The 13 new members of the College’s judicial boards have been chosen for the 2010-2011 academic year, selected from a record-breaking pool of 69 applicants. Six students have been appointed to the Community Judicial Board (CJB), and seven to the Academic Judicial Board (AJB). Two of the AJB members are serving in half-year capacities, so there will be six student representatives on each board at all times.
These 13 students were selected by a five-person committee composed of one student member and one faculty member each from Community Council and the current Judicial Boards, as well as the judicial affairs officer, a position currently held by Associate Dean of the College Karen Guttentag.
The first step in the selection process, according to Guttentag, was to identify the qualities of a strong board member.
Among these traits, Guttentag listed open-mindedness, a confidence in one’s personal moral direction, good listening skills, responsibility and “an awareness and belief in the community values that underlie our policies,” and a personal record of upholding and understanding these policies.
“I think that it’s important for Judicial Board members to have an open mind, the ability to keep case details confidential and the motivation to try to come to a decision that is fair and right,” said Amy Schlueter ’13, a new member of the AJB.
Jackie Yordan, ’13 another new AJB member, explained her qualification for the position.
“I understand the importance of being unbiased and the importance of being willing to listen to every side of an argument,” she said. “I understand the pressures that come with this job.”
The position is certainly high-pressure, and a few of the newly selected members alluded to the demands of being a part of the board. Not only is participating in the judicial process time-consuming, but the responsibility of balancing the needs and assessing the interests of the Middlebury community can also be stressful. Overall, however, the new members expressed enthusiasm about their undertaking.
“It represents a process through which students take a part in deciding on disciplinary matters,” said Arthur Choo, ’12, a CJB member. “Middlebury is place where, ideally, discipline isn’t imposed in a top-down manner. Rather, members of the community uphold standards and hold people accountable to those standards. It’s great.”
Judicial boards see record applicants
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