This is the con argument on the Honor Council. To view the con click here.

With the new changes to the Honor Council, it is impossible to think that students will be less likely to get into trouble. Students deciding the punishment of their classmates will make students more likely to be punished harshly.

There are a number of reasons why a student Honor Council will not succeed. If students are not liked by one of the Honor Council members, they could try to get revenge on them and give them a larger punishment than they should’ve received.

However, it could work the opposite way as well. If an offender is friends with somebody on the council, that council member might go easier on the offender and give a lesser punishment.

Furthermore, a group of students could simply overlook factors in their decision making process that adults might not.

Adults hold students to higher standards, believing that students need to be responsible and mature about situations they get themselves into. Students wouldn’t necessarily consider that because they are teenagers themselves.

Adults think of how the punishment could deter the student from committing bad acts in the fututre. If one of the adults has a different opinion on what the final outcome should be, they freely voice it and the group as a whole takes time to think about it.

Teenagers often follow the lead of one another, so if one suggests a drastic punishment, many might just agree to come to a decision as quickly as possible instead of thinking the suggested punishment through completely. This could lead to a random student completely changing someone’s future.

In no way will having a student Honor Council work. Instead, the JC staff should be more involved. They could collaborate so at least 50/50 with the student council, making a larger group of people deciding the fate of the student to ensure justice is served.

Even though the student council is there to get the student’s side of the situation, there are too many risk factors.

If JC proceeds with keeping the Honor Council based on a group of students, there will be a lot more trouble that will not be addressed correctly.

Lauren Fabiszak is an In-Depth Editor for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com.