappointing. 

The Honor System served as a unique opportunity for students to engage in self-governance as well as gain relevant experience regarding legal systems and processes. The many members of the Honor System come from different backgrounds and degrees, and work to make sure that students are not being treated unfairly or being prejudiced by faculty members. Furthermore, those working within the system truly loved the work they did. Working within the Honor System is entirely voluntary and unpaid, meaning members engaged with the work because they truly cared about its' values of self-governance, honesty, and equity. Finally, the Honor System allowed student voices to be represented in a process that has the potential to impact the future of a student's academic career. Being tried by a jury of your peers is a guaranteed right in criminal courts, and Carolina's adoption of this within the academic process was incredibly unique and important to many students. 

With recent events, Interim Chancellor Lee Roberts and the Board of Trustees has worked to limit student rights. The revocation of the Honor System's delegation to address student conduct and academic dishonesty is another move to limit these rights, threatening the whole of the student body. 

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