Judicial Branch to Host Honor and Integrity Week

Daum and others from student government will participate in a mock Honor Court hearing Wednesday, one of many events in an entire week devoted to honor on campus.

Honor and Integrity Week, a five-day event sponsored by the judicial branch of student government, kicks off at noon today in the Pit.

The opening ceremony will feature speakers such as Student Attorney General Amanda Spillman and an appearance by former UNC basketball head coach Dean Smith, who will sign an honor banner along with others.

Spillman said she hopes signing the banner will set the tone of the entire week's programs, which are designed to highlight and emphasize different aspects of honor on campus.

"If everything goes according to plan, this will be the biggest thing put on by the judicial branch," Spillman said.

Part of the reason the week has been organized, Spillman said, is that judicial branch members want to reach out to students and make their presence known more, and she said she hopes to make this an annual event. "It will get the word out that we are the third branch of student government," she said.

So much of what goes on in the honor system is often misunderstood or misconstrued, Spillman said, in part because students don't understand how the process works.

Organizers of Honor and Integrity Week hope to combat this through a mock Honor Court hearing, to be staged at 7 p.m. Wednesday in Student Union 1505.

In the hearing, Daum will play a student who is accused of cheating during a test administered in English Professor Robert Kirkpatrick's class.

Student Body Vice President Aaron Hiller also will appear as a defense witness, and law Professor Judith Wegner will officiate the program.

"I think that this will be a good chance for people to see how the honor court works," said Jonathan Slain, the student attorney general chief of staff. "The audience will hopefully be drawn in and participate."

A number of scheduled events will address the issue of honor in general, something organizers say is integral to the week's mission.

Jeffrey Wigand, who was the subject of the Academy Award-nominated film "The Insider" for revealing alleged corruption inside the tobacco industry, will give the keynote speech at 6:30 p.m. Thursday in the Union Auditorium.

Slain said the week -- which has been in planning for about a year -- was timed perfectly. This summer, a task force created by the chancellor to study possible changes to the honor system submitted its report, and the proposed modifications are now being discussed.

"Just to get people to stop and think -- the key is education," he said.

The University Editor can be reached at udesk@unc.edu.